Starbucks.

I've had 3 successful shifts at Starbucks thus far, and it has been... interesting. I must intro with this disclaimer: I think I'm way too sarcastic to be the perfect barista Starbucks wants me to be. For example, part of my training (about 60 hours... in a coffee shop) includes coffee tasting and coffee pairing. My manager and I take out a bag of coffee, grind it, taste it, and then we are supposed to have a conversation about it, which usually goes something like this:Shad (my manager): "So, what do you taste?"
Me: "Uh... coffee."
Just to let you know, that is the wrong answer. I'm supposed to say something like, "Well, it tastes earthy with a hint of spices as it hits the back of my tongue, noting it's origin in the Asia/Pacific region." Maybe we'll get there.

Customers always prove to be an interesting experience as well. Yesterday I worked on the register the entire shift, which included translating orders ("Yes, I'd like a triple decaf iced grande soy 2 pumps sugar free vanilla latte with whip") into two letter abbreviations on cups and trying to ring it up in a decent amount of time. This one customer, a 5'6", 300 pound Samoan man in a purple shirt approached the counter and wanted a grande (that's a medium for us who speak English and not Starbucks) coffee. Easy beans. Check.

Awkward pause.
"Could I get another one?"
"Sure! You're total is $3.28"
He handed me the money and stared at me strangley. I handed him the change and gave him a polite smile. "Thank you", I said, which was nice for, "Okay, we're done."
"You have nice ice", he said.
Excuse me, what? I have nice ICE?? What is that supposed to mean?! Since I lack tact, that was pretty much the reaction I gave him.
"What?"
"You have nice eyes."

Oh. Heaven. Help. Me.

Once again, since I lack tact, I have absolutely no idea what to say to that besides, "Wow, I can't wait to tell Steven this," or "Uh, thanks, that's, uh, a nice large purple shirt?"
Heaven, in fact, did help me, so I said a quick "Thanks" and went somewhere other then in his line of sight. And on a side note, when I told Steven this, he told me to essentially "milk that for all it was worth- you could get good tips from that." Gee, thanks for the moral support, honey.

Before we get deep, let me call a half-time with this, since I'm SUPER excited for the start of football season:

P.S. According to Wikipedia, Mike Tomlin attends a CMA church in  Squirrel Hill. Holler!!

On a different note, my co-workers are... you're typical 20-somethings. In short, their world is Starbucks, and outside of it, there are some other things that may or may not be as important, depending on what's happening with Starbucks that day. They are all friends, roommates, lover, or drinking buddies because of work. Most of them don't seem super-ambitious to find any other job, which I find strange. Their attitudes are generally poor and their language reflects it. Like in college, I feel like I'm about a million miles away from my peers. When they find out I'm 22 and married, their responses are as follows: "You're 22?! You look like you're 18! You're so young to be married! Do you have a kid?"
And, as in college, I find it very hard to explain myself to people who aren't even reading the same book I am, much less on the same page. Then, it was difficult to try and discuss: "No, I'm not career driven; Yes, I want to marry my boyfriend right after college; No, I've never had sex; Yes, I'm "religious" therefore I don't do drugs or drink to get drunk" to people whose main concern is how many weeknights they can get trashed and still graduate with a 3.0. Now, it's hard to explain: "Yes, I'm married young and get true joy out of serving my husband; No, I don't have a kid; No, I can't work Sunday mornings because I go to church; Yes, there is more to life then Starbucks and work in general."

Honestly, it's kind of heartbreaking. Once, I was getting lunch with Sarah Jones, and she was telling me that her first term in Berlin was character-building. And she said something that I'll never forget: "The thing that keeps me going is knowing that lost people matter to Jesus. And that makes me excited to go back for the second term."
Two things have been impressed upon my heart lately: 1) Lost people matter to Jesus, and 2) Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you now that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." And I truly believe that if I live out that verse every single day, even if I don't feel like it or are feeling particularly sassy, then lost people will see Jesus. So even if I don't know what deep flavors are in a coffee or if I don't feel like working on a particularly challenging order with a difficult customer, if I live that verse, then the people around me, co-workers and customers included, will see the light of God through me.

And that's not to be taken lightly.