Day 11 (thank god no filing)

I started my new job today. I'm a Starbucks girl now. Here's the deal, in a nutshell. I LIKE it. It's fun and the people are nice. I get to, no, I HAVE to, talk to customers, be enthusiastic, and smile. I can do those things. It also brought up some unexpected things. I am a service person now. I am the server...the servant. I am not the princess sitting at a table reading a good book with a sweater on and a double tall latte warm and yummy in my hand. I am not spending the morning casually sipping coffee and munching on a tiny vanilla scone, ready to go home and clean (my favorite) or paint (my other favorite) or write (my other favorite). My training buddy, who just got hired also, was 17 years old three days ago. Just had a birthday yesterday...the big eighteen. She's nice and excited and she could be my daughter. I take out the trash and clean the restrooms. I wear a uniform. I even pick up trash bags wrong and spill wet coffee grounds all over myself. I am humbled oh employment god, have mercy on me. So, that stuff surfaced. The "shouldn't I have a well paying CAREER?! by now" stuff. The "everyone thinks I'm an idiot" stuff. The "I'll never amount to anything" stuff.

But, and the but here is a good one, I have perks at this job. I don't have to file anything, learn difficult computer programs, review escrows or enter data. I'll get full medical benefits. Free pound of coffee every week. 401K. Paid vacation. FLEXIBILITY. Part time (20 hours a week). Yeah, I can STILL have days where I clean or paint or write. I have to keep my mind on the reality that this job does not define me. I define me. One thing I realized during that month I worked at Remax....I am much more efficient with my time when I have a job. I could spend 8 hours not getting shit done when I had all the time in the world, but when I only had one day off a week, I scheduled that day and got things DONE, baby. They give me the time off to teach my class, and it's okie-dokie with them that I have to leave at a certain time to pick my son up from school. The people, both customers and fellow Starbucks employees, are truly nice. And you know, the uniform is really kinda cute, even well-dressed, for this girl. Oh shoot, I can still be a princess!! Who am I kidding? It's not the job, it's the attitude.