April First, 2013

Today was the day! I began Barista training this morning, a little after 9 am. The other guy who is training with me, T, seems really great. It was so neat to be sitting across from another person who was just as excited about working at Starbucks as me, who was just as enthusiastic abut coffee, and even wants his own cafe someday. It's like, "Hey, I'm not a complete loon for looking forward to this so much!" I think he and I hit it off really well, so I'm excited to work with him (it'd be a bummer to meet the other new person and dread being their co-worker.)

Today was mostly paperwork and the background/vision of Starbucks. We also did one tasting - I'm really looking forward to doing the tasting. Just doing Kenya today was eye-opening to the distinctions between each roast and blend, and I'm really, really excited about delving into that. I mean, I've probably had a cup of almost all their different blends, but before now, it was just all coffee. I could taste the difference between roasts, but the little things that make it unique just make the experience so much more exciting.

I know that Starbucks is all controversial right now in the Christian/conservative world, but as a business, and as a coffee shop, they're really great. And I think I'm really blessed to be at a branch that puts action to the values that the company claims. They care about the experience for the customers, and they care about the community that they're in, they care about their partners, and my store acts on these values. I'm really excited. I think that this is going to be a really, really incredible experience.

And yeah, I am very aware that I'm going into a secular workplace, and that I'm going into the world, and that my maturities are going to be tested, but I'm ready for that. I'm in a very different place than I was two years ago - the Lord knows when to put us in certain places. If I had started at the Haverhill Starbucks two years ago, I can assure you that things would not be going well.

I'm ready for this. I'm ready to learn - everything. When it comes to the work, when it comes to the people I'm working with, when it comes to customers, when it comes to myself in the midst of it all. I'm more than ready to get into this.

I am nervous about retaining everything, but that stems from my "I want to get it right the first time, and every time" mentality. I'm always like that when I start new things - but I'm reminding myself over and over that making mistakes is completely okay, I'm new. No one expects me to be perfect right away.

Well, I'm thrilled. I'm blessed. I'm ready. I am so excited about what lies ahead.

Huhhhh. I'm happy. When it comes to earthly things satisfying the best that they can, I am satisfied. However, my wrath towards Hallmark Love stories would say otherwise. (Seriously, Hallmark? Nothing is more unrealistic.)

But really, I'm happy. Why? Because of the faithfulness of God. Literally none of our "earthly satisfactions" come from anywhere except God.