mostly about work

I can't recall if I've ever mentioned on the blog that I work at a coffee shop now - have done for the past eight months or so.  But since today I managed both to bring my camera to work and have the battery charged (things I've been intending to do since last September), I took some photos and thought I'd share.

It's a little independently owned and operated place, and it's quite a fun place to work, most of the time.  I remember when I first started being completely overwhelmed and impressed at how everyone seemed to know all the regulars and their orders - and now I'm one of those people.  It makes me wonder what we'd do if one of the regulars changed up his order.  It would throw everyone completely off balance!  Busy, fast-paced days are more fun than slow ones, but even those can be nice; there is rarely a boring day.  (Though being an introvert working for the most extroverted woman on the face of the planet occasionally becomes... challenging.  Especially early in the morning before I am fully caffeinated!)

One of the best things is that we roast all our own coffee in-house, so you'll never drink coffee from beans roasted more than about 48 hours ago.  I would never have called myself a coffee snob or imagined myself becoming one; but a few months here and I can barely swallow typical restaurant coffee anymore.  This is not always a good thing, especially when travelling! 

Sometimes there is a pretty little flower or star left in the grounds after brewing a pot of coffee.  (These turn out to be difficult to photograph, since if the grounds are fresh enough for the flower still to show up, they're hot enough to be steaming, and steamed-up camera lenses do not clear photos take.)

And sometimes, quite by accident, I manage to make pretty pictures in my lattes.  (Always by accident.  If I try to make "latte art" I'll end up with a strange blobby mess.  But if I'm not thinking about it much I end up with lovely, slightly abstract leafy patterns or, as today, something suggesting a bird.)

But don't worry.  Even if your latte isn't particularly pretty, or your sandwich proves somewhat messy -- I promise they'll taste good!