tetra-going nuts
I do not hate Starbucks, contrary to the insinuations that may be felt by previously expressed opinions. But I do rather dislike Starbucks Corporation. Anywhere big business rears its ugly head, there is a host of bottom-level workers who are generous, kind, and likely unaware of the great evil lurking in the upper strata. So, walking into Starbucks on my Thursday afternoon walk to studio, I wasn’t anticipating dealing with money-hungry locals who sip their burnt coffee with pinkies held high. I was ready to deal with peopl nearly identical to me, in the barista sense.
My reason for stopping by: my three-ounce demitasse had cracked, not from physical contact but actually from thermal stress. However, while this does happen in extreme cases (a barista there mentioned his mug at a bar shattered when filled with beer after it had just been washed), my espresso items are used once per day, typically, and certainly are cared for no less than with meticulous attention. And, I must point out, that Starbucks has very nice and well-priced espresso equipment (tamper, demitasse, frothing pitcher) that I simply can’t pass up. Thus, my demitasse was suffering from glass impurities and finally let out a brilliant half-way spider web from top to bottom.
The people there listened to my brief story of, “Really, I take wonderful care of my espresso junk, and this absolutely did not occur from me dropping it in the sink, blah blah blah.” I had stopped by at a good time, because one of the people behind the counter was wearing a not-so-standard Starbucks shirt, that I connected with some sort of managerial role; in fact, she immediately took up the authority for responding to my request for pity. She showed me where they had there current demitasse and then we looked through them for the most precisely formed one. She said I was very much welcome to take a new one. And I did. Then I went to studio for joy.
Again, the people who work and run the stores of the greatest corporations in America are often the best side to the corporate world, simply because they are almost entirely untouched by any significant aspiration to climb all the way up the ladder. Were I to let my savage anger out on WalMart employees because I disagree with many of the corporate practices, I would be violating near as many human rights as if I had approved a new textile factory in mainland China. Those American wage workers are financially better off than Chinese factory workers, but there are many similarities in social status and cultural reputation.
So, like I said. Studio is joy, most often when teamed with some caffeination.