The original plan for today was the Starbucks in Burbank's Empire Center, because for all of my complaints about their coffee tasting burnt (even though I usually order a dirty chai), Starbucks has a wonderful standard for consistent wifi, good parking, and complete indifference to people camping out all day on their laptop, grazing and ordering drinks and food through the app. Does it have unique, high quality beans and one-of-a-kind drinks exclusive to the location? No. But if the Starbucks you're going to is closed or under construction like the one at the Empire center, you can either just go to the Starbucks across the street or drive five minutes to the next one. They're everywhere. I think I remember calculating that when I worked in Woodland Hills, there were something like seven Starbucks within a 5 minute drive.
And while I'm reminiscing, it's crazy to think that I spent eight years at that job in Woodland Hills, after I specifically instructed the temp agency to find me something...anything else. At this ripe old age, my concentration on the value of my time has come more and more to the forefront, because in my 30s I suffered at that job. I worked with some wonderful people, but the job itself was tolerated partially by the company I kept but mostly because it afforded my investment in my theater company. I feel like, true to my libra sensitivity to balance, the harder the job pulled me down, the harder my theater world worked to lift me up. Was it perfect? No. But was it everything I needed? Absolutely.
It was only when I discovered at Universal that I was putting in extra time and effort that I did the math; Once I became salaried at Universal I split up my annual salary down to the 40 hours a week and arrived at my hourly wage. As I went beyond the 40, my value per hour started to decrease, and then came the bigger question of how I used those hours versus what I would have done had I not been at my stages and with the performers. Did the executive staff take offense to the extra hours? They lightly pushed back but secretly wanted that extra coverage. Being salaried meant that there was a lot of grey area. If it was hourly, though, there was often a white hot focus on why hourly labor was standing for five minutes after they had spent the previous three hours doing heavy lifting and were currently monitoring a specific element of the show we were presenting. This doesn't mean that my current situation is perfect; No company is perfect. There's just a healthier approach to addressing and adjusting to problems and issues.
Today's session is another solo venture, but I'm proud of my consistency. I guess that's the theme for the day. Where is Gail? Where's Teny? I'm fascinated by what all of these friends are doing in their own bubble and what they're getting started on a Monday afternoon, just like the people around me here at this Starbucks a few blocks away from where I went to grade school. This location is full of people on video calls, students working together, people just chilling by themselves with their iced drinks reading on their phones. It's 90 degrees outside and the air conditioning in here is perfect.
I have seen this particular block change drastically over the decades. Right across the street, I worked for one summer at the Wherehouse, right up to the moment where a coworker told me how excited they were that after three years, they were hoping to be promoted so they could earn more money. Once I realized that after that pending promotion, they would only be making an extra quarter an hour than me, I immediately quit.
The next block over, I'm looking at a Grocery Outlet that used to be a Miller's Outpost. Remember them? No? I'm old? The Safari Inn and the McDonald's have been there forever. Okay, time to do some remote work. I've been here an hour and have only answered a couple of emails.
Dirty chai is my jam here.
I miss the Oprah chai because I loved being able to order a Dirty Oprah.
After a flurry of emails and text messages - it's going to be a busy "day off" of work where on a week like this it's more of a casual Monday working off prop - I'm anxiously awaiting a moment of satisfaction when I can close this laptop and mentally clock out. As a matter of fact, my eyes just caught a glimpse of the Argentine restaurant where I can grab some home cooking as a prize for getting some things done on what is supposed to be my day off. In fact, getting work done today is also making up for the fact that Tuesdays are always kneecapped by multiple meetings and little time to get any actual work done. Am I the only one who deals with this? I'm going to assume that this is a big fat no.
I just put a fat chunk of work to bed for today and am thinking about my next steps. An overwhelming concert event for this weekend has me hungry for distraction and stress relief today; Our partners know that today is my day off, but it doesn't prevent them from calling/texting/instant messaging/emailing while at the same time trying to get my nicer coworkers to carry some of their workload. Definitely, in situations like this, there is little concern for the toll it has already taken on everyone. There's a ratio of about 30/70 as far as things that have been communicated and understood versus communicated and ignored. I see people try to compromise and be accommodating while they give up valuable time that could be spent doing other more important things.
I will say that a decade or two ago, I would have had a completely different perspective on all of this, but at the end of every single day, I say good night to photos of my parents and always think about the value of my time with them, and how it's impossible to have another moment until I, too, have passed on. But I have today. I have right now. And thanks to my parents, a handful of friends I've lost, and decisions I've made to discontinue investing in some of the wrong things I used to waste time on, I have enough perspective to understand the value of moments with people like my best friend, who has bravely put some distance between her and cancer but is still in the race running from it. I look at my coworkers and the time they spend with their families, and I have trouble weighing people taking advantage of them to achieve their own means. As I have always told my performers, ask yourself if the people you are dealing with will be there tomorrow (or in the case for our summer series, on Mondays).
With all of that in mind, Mondays are proving to be the most important day of the week. Garfield was way off on this one. In fact, it's time to close this laptop and get out in that sun, maybe see a movie. Maybe next week I'll have company?
Starbucks - a review
Consistency is a great thing to rely on, and that abundance of consistency and coverage makes this place exist on a different plane than other coffee places. It's like comfort food without all of the home cooking. Anything edible comes out of a bag or a box and there's no story behind the drinks. Starbucks is a living meme. But sometimes you don't want to think, and instead you just order mindlessly while earning points like a game. They reward you for loyalty to the green goddess of fertility and caffeine, and there doesn't seem to be anything sinister about it. These places are made for all kinds of people; People who don't want to interact with others can order ahead and pick up on the way through, and people who want to sit and chat a bit can more often than not find a spot. You can also take pride in ridiculously long names for drinks, and for the teenage influencers, you can walk away with a dangerously sweet and unnaturally colored icy invention. There's something pacifying here for everyone, just not special. But I will say this: the people who work at Starbucks are almost always fantastic personalities who invest in you if you frequent one of them. You'll end up recognizing their writing on the cup if they don't print the stickers out, and in turn they'll get your name right every time. I love walking in and they already know my order. For all of that, it's efficient and smart, and it has heart. I'll always gravitate to the local curated and privately owned coffee spot that is filled with pride and the drinks made with love.
Honestly, I'm beginning to love Mondays. What would I be doing otherwise? Sitting on my couch or sleeping? Nope - the relentless work won't let me, but at least I get to write and see friends every now and then.
See you again in exactly one week.
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