I am beginning to think that I need to re-examine spending habits and even more than that driving habits. My driving habits have always been very free and willingly to go anywhere and do anything. Now that Gasoline is at $4.51 a gallon in NYC, I am now going to halt any excessive driving. I am wondering why Gas prices have doubled in the last 10 years and have grown more in 10 years then the price of gas increased over the previous 50 years. I think my answer will be to obtain a Hybrid eventually.

So I am trying to remain calm and realize that the faults of others should not dictate my behavior. I am very saddened by certain events happening at my store lately and I am realizing that what makes Starbucks such a great place to work are the colleagues that you work with along with the customers.

Howard was right when he founded the company and created the guiding principals. When they are followed correctly along with the Green apron behaviors, working in a Starbucks environment makes you feel great. However, if they are ignored and burned like a witch at a witch hunt, then the stores and the 3rd place environment is lost forever.

I am in the process of cleaning up a little around the house and trying to organize items so that when I move out in October to Brooklyn, things are nice and neat and tucked away appropriately. I am also going to begin my own version of Graduate School where I will be forced to read a book a week along with studying several subjects. Spanish as a second language, Art History, and Environmentalism will be the three courses that I want to begin teaching myself so that I can make myself a better person. I want to expand my mind and realize that there is always room to grow as a person and to help make my life better.

BTW.... want to comment on Apple as a customer service genius. For Christmas, I asked Liz to buy me a very specific topographical design version of the iPhone case from inCase. She did, thirty bucks later, my iPhone was styling and profiling. About a month later, it had it's first crack in the rubber and was beginning to look like a bad decision and a poor purchase. Today, I made my way into the Apple Store and was looking at the cases for the iPhone when I was approached by an Apple employee who asked if there was something that she could do for me. I told the wonderful young lady that I was in the process of looking up reviews for iPhone cases that are sold in the Apple Store. I then displayed my cracked and torn rubber case to her, she immediately said "let's see if we can exchange it for a new one of the same model for you". Three minutes later, she emerged from the back room of the Staten Island Mall Apple Store and said "yes" then she took one off the shelf, handed me the case and took my old one from me and "wished me a good day". That was pure genius and customer service at it's best.

I never thought I would say this but "I am finally starting to not enjoy working for Starbucks."

Lately, there have been a few instances where several partners have gone to the manager of my store to complain about petty things that the shift supervisors are doing. Things ranging from reprimanding them when they (the baristas) are cursing on the floor infront of customers, to beginning the pre-close of the store at a period of downtime which may be earlier than management wants. However, most of us Shift Supervisor's feel that we are beginning the pre-close process at a time when the store as a team (baristas and shift supervisors) are likely to be most productive. I understand that the managers don't want us to walk in the door and rush to see how fast we can get out of the door, however we are also under a lot of pressure to get everything that needs to be done completed and have the store reset for the morning crew with only one hour of time.

The one hour of time is an unrealistic goal, however we've figured out ways to get it done quicker and more efficiently, unfortunately that means beginning earlier and moving quicker. These items have combined to make me believe that those individuals that I work with are not just tattle tales who are looking to get someone in trouble but they are fools because it would make more sense if they were trying to climb the company ladder and be promoted but these are people who are comfortable in their positions as baristas.

We have all the responsibility of managers but none of the rewards. Every new promotion or change in way of business for us results in another task being tacked on to the shift supervisor role on a daily basis. However, we are not compensated for these additional roles which we take on. When they wanted us to grind coffee fresh every morning they added an additional person, now they have removed that person adn expect 2 people to do the work of 3 people.

I realize that this is only a job, however it was one which I was intensely passionate about and truly felt like no matter what anyone said, it would always be a special opportunity that I was able to experience. Now, everyday that I go to work, I contemplate how I would be able to leave and come back one day.