5 lessons my latest job taught me

If you've been following me on IG or Facebook,

the odds are you would've known that I've been working in Starbucks for the past few months.

and today is officially my last day.

like every chapter in life,

i am grateful for the things my short stint in Starbucks had taught me,

here's what.

1.  go with the flow

the flow is something like this,

you're part of a team

and each of you have different roles to play, 

but you sort of play everyone's role at the same time

- if this even makes sense?

in simple English, i think it's translated as teamwork.

in my previous job at fruuze (read about it here) it was a two-partner each shift  kind of thing

so while there was a certain degree of teamwork, it was rather different from Starbucks which basically has a way bigger team.

the thing about teamwork is that it's a flow,

you either ride with it or die without it.

and this is quite the main element i learnt throughout my working experience.

x

2. you can never do everything

no matter how good you are at your jam,

you always need the help of another to make it work.

previously, i've been into planning events and sometimes,

you feel like you need your hands in everything to make sure it succeeds.

working in Starbucks taught me that being in a team means that

you allow another to help you when you have too much in your hands

and likewise you help them in return.

true, mistakes may be made,

but if its nothing too much a sincere apology can't mend

- it's not the end of the world.

x

3. smiles are contagious

have you ever noticed that Starbucks always welcome you with a huge smile 

and a loud greeting when you enter the store?

that's because smiles are contagious,

and at times important,

because where the smile is, 

that feels like home.

(okay i totally made that up, but it makes sense right. right.)

also, try smiling back the next time you're smiled to.

you'll make the person smiling to you feel happier too.
(also, it kind of sucks when you smile to someone and they just look at you like. blank)

you know.

x

4. work is work, even if it involves something you dislike

i guess when you are working, 

you may at times meet characters or things that you dislike.

that's when adaptability comes in.

ever felt like this? 

of course in my case, it is milk.

if you know me, you'll know that i loathe milk.

i remember when i told a friend that i'll be working in Starbucks back then,

she gave me this face 

 and told me - but there's milk!?

but give it time, i learnt to work my way around it,

get used to it and somehow,

milk isn't too bad after all, nothing i couldn't overcome at least.

(okay it's still gross, big time, but it's workable)

x

5. always listen

one of the ways i can illustrate this is through 

indecisive customers you meet when you're taking orders.

so keep calm, and slow down in doing your stuff,

listen and if you listen close enough,

you can avoid tons of errors, wastage and effort.

and i guess this applies to any sort of work as well.

another way of listening is to your co-partners.

as always, everyone has something to teach you.

everyone has an easier way in doing something.

listen, learn, stay humble.

unless of course if you're Kanye *rolls eyes*

x

last but not least,
i'm beyond thankful for the lovely people i've met during my short working experience at Starbucks
which made it more enjoyable.
thank you for the life lessons and guidance and friendship.
i'm glad that this part of my life has once again made me
grateful and not, regretful.
xxx

bonus:

Ian Somelhalder's smile
because you know, smiles are contagious.

x

#phoebecooks - creamy beef pasta for the ingredient-less

Hello! This is a simple recipe for creamy beef pasta for those who have minimal ingredients but a huge craving for - well beef pasta?

I got the original recipe from here but modified it due to my lack of ingredients.

the instagram version of ingredients used

Thoughts that are stranger than fiction

I just finished watching 'Stranger than Fiction' and it was beautiful.

xx

does it ever occur to you that

everything we do in life, affects someone in one way or another.

we are never the author of our (life)books and regardless of how well we plan it

- what is meant to be will be.

of course we have the occasional determination to strive towards something we call dreams,

or the odd morning you wake up and decide to grab a coffee,

meeting someone you wouldn't have met if you had decided to stay in bed instead.

subtle things we do everyday, habits, decisions - all these lead to something.

does the thought ever come to you that you being five minutes earlier saved you from a car accident?

I have.

every second and minute of our lives seems to be drafted in a way, a mere difference in reality may result in a total change of history - strange isn't it?

xx

someone once asked me, if there is a book written about your entire life, even your death, 

placed right in front of you - would you read it?

my answer to that is this.

I don't think I believe that I have a book written definitely about my life ever.

I'd like to think that it changes by the day, hour, minute and second as it passes by, rewriting itself as I make decisions, meet new people, run thoughts across my head.

xx

what then is the end?

of course I always believe that out of the endless possibilities out there,

there is always a couple, if not one, route which would be the best for me.

that is when the occasional voice is needed to guide you.

it can be God, your conscience, your mother (no joke),

or that little you inside that talks to you sometimes.

but nevertheless it is rather unknown, at least for now.

but then again, now is all we have, isn't it?

xx

and to quote 'Stranger than Fiction'

'Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives'. 

*you wouldn't understand the highlighted part without reference to the movie but

it is basically little things you have in your life which more often than not goes unnoticed*

indeed,

sometimes we forget,

we let things go unnoticed,

we take people for granted.

but all in all,

if every turn at every corner shows me what I should be grateful for,

rather than what I should regret,

- I think it is a life worth living.