Yesterday I had to go to work in the morning. I wasn't overly happy about this, yet I also wasn't super annoyed. I was only going to be at work from 8 to noon. I just didn't want to get out of bed at 6:30.
So, I take a shower, make breakfast, take my prednisone (I have psoriasis and the steroid is part of the treatment. I'm almost done with it o(^-^)o ) and leave at 7:30. I get to work by 7:50. Though I'm early and it is technically not so legal for me to work when I haven't clocked in yet I start turning on the oven and filling the sink with sanitizer and stuff. I go and clock in, get a walkie and come back to get the food all situated in the display case and put the chairs down off the tables and whatnot.
I brew the two kinds of iced tea and am actively putting the coffee beans in the espresso hoppers when I notice a funny little reading on the screen of the machine. Remember the evil screen of death that said "Powder/Piston Error" that I wanted to murder? Well, now it said "Heating".
At first I was like, "Ok. It says that for like 4 seconds when you turn the machine on. Big whoop." But I hadn't turned the machine on. It hadn't been off. It had just been saying "Heating" for who knows how long. It won't let me pull shots.
Great.
It was 8:25 and I was finished with everything else early. The espresso machine was all that was left and it normally only took about 7 minutes.
35 minutes till open.
I pulled out the manual for it and looked up "Troubleshooting". Nothing about a heating problem.
Crap.
I was going to have to call the stupid manufacturing/ maintenance people.
One of the store managers (one of my favorites) came up with my cash drawer and I told her what was up. I said I'd be calling the company and she asked me to keep her posted.
So, I call the stupid people. The lady asks me some basic questions like my store number. She confirms the stores address. She makes sure I understand that I'm at a Seattle's Best not a Starbucks (which I told her when I was saying why I was calling, but whatever) and doesn't even really ask what's wrong. She just tells me she's calling in a work order for me which will go through somewhere between 4 and 24 hours. Yeah. 24 hours would be reeeally helpful. Uh-huh.
Crap.
After about 10 minutes the store's phone rings. I don't answer phones at work because I can't answer the questions most people have (they ask about books and what we have in stock and things. I only work with the coffee, so yeah) so I don't answer the phone. Duh. About one minute later an employee walks up and asks me to get line one. So I do.
It's a guy from the matenance company for our area. He asks me some questions that actually seem to mater like it there's water in the grind tray (there was) or if the water that comes out when I press the rinse button is hot or not (it wasn't). He tells me that someone should be there to help in about half an hour. By this time it's 8:50. Half an hour. Let's see....That would be, say, 20 minutes after we open?
Yay!! -_-
So, I brew coffee and wait.
I also draw this. To, you know, illustrate my current state of mind.
Now might be a good time to mention that it had been raining since the night before and we were absolutely dead. I had like 3 customers in the first 30 minutes, two of which were employees and one was a regular who always gets a medium mug of medium roast with no room for cream.
So, I wander into Paperchase (the section of Borders that has cute notebooks and markers and stuffed animals and things. In our store it also just so happens to be right by the cafe) and start organizing it. By this point the rain had turned into really huge snowflakes.
At 9:30 the guy shows up. He takes the machine apart (completely) and looks at it for a while. Apparently it has two leaks which caused electrodes (or something) to fritz (or something) which wasn't allowing the water to heat up.
By 10:30 (AAAAAAUGH!!!) he had the machine put back together after having to go out in the rain countless times to get parts and call people and ask questions and such. He said it should be working fine but he'd wait around a second to make sure.
It's only supposed to take 4 or 5 seconds for the machine to heat up (which it said it was doing now that it was put back together).
After 12 minutes of it continuing to say "Heating" the poor guy groaned and took it apart again.
And what did he find?
Another leak! Yay! D<
Now, you must remember that I am on a steroid and thus much more touchy and annoyed than usual. I was having to hold back. A lot.
So, I chat with him about how annoying it must be to have to be at our cafe for so long.
The business starts picking up and now I'm having to apologize to people who are going to simply die if they can't get their small, double, skinny, extra-hot, sugar-free vanilla latte with a packet of Splenda. Ugh.
At 11:55 the machine is finally pulling shots.
The girl who is coming in to replace me won't have to mess when any of the horrible crap I had to go through and I'm happy for her.
So, I have to go to work in one hour.
I hope nothing breaks.
I want to kill something. Lots of somethings, in fact. Maybe an entire room of somethings. Don't worry, though. You probably aren't one of them.
I went to work at noon today. I worked until 9 pm.
At around, hm, 3:30ish the stupid espresso machine decided to act up. I was trying to make a mocha or something with 3 shots. After pulling the first two a little noticed popped up on the screen. "Powder Error" it said.
What the crap? This machine has powder in it somewhere?
So, I pushed continue. The screen then displayed "Ready" and I was like, "Ya, whutevar" and then pushed the button for one shot. Then the screen said "Piston Error".
Da crap?? Where the crumdiddlies is the piston in this thing? Does it even havea piston?
This continued for a while then suddenly it started working. Thank goodness, right?
WRONG.
The freezer in the back, full of rottable food, was at 50 degrees.
Craaaaaap.
Then, at 6:45ish, the espresso machine did the whole "piston-powder" thing. I wanted to scream bloody-flapping-murder.
We couldn't fix anything. We called people to come and fix them. Nobody came. They might not come until tomorrow.
AAAAAAARRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
The girl I was working with said this to me and a customer.
"We should be called 'Seattle's Best Anything-But-Coffee'".
Kinda made me laugh. Ya know, even though I wanted to kill something(s).
So, I just needed to let that out.
The espresso machine still isn't working. The freezer is at least down to 42 degrees so the food is safe, but it's not frozen anymore which means we'll have to throw all of it out in just a couple days or it will get stale.
Crap.
Who am I kidding? Yay? About going back to school?
But seriously, I was excited about finally getting back to school after being gone for 2 and a half weeks. I got to drive my car again!! His name is Michelangelo, after the Ninja Turtle! Here's a picture^^
I love Mikey^^ He's ever so much fun to drive and his gas mileage isn't so bad either. lol. Not to mention, noooooo one else has a car like him n_______n
(back to things I got to do at school) And I got to see my friends. Yay! Oh, yeah! And I got to fail a gigantic vocabulary test, and sit through an hour and a half assembly with my neck killing me, and feel like a complete idiot in Japanese! Yay!!
What? You mean, those last few things aren't stuff I should be happy about? Well, fiddlesticks.
No, seriously. I really was happy to be back (despite all those unpleasant things). Hey, now I'll actually (hopefully) get to graduate, right?
Well, my neck really is hurting so I'm gonna get a wiggle on and go lay down somewhere. Wish I could give you a more detailed description of how my first day back went. Maybe later.
It's mighty nice outside today, by the way. I wish I wasn't broken so I could go make a fool of myself on my skateboard and get broken more seriously.
Toodles!
Oh, and if anyone (other than you, Twisted) can tell me where I got the phrase "get a wiggle on" I will do something for you....possibly involving chibies...and drawing....and cuteness........and glomps.... Once I'm better XD
