It's been too long

It took me awhile to write this post.  My last two weeks have been rather crazy.  This was my first weekend not working in a long time.  I was employed at Teavana for a very long time.  I really enjoyed working there, but recently working my shifts got harder and harder.  After winter break I started to lose steam.  We had to consistently push for sales, which was not my style.  Company policy was to push customers to the point where we would only relent after five no's.  In my mind this was ridiculous.  I don't know what a customer wants anymore than they do.  If somebody pressed me that much just to buy some tea, I would just leave.  After the holiday season my sales number started dropping after our customers were not as plentiful.  After struggling for the last couple months, I started looking for another job.  After I got my second job, I was ready to quit, but had some doubts.  I really wanted to take a trip to Norway this summer and contemplated working both jobs to make more money.

My first week of working double hours was not too bad.  However, the week before last Teavana scheduled me for thirty five and a half hours!  This is way more than part time and way more than somebody with a full credit load should be attempting.  I told my boss that I thought this was a bit much, but instead of helping me out, she asked me to swap shifts with someone else on Friday.  I agreed because it would free me up in the evening, and I believed I would be able to do all of my homework on Thursday night. 

When Thursday night arrived, I went to my friend's house after working.  He was familiar with the computer work I had to do, and I had the software ready to install on my computer.  This friend is a computer science major, and I figured my work would be done quickly.  I was very wrong.  I could not get the software to install.  After an hour of trouble shooting, we had to install the software on his mother's spare laptop.  Installation itself took over two hours, just transferring files to the computer.  By the time this was all finished I had to go home.  I had work at my second job in the morning.  I had until midnight to finish my homework and was very nervous now, that between working two shifts it would not get done in time.  Especially now that I had to work at Teavana earlier in the day and could not get into the computer lab if necessary. 

I slowed trudged through the parking lot, into the mall to start my shift.  I was so frustrated and the last thing I wanted to do was push people to buy tea.  I walked to the escalator and saw in front of me the girl who's shift I was supposed to be covering!  I walked into the store with her and asked her why she was there.  She said her appointment had been canceled.  But no one had thought to call me!  This was it,  the end of what I could bare.  Here I was, without the ability to do my homework and she was jsut hanging out in the mall.  I was beyond frustration and asked my assistant manager to talk with me in the back. I told her how I felt and that I would like to put in my two weeks notice.  She begged me to stay.  She told me a new manager would be coming soon and that everything would change.  She agreed that it was ridiculous that I had to come in today, and that I could go home.  I agreed to go home, but mostly just to do homework, not to think about whether or not I wanted to quit.  I knew I wanted to quit. 

The next day I went into work for my shift, having talked with family and friends the night before.  In the end it came down to this: I have a fixed amount of hours at my second job, no more, no less.  It will never interfere with school or frisbee.  It is a matter of minutes away from my house, instead of having to drive for thirty minutes both ways to work.  This was all really sealed by the fact that I no longer wanted to go to Norway over the summer.  It was not necessary for me to work so much anymore. 

I approached my manager and told her of my plans, but emphasized that I wanted to do two weeks notice because I would like to potentially work there again over the summer.  She promptly told me that I was not rehireable because my sales numbers were too low.  That is all it took.  As soon as there were enough workers in the store, I told her I was going home and left.  After months and months of tirelessly working for nothing, I was free.  I was embarrassed that I had to walk out, but there was an endless sense of relief that swept over my body as soon as I was out those doors.

This weekend I had my first free weekend and it was wonderful.  I was able to clean my entire apartment and do all of my homework.  I got to see friends and attempt to sleep in.  The whole thing was very lovely and completely worth it. 

Things I can't stand

You know what I hate? The volume buttons on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s.  I may have never climbed mount Everest, but one of the hardest things that I have done is use my fingers to tell the buttons apart.  For anyone who doesn't know, the iPhone "upgraded" from a toggle button to two separate buttons to increase or decrease the volume.  This makes it nearly impossible to determine which button is which.  I know this sounds like nothing, but when Skrillex releases his drop, precise volume control goes out the window and you run the risk of permanent ear damage from excessive WUB-WUBS.  

Making a design mistake is acceptable, even Jason Kidd misses 10% of his free throws.  BUT when apple "fixes" the iPhone 4 to make the iPhone 4s they pretend like this problem doesn't exist.  NEWS FLASH: It does!  This is what I hate! 

Thanks you,
Mary Nieting

In my free time in between playing frisbee and working the information desk at school, I work at a tea shop.  We sell over 100 different kinds of tea and I love working there.  Today I worked for a couple hours, and drank more tea that most people drink in a week.  

My favorite thing about tea is the variety you can get.  With over 100 teas that I have complete access to, I am able to make hundreds of combinations to match my mood.  Today I was in a sassy, playful mood.  I spent a lot of my trying to sneak small pieces of paper into my coworker's pockets.  By the end of the day I have 17 pieces of paper, four business cards and a paper clip buried in the various pockets of the people I work with.  

To attempt to calm my mood I made one of the rarest green teas in the world, Gyokuro Imperial and I mixed it with a jasmine Oolong.  The slightly sweet vegetal taste of the green tea pleasantly blends with the floral jasmine.  Overall it is very relaxing and my favorite blend.  If I had to choose one blend for the rest of my life, that would be it.  

Fruitier blends were the hit of today.  We have many herbal teas and one lady bought an entire pound of only herbal tea!  It may not seem like a lot, but a pound of tea is over 200 cups of tea!  She said she likes to ice it and give it to her children instead of pop.  I support this.  

It wasn't a very relaxing day, but I enjoyed my time and especially enjoyed my tea.

Directions for the Perfect Cup of Tea:

1. Identify the kind of tea you are drinking.  If it is white or green tea, steep at 175 degrees F for 2 minutes.  If it is Oolong or Black, steep at 195 degrees F for 3 minutes.  
2. To get the temperature right, bring your water to boiling.  Then add ice cubes.  For a 16 oz (standard coffee mug) add 4 ice cubes for white and green teas, 2 ice cubes for oolong and black tea.
3. Add your sugar or honey, but don't use the cheap stuff.  White granulated sugar adds a chemical flavor to your tea.  Steep for the right amount of time.  

Feel free to blend teas and experiment. Some of my favorite blends seem weird to everyone else, but I love them.     Do what you want.  Enjoy, preferably with great company or a good book.