I mean sure, it's kind of embarrassing being a barista. People assume we are a bunch of drug addict slacker losers. (Of course, some of us are. I used to work with a girl who put vodka in her Frappuccinos, smoked pot in the walk-in refrigerator, and stole everything she could get her hands on-- gallons of milk, garbage bags, even an espresso machine. And she was a manager.)

They assume we aren't qualified enough to have real jobs, or that we don't work hard, or that we live in our mothers' basements. They look at us like we're insane and talk to us like we're retarded. Twelve bucks an hour for this privilege!

And it's not like anyone is ever impressed when I say I work at Starbucks. It's a job that makes me feel mostly like a failure. A twenty-eight-year-old barista! Making my parents proud! It's not something I'm having calligraphed on my resume anytime soon.

But.

There are days like today. When I spend the day working with the boy I have a crush on. When a customer who has a crush on me comes in and asks where I am. When my friend Sarah listens to the whole sad sordid saga of my broken heart, and feels my pain, and makes up slow jams with me which we sing to each other for hours. ("I want to foam your latte, baby. I want to blend your Frappuccinos all night long...") When customers laugh at one of my stupid jokes like I've just made their day.

And the truth is, I don't work with a bunch of slacker losers. I work with a really special group of people. Future rock stars and former rock stars, math majors and med students, artists and writers, Midwestern boys and California girls. One very cute blue-eyed boy. And we laugh a lot. We laugh at the crappy customers, and we laugh like hell at each other.

God knows the job's not glamorous, and it's not hard, and it's not all that important-- no matter how passionately people feel about their lattes. But sometimes, it's fun. And some days, that's exactly what I need.

The quote of the day, from the Boy of Inappropriate Age:

"You can't assume that everyone's in love with you, Mo. I mean, it's probably a pretty safe bet. But still."