In October of 2006 I got a little piece of paper in the mail, telling me of this idiot former barista who was suing Starbucks in a class-action lawsuit.  The reason?  He believed that Shift Supervisors shouldn't receive tips, that they should go only to baristas.  I was a little surprised, of course.  Being a barista at the time I didn't really worry about it, figuring that whoever was in charge would see what a crock this was, and disregard it.  When I became a Shift Supervisor, and discovered exactly how much they have to do above and beyond what a barista is responsible for, I really figured that it would never happen.  However, today while substituting at a different Starbucks, I had a customer ask if I was excited that I'd be making more tips now. 

Huh?

Front page of the LA Times today stated that Starbucks lost the lawsuit, and will be forced to pay people who have been baristas as far back as 2000 their lost tips.  That part's ok.  I was a barista for the better part of two years.  However, the corollary to this is that I will no longer be receiving them at all.  Shift Supervisors tend to work the most hours, besides the managers, who also don't get tips, so I'd assume that this will make the tips jump quite a bit.  If this makes baristas start making more money than me, I will be even more pissed than I already am.  I'm predicting that there will be a mass exodus of Supervisors from the company, unless Starbucks raises our pay accordingly.  Maybe I should ask to be demoted. 

Excuse me while I go check Craigslist again.

I cleaned out my car tonight.  I've been meaning to do it ever since I graduated from college (that would be May, 2005), but hadn't ever gotten around to it until I discovered that my sister and brother-in-law were going to need to borrow it for the day.  And put my niece's carseat in it.  So, I cleaned.  Apparently it needed it, because I found...

5 Sweaters
4 Scarves
4 Boxes of tea
3 Old college textbooks
The entire Lord of the Rings series, including The Hobbit, in a box set
2 Umbrellas
An omnibus edition of 3 books that I still haven't read
3 Books of one of my favorite children's fantasy series
2 Copies of the play I was in Senior year
17 Foam hair curlers left over from the same show
Far too many empty soda cans and various bits of useless paper
1 Starbucks apron
My Bible
1 Frying pan

Not to mention things that actually belong in my trunk.  Such as a partridge in a pear tree. 

Even though I rarely write on this thing anymore, I found a video on youtube that I just had to share. I think it actually came out a year or two ago, but since I'd never seen it, I figured I'd put it up anyway. It's an Indian (India-Indian, not Native American) Boyband version of The 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!

My first blog of more than 2 sentences in quite a while and it's about geek stuff.  Go figure.

I just heard that they're making a musical out of Spider-Man.  Yeah, that's what I said.  Apparently,
"Marvel continues to look to every entertainment medium to support the enduring popularity of our Super Heroes, and we are thrilled with the talent on board. The all star creative team - led by Julie Taymor, Bono and The Edge - is second to none and we are certain this project will delight fans of Spider-Man and new audiences alike."
Marvel Studios' chairman David Maisel

I must say, that I'm incredibly terrified.  And having visions of the Superman Musical fiasco.


In other news, Robert Jordan, the writer of the Wheel of Time series, died a few weeks ago from cancer.  I feel kinda bad saying it, but couldn't he have died *after* finishing the last one??  Having 11 books of a 12-book series is a bit of a bummer.  It also appear that he was a Christian, so there is something to be grateful for.  And in all seriousness, my thoughts are with his family and friends.

In less than 8 hours, I will be on a plane going to NY.  Wish us luck!  And safety.  And fun, of course.  ;)

Hrm.  Speaking of all that, I need to be up in 4 hours.  Sleep is probably a good thing...



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