Tag: creativity

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Things I Learned at the Caffe

The scent of coffee lures you in, while the camaraderie you experience from the patrons makes you want to return and, perhaps, become a regular. In all public spaces, there are annoyances to be had, but in the caffe these annoyances become quirks. In this environment, all people are equal, and we co-exist in a space where improvement is inevitable. Here are a few things that I have learned, over the years of hanging out at one particular establishment in the hip area of Buffalo, NY. You know it, right?

The customer is never right
This is adverse to everything we know as customer service employees, and yet, caffe workers can get away with it for some reason. Being rude is an essential part of the job description and you rarely get in trouble for talking down to customers.

If you want to have a private conversation, go somewhere else
If you are looking for a place to discuss important matters and you don’t want the opinions of complete strangers, this is not the place to be. However, it is always possible to get new insight from the regulars. If you need to discuss private matters, this may not be the place, but if you are just discussing the events of the day, where input is welcome, feel free!

Exes can coexist in a space without fighting
There is no ownership of the caffe by any individual customer. If you go there with your significant other and then you break up, you can still go without it being weird or awkward. It is the only small space in the city that you can coexist without there being a fight. Vortex of caffeine ends animosity.

Always bring a book, even if you are not going to read
A book can be a wonderful distraction. This does not mean that you should choose a book you would not be reading in actual life, but you may not actually get through any of it. You may end up reading the same chapter three times and still not comprehend the material, but it can certainly give you a way to ignore that particular person you were hoping not to (but expecting to) see.

When using a computer, the person next to you WILL look at your screen
This is simple logistics. The tables are in very close proximity to each other. Very European. So, if you are thinking you will have privacy, you are mistaken. You can do whatever you like, but just know someone is always watching.

Anyone can be a barista, but not everyone can be a barista
Pulling espresso is an art. It takes patience to learn the correct, Italian, method. This does not mean that that one cannot learn, but not everyone has the capacity to care. Some baristas are rude, but as long as they pull a great shot it makes no difference. No amount of niceness, though, can make a bad shot, better. Therefore, the quality of the beverage trumps the poor attitude. A great shot of espresso can make you forget any snide remark that comes from the other side of the counter.

Culture is created, and revolutionized, in the caffe
History is filled with caffe culture. In the Paris of the 1920’s, art, writing, philosophy, music, sociology, dance, and intellectualism came together in the caffe’s. The great ideas of the 20th century were hashed out over shots of espresso or cups of java. The caffe provides a third space (or place), as discussed by Ray Oldenburg in The Great Good Place. This concept revolves around community building and allows for the idea that most people have a first place (home) and second place (work), which leads to the need for a third place (community space) to gather and socialize.

Prior to the internet (and wi-fi) this third space was somewhere that the majority of individuals went to share ideas and build community. This community building has declined with the advent of small computers/tablets and the ability to be in a crowded room, alone. However, there is still potential for community building, provided by these spaces, and they are invaluable parts of our neighbourhoods. Without caffe’s, there would be nowhere to gather, therefore erasing the ability to share ideas and create new concepts and expand intellectualism. The classroom is a start, but without a social space to open up the discussion, many current day concepts would fall to the wayside.

Life is worthless without time spent at the caffe
This may not be the case for everyone, but it certainly is for me. Even though you could most likely do the same activities at home, for a lot less money, nothing replaces the ability to sit in a crowded room and be alone. The level of inspiration that comes from being in public is irreplaceable. This can certainly be accomplished in other places, but nothing can replace the sights, sounds, and scents of the caffe. If you have not experienced a caffe or caffe-like setting, please do. I think you will like it. If not, at least you will have a little buzz for your effort. Take the caffeine and carry on.

Peace and Java,
Chantale

Agree? Disagree? Something I missed? Comment below to let me know YOUR thoughts!

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Find Your Calling

For 24 years, I have worked in customer service, in one capacity or another. With that many years under my belt, I can say that I have become pretty damn good at it. I am excellent at smiling through the bullshit of unreasonable requests. I am a master of making the people on the other side of the counter or telephone feel at ease. Sometimes I genuinely feel happy after assisting a customer with an issue, but most of the time I feel like my soul is draining from my body. This is what the customer service industry will do to you. Especially when customer service is not where you were meant to be, but you ended up.

That last thought makes me think of other things I am damn good at.

1. Singing: I am a mezzo soprano and I have a beautiful voice. Normally I wouldn’t be blunt or egotistical about it, but I am really very good at it. I can sing circles around other mezzos, but I do not enjoy competition or rejection. I mean, nobody truly loves those parts of performance, but if they are committed to being stars, or at the very least working singers, they will push through the crappy stuff. I didn’t want to push through the crap. I just wanted to sing and get paid for it. Instead, I gave it up to do other things that were less heart wrenching.

2. Writing: This one is a bit more difficult for me to admit. I have been told, by many people, even those not in my immediate circle, that I am an excellent writer. I suppose that is for you, the reader, to judge. However, I enjoy writing and even though it is also a very cut-throat profession, it does not require putting your entire body and soul on the line the way that performance does. It requires you putting yourself out there, through words, but there is a bit of shield involved that makes it more appealing.

3. Computers: This is most likely due to the generation I was brought up in. Most people my age have an affinity for all things tech. My interest began at an early age (6 or so) when my aunt took me to a computer class for beginners, to help her figure out her new computer, and it was all over. I was hooked. Learning to write programs, in basic, at age 8 and ingesting every computer language I could, after that. I continue to learn to this day and try to be on the edge of the new.

4. Debating: I was never on a team. In fact, I don’t believe my high school even had a debate team, although I was too busy with drama club, band, and chorus to notice. It didn’t matter though, because my mother’s family gave me an education in debate. Every holiday was a championship and I honed my skills with some of the best opponents I will ever face. This skill was very helpful my second time around in college and has also done me well on Facebook, as most of you reading this probably already know. I love being informed on as many topics as I can and using that knowledge to prove my point.

5. Research: My second bachelors degree not only helped me become a better writer, but it gave me a chance to flex my research muscles. Having done very little research in my first bachelors program (that consisted of singing, drinking massive amounts of coffee, working part time jobs, and singing some more) the Sociology program was an eye opener. It made me feel like I had not been to college the first time around, but more of a conservatory atmosphere within a SUNY school. Not as competitive as an actual conservatory, but with very little academic reading and writing. In Sociology I found that my love of the library grew and learning about new populations through participant observation gave me great insight into the world of research and the potential within. It made me rethink my future and make new decisions based on this new knowledge. And that is what college is for, right? To broaden your horizons and help you grow as a human and an intellectual.

So what do all these things add up to? At 38, they still add up to customer service. Tech support. But I am finding my calling. You have to live through a lot of crap to find your true goals. Now I have set those goals toward becoming a research librarian. This will encompass my love of research, academia, social science, and customer service. In the end, I will still be serving a population of patrons, but those patrons will be (fingers crossed) interested in learning. They will have a fire for whatever subject they are requesting documentation on. And the best part, they will not be ordering food and complaining about their order. They will not be calling me on the phone to help them fix a computer issue. They will not be asking to speak to my manager because they didn’t get their way. They will be genuinely interested in working with me to find the answers, and if they are not, I will make them interested. A good research librarian can do that and still be providing good customer service.

The most important thing that you learn, at some point in your life, is this: find what you love and do it. Don’t worry about those around you that might not believe in you. Or those that might be concerned about you taking a different path than others have. Although they most likely have your best interests at heart, they cannot always see beyond the known to the unknown. You cannot let anyone hold you back. You must move towards your dreams, not towards others dreams for you (or themselves.) This is the only way to exist in a space where you can be happy and content. If you are living for others, you will never find the peace you deserve.

Have you found your calling? How long did it take for you to figure it out? Are you still searching? Let me know in the comments!

Peace,
Chantale

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Creativity

Over the years I have lost sight of my creativity. It still exists and once in a while I use it, but overall I feel like the day to day creative is gone.  Music, writing, web design, dance, beading, barista.  There are so many creative ways in which I am able to express myself, but I tend to put all those creative outlets on hold for work.  Work that is boring and droll, but necessary.  If only there were ways to take my creativity and parlay it into a career.

I know what you are thinking – there are plenty of creative opportunities in the world.  Why have I not pursued them?  One word – debt.  The debt of credit cards and the debt of schools and the debt of cars and insurance and life.  Debt has kept me in banks and kitchens for the past 10 years.  I am on the road to debt freedom though and hopefully when I reach the end I will be able to be free to work on creative things.  Free to live a creative life without the demands that debt brings.

So, you may ask, what is the goal and how can I achieve it?  I have decided that a list is the best way to map out the road ahead and have accountability.  Also, I love lists.  So here goes…

1. Write a little everyday – this is a goal that I have set for myself many times over and it seems to fall to the wayside.  Not because I do not have time to write, but because I choose not to make time.  When I come home from work, I usually take a shower, eat dinner and then fall into a vegetative state on the couch until bedtime.  This is not what I should be doing.  Each day I should be writing a little bit for my future.  Each day I should increase the output until I am writing full columns for magazines or articles for journals or a book.  So, the goal begins with writing a little everyday and work up to writing all day, everyday, as a career.

2. Bead once a week – beading is another activity that has been placed on the back burner in order to do other things.  These other things are not career things, but lazy things.  Watching television or surfing facebook or playing online games.  Not that these activities should disappear entirely, but certainly be done less.  Beading is something I can also do as a career in the future.  I have always been in touch with online crafters, but have never fully put my own work out there.  Believing that it can be sold and that it is worthy of a price tag is step one, but once I can overcome the pricing dilemma the rest is cake.  Make necklaces, take pics, put on etsy, sell to happy buyers. This is a small thing, but it could help me to be able to make a little extra money toward debt and get me closer to the finish line.

3. Join a choir and practice – singing is something I did every single day for 5 years of my life and then it just stopped.  School was a motivating factor for me.  I was a voice major (mezzo-soprano) so I had to be on top of my game.  I needed to do a good job in front of the crowds so I practiced (a bit) and I improved day to day.  Since graduating, in 1997, I have let that part of my life slip into the background.  Yes, I joined an alumni choir and did a bit of singing for a couple years with them, but nothing like the every day practice that I used to have when I was enrolled in several music ensembles a semester.  Singing in the shower and the car does not count!  I must join a community of singers to be fully engaged in the practice.

4. Practice dance and/or yoga 3 times per week – this goal covers to things for me, creativity and health.  I have let myself go over the past 10 years.  My turn around, physically, began when I quit smoking.  It has been almost 4 years since that event and at the time I vowed to also get into shape.  At the time of quitting cigarettes I felt that I needed to give myself some time to be fully into non-smoking before trying to exercise or diet.  This past summer has motivated me to be moving more, if only by the nature of my job in a kitchen/deli.  I do not have time to sit as much as I did in school or at the banks, so I have started to lose weight.  I also have a Wii sitting idle, waiting for me to return to the fit program and do a little yoga, so that is what I must do.  Yoga a couple times per week and tap dancing on the weekends.  This is also a nice way to visit with my mom and get us both up and moving a little.

5. Create a better path for web design in my future – my current MLS program is helping me to better understand the nature of information and how we share knowledge.  Within this program there is an outlet for web developers to be emerging tech librarians.  This is the path that I hope to pursue.  With this goal in mind, at the end of my program I will be able to work in a library setting, at a help desk or on a creative team, focusing on web development and content creation.  Being a web developer has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old and went to computer camp.  Back then the web did not exist, but the beginnings of it did and for a kid that love to write lines of code (I know, nerd) the future was bright.

6. Leave food service, but retain my barista roots – there will always be a tug at my coat tails from the coffeehouse industry.  It is a “what if” that I will always wonder about. What if I opened my own place?  Would it be profitable?  Would it bomb?  In the end it is really all about the coffee and not about the business itself.  So, in order to retain this passion, I will research coffee and write about it.  I will go to coffeehouses as a recreational activity (as I already do) and I will enjoy my espresso without the worry of projection analysis and profit margins.  Coffee is something that I love and leaving it up to others to make money is the best option for me.  Enjoying it at home or in a cafe is something I can do without jumping in to another business and leaving behind the other parts of my creative life.

I have taken a couple detours on the road to success, but now I feel my path has straightened and I can move forward knowing that in the end I will be able to write, read, code, design, sing, dance, bead, and drink java within the scope of also making money and having less debt.  Tall order, but I am going to try my best to make it happen.  All it takes is a little creativity.

Peace,

Chantale (aka hippiegrrl)

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2003.5.16 – interiour design

I am thinking about going back to school. Yes, the hippie has decided it is time to get back to the creative and try to get out of this cycle of customer service hell. Ofcourse, there will be a short time where I will have to continue working in the service industry, to supplement my income, but hopefully after returning to school I can come out with something that projects me into a future with creativity and interest.

The boredom of day to day is getting me down and I think that design is just what I need in my life. A new design perhaps. Interior or Graphic. The decision has not been finalized yet. I am leaning more towards the former, merely because of my obsession with any and every design show on TLC, HGTV and The Discovery Channel. Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, Design on a Dime, Designing for the Sexes, and on and on.

If I could stay home all day and watch these shows I would be in my glory. Even better, to be able to do for a living what these designers do. I’m not talking about being on television as a designer, but just being a designer. Visiting people at home and decorating their lives. Bringing colour and light into spaces that are drab and dim. Giving new life to old rooms. All those cliched things that are used in the commercials for the above shows.

The result of design school would be a BFA degree that I could use to further my craft/design career. The major goal is to not end up in an office again after graduating.

After I received my music degree in 1997 I immediately went to work for a telephone company. It made sense at the time (for the money aspect), but when I look back on it now it was the turning point that brought me here. To a bank. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day staring at a computer screen. Sure, there are perks to working in an office on a computer. If I finish up my work early I can work on my websites or write, but overall it is depressing.

So…I am going to go back to school. The only way to do this is to say I am, rather than I think and then just do it. Now is the time and might be the only chance, so wish me luck as I embark on finding a good school and applying. Thankfully I did well in my first bachelors degree, so that will lend me a bit of credit towards a new degree.

Interiour design, here I come! Watch out, ’cause the hippie is on her way!

Peace,
Hippiegrrl