christmas gifts from customers

Over the past few days, me and my Starbucks coworkers have gotten a lot of gifts from our customers!

- Me and my shift supervisor both got a beautiful mirror and $25 gift card from Sephora from our 6:30am customer (grande soy latte & grande soy caramel macchiato)
- Everyone in the morning crew (about 6-7 of us) got $10 cash from grande soy misto lady
- People in the afternoon crew got gourmet chocolates from these twogrande unsweetened ice coffee guys
- Venti bold guy stuck a $20 bill in the tip jar
- Venti skim chai guy stuck a $50 bill in the tip jar

I think there's more, but this is all I know about. What conclusion does this lead me to make?  That they're generous? Kind? Thoughtful? Yeah, I guess, but more than that...

OUR CUSTOMERS ARE CRAZY RICH!

It's ridiculous! I guess it makes sense, though, since these are the people who work near Wall St. and come in every day and spend anywhere between $3-10 each visit. It's ridiculous, isn't it?

Anyway, merry Christmas Eve eve!

christmas countdown: #1 - priscilla ahn's "silent night"

Is Christmas really this Saturday?? Maybe this is how it is for work people (not school people). For school people, there are exams, an actual winter break. I guess that makes sense because this year is the first year for me that I'm not in school, teaching in a school or, uh, married to someone in school. So Christmas just comes and goes, and the anticipation is whatever you make of it. One thing I'm doing to get in the spirit is that I'm listening to as much Christmas music as I can.

And it's songs like Priscilla Ahn's "Silent Night," my #1 Christmas song, that remind me of the beauty of that night we celebrate.



I always liked Priscilla Ahn as an indie/folk/pop (?) artist since I first heard of her, but I never knew she had the skill or the voice to arrange and sing a song like this.

Listen to all those layers! That third round of "round yon virgin"! And how all those chords come to rest when she finally says "heavenly peace." It's such an ethereal and artful song that I shuddered when ABC used it as the background to a commercial previewing their holiday episodes last year. (This song does not deserve to be brought down to the Grey's Anatomy level!!)

So that's it. This is my absolute #1 pick for unexpected Christmas songs.

A recap:

1. "Silent Night," Priscilla Ahn
2. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," Shane & Shane
3. "Do You Hear What I Hear," Nichole Nordeman
4. "It Snowed," Meaghan Smith
5. "12 Days of Christmas (Live)," Straight No Chaser
6. "Sleigh Ride", KT Tunstall
7. "Winter Song," Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
8. "(Everybody's Waitin' For) the Man With the Bag," Kay Starr
9. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack Johnson
10. "O Tannenbaum," Vince Guaraldi Trio

THE END!!

christmas countdown: #2 - shane & shane's "o come o come emmanuel"

These guys add such great drama to this really beautiful hymn. This video doesn't have the drums coming in at the second verse like it does in the mp3 I have (from the album Glory in the Highest, A Christmas Album), but it's still awesome!



Christmas is really only a week and a half away!

Esther Kang visited this week and we got to do a lot of Christmasy things! It really, really feels like Christmas here in New York City. We went to the Bryant Park holiday market and they had all of these Christmas-themed shops and even ice skating in the middle! Christmas is so beautiful!

Kind of like our wedding, there's so much anticipation leading up to Christmas, but once it's over, it's totally over! But at least Christmas happens once every year. I wish we could throw a wedding half as often. :)

christmas countdown: #3 - nichole nordeman's "do you hear what i hear"

We're getting down to the wire! Are there really only two weeks until Christmas??

For my number three pick (and number two and number one), I'm getting back to the real meaning of Christmas. Lyrically, this song doesn't say a lot, but it's about the actual birth of Jesus. Almost every other version of this song is pretty corny, and not fun to listen to because of its clunkiness and heavy-handedness. But the very cool Nichole Nordeman makes this song light, smooth, slick and even a little groovy. 

It's nowhere to be found on YouTube, but here's a link to play the whole song online for free: "Do You Hear What I Hear" by Nichole Nordeman on Yahoo Music.

Listen to those drums! Those echoes! That la-da-da interlude!

Yes, everyone. Only two more weeks until Christmas!!

christmas countdown: #4 - meaghan smith's "it snowed"

Christmas means winter. Winter means snow. So, I think we can say that songs about snow are also about Christmas.

This is the best snow day song. Can you imagine waking up to a blanket of white outside listening to this song?



3-1/2 weeks 'til Christmas.

christmas countdown: #5 - straight no chaser's "12 days of christmas (live)"

This is one of the best a cappella performances ever! And not only that, but it's the most creative Christmas medley...ever!

It's also my #5 favorite Christmas song. The mp3 is pretty great, but you really have to watch the video to get the full effect of the humor.



Straight No Chaser is an all-male a cappella group from Indiana University.

Only 4-1/2 weeks until Christmas! It's really coming!

word wednesday: espresso vs. expresso

It's espresso, not expresso.