I stayed home from work today with a very nasty sore throat and a mild antibiotic-induced buzz.   After sleeping straight thru most of the morning, I finally mustered the energy to check email & such.   Came across Natalie MacLean’s wonderfully descriptive article "Calling the Shots" on her introduction to life as a Starbucks barista:
The store is filled with the cacophony of caffeine: the whirr of grinders, the rap-rap-rap of metal tampers, the crinkle of coffee bags opening, the steam-locomotive hiss of the milk frothers, the clink of spoons against mugs and the sighs of customers taking their first sips. Two baristas stand in the steam between the grinding and espresso machines, pulling levers and pushing buttons. They look like characters in a Dickens factory.

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