Deli Guy

As is the case with so many people, my morning coffee sets the tone for my day. Fortunately for me there is a deli down the block from where I work that makes excellent coffee and is 25-50 cents cheaper than 7-11 and Dunkin Donuts respectively. So each morning I stop there and each morning the people who work there feel the need to converse with me before I've had said cup of coffee.

This is not such a terrible offense and I realize that the people who work at the deli have no way of knowing that I am not a morning person and no reason to oblige my moods even if they did. It was even bearable when my hours were a very flexible 9-5 (with random days off) and the deli lady and I would engage in friendly banter.

Recently my hours changed and I now work 7-5 (no more leaving early, only scheduled days off). In order to be in any sort of mood to deal with my co-workers (more for their sake than mine really) I need my coffee in the morning. True coffee drinkers and non-morning people will understand why I say need instead of want; I must have my coffee if I'm going to be up earlier than 9am. Is it all in my head? Maybe it started that way, but at this point it's a full-blown caffeine addiction and any addict without their substance of choice is going to be something to recon with... but I digress.

So, since my hours have changed, the deli guy is the one who makes my coffee every morning. Prior to the hours shift I already had an aversion to him form the day I found a $20 on the floor and, being the honest moron I am, handed it over to him and watched as he promptly put it in the Tip jar. They gave me a free cup of coffee, but only after I guilted them into it saying, "If I had known you were going to do that I would have kept it for myself." I also now repeatedly tell my mother that if they didn't make such great coffee I wouldn't buy anything from "this crook."

My new hours have not gone unnoticed, in fact, every morning for the past 3 weeks since my new hours started the deli guy has felt the need to say "early today" with raised eyebrows. The first two weeks I let it go, but last week I said, "early everyday, new hours," before walking out. Apparently that wasn't enough of a cue for him though, as he felt the need to say it again today, followed by, "You do good job now."

SERIOUSLY?!

Naturally I walked out muttering colorful things, but under my breath because I can't deal with trying to find a new coffee place.

Oh and as I began writing this post and lifted the tab on my coffee lid, it spilled all over the new December page of my desk calendar. Happy Wednesday.