Commercial Observation

Observation and Reflection-Starbucks

The door acts as a sort if barrier separating two completely different environments. As you cross this barrier, you go from the bitter winds biting at your skin and the sounds of angry drivers honking at one another as traffic piles up, to the calm, warm and welcoming atmosphere of Starbucks.

As you enter, your nostrils are immediately filled with the aroma of rich, warm espresso. The walls and furniture sooth you with rich earth tones of browns, reds, and oranges. The room echoes with friendly voices of employees and customers alike. It seems as though there is not a worry in the world for a single person here.

As I glance around, I notice people of all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life. The coffee house seems like a commonplace or getaway of sorts, for anyone and everyone. Near the entrance sit a mother and daughter. The daughter, sporting the latest Disney Princess apparel, looks to be about five years old. The mother, looking quite young herself, is maybe mid to late twenties. They sit together at a table sipping their drinks, cappuccino for mom and hot chocolate for daughter, obviously. The little girl take tiny sips, sticking her tongue out after each one as if having burned it, while the mother just sits there and chuckles. The begin discussing the happenings of the day, taking a walk, passing out girl scout cookies, just as dad arrives to pick them up.

On the other side of the coffee house sit two teenagers, one male and one female. It is very clear that they are on a date of some sort. They sit together in two armchairs angled towards one another. The man is dressed in a button up collared shirt striped with cool blues, purples and greens. The girl is wearing a fairly conservative jean skirt, covering three-quarters of her thighs, a brown and white polka dotted halter top covered with a tan corduroy jacket, and black open toed heels that made her at least a few inches taller. They were both quite obviously trying to impress one another. They gazed into each other eyes while deep in conversation, stopping every now and then to giggle. She then gently sets her hand on his knee as if to make some kind of connection, but they are abruptly interrupted by an employee’s voice. “Venti carmel macchiato for Julie,” he yells. She jumps up to retrieve her drink. When she returns with her drink, they pick up right where they left off.

I stand at the end of the counter, listening to the whirring of the espresso machine and the clanking of ice being shoveled into the blender, as I patiently wait for my drink. Finally, it is ready. “Grande mocha for Sylvia,” he hollers. I grab my drink and slice of pumpkin loaf and sit down at a table. I begin using my fork to slice the pumpkin loaf into chewable sized portions. With each bite, the moist and sweet pumpkin loaf leaves me wanting more. In between bites, I take sips of the warm and rich mocha. This is exactly what I need on a day like today. The door swings open from time to time, shocking my senses with the frigid wind. I take another sip to warm myself once again. On the wall next to me are three very large mirrors taking up the entire wall. The lighting is very dim, and the music being played is very mellow and relaxing, but I am unable to identify the artist.

At the table next to me sits what appears to be another collage student. She sits there listening to her I-Pod drowning out the sounds that might become distracting to her as she attempts to finish what looks to be a lengthy paper or project. She fumbles through papers, highlighting as she goes along. Then, she pulls out a Mac book and begins franticly typing. She doesn’t even budge when her drink order is called out, “Grande non-fat peppermint latte for Michelle!” The woman looks around and after only a few seconds, sets the drink on the counter and goes to make another drink. The sits there for a good five minutes untouched. Then Michelle stops typing. Realizing that her drink is ready she runs to the counter to retrieve it. When she returns, she takes a sip, sets her drink down and begins avidly typing once again.

The wind hits me again. I glance towards the door and see a woman, mid thirties. She is dressed in a dark brown two piece suit and heels. She looks very nice, as if heading to a business meeting of some kind. She walks to the counter and places her order, “One grande carmel mocha, one venti non-fat vanilla latte, one grande double white chocolate mocha, and venti peppermint latte.” After paying she walks to the end of the counter to wait. She stands there tapping her foot and checking her watch every couple minutes. She pulls out her blackberry and begins typing away. Finally, after ten minutes or so, her drinks are up. “Would you like a drink carrier for these?” the employee asks nicely. She nods her head, and once the drinks are in the carrier, she snatches them and rushes out the door.

As I take the last few drinks of my mocha, which is now very cold and mostly syrup, I think about the vast array of people that enjoy the atmosphere of the coffee shop. We tend to think as the coffee house just as a place for artists and business people, but in reality you can find people of all sorts enjoying its relaxing environment. It is the perfect place for many different activities. Whether you are on a date, spending time with your daughter or just trying to finish a paper, Starbucks is a great choice.

As my time here draws to a close, I throw away my cup and place my plate on the counter. “Thank you for coming and have a nice day,” says an employee sincerely as I walk back through the barrier. The wind slaps me in the face as I open the door. The sounds of lunch hour traffic fill the air. As I reach my car, I fight the temptation to go back inside, because this is my getaway. It is the only place where I forget the troubles of the day and just sit and enjoy a nice cup of coffee.

If I Were Stranded On a Desert Island

First off, I pretty sure that I would make sure that I am never in the position to be stuck at the bottom of a well or trapped on a desert island, because that would just really suck. That being said, if I had to choose one or the other, I would definitely be stranded on a desert island. There is a higher chance of survival there. I am not sure how I would obtain my five favorite albums if I were trapped on an island, but I guess that would be a nice perk. Assuming that I were there by myself, no one would be able to tease me about my obsession with show tunes, yet another perk. Maybe I should get stranded on a desert island.
I want you to know that this is a very difficult decision for me, but I would have to choose the following:

Aida-Original Broadway Cast
Wicked-Original Broadway Cast
Bette Midler
Titanic:The Musical
Rachmaninoff-Vespers

Aida is about your basic love triangle. Girl loves boy, who happens to be next in line for the throne, boy is supposed to marry girl, who happens to be a princess, but boy love slave girl instead. All of this set aside, the music is gorgeous and that is the main reason I am obsessed with it. Adam Pascal, who plays Radames in the original cast, has the most amazing voice and happens to be the cousin of a good friend of mine. Although I have unfortunately never gotten to meet him I feel connected to him in a sense. So although this may make me miss a special someone if he existed at this point in my life, I would have to choose Aida.

Wicked is the true reason I am a musical theatre nerd today. It is the first professional show I have ever seen. I was lucky enough to see it in New York. Ever since I walked into the Gershwin Theatre on May 3 of last year I have been absolutely hooked. Plus, it makes for a great sing along to raise your spirits when you are stranded on a desert island.

Ever since I was a child, my mother has been bombarding me with songs of Bette Midler, and have grown to love her music. It is inspiring and beautiful. I identify so well with her and love singing her music because we have the same kind of voice. No matter where I am, it makes me think of my mom, and of I were trapped it would be nice to have a little piece of my mother there with me.

Titanic:The Musical, not to be confused with Titanic the movie, is based off the true events and the lives of actual people. In Titanic the movie, most of the main characters never existed, sorry there was never a Rose or Jack. The music has a wonderful orchestra part, which acts as a sort of visual at times by bringing the events and emotions to life. I was part of this show when I was in high school so I like to pull the soundtrack out to bring back the memories of that truly wonderful show.

Although I love me some show tunes, I also enjoy classical music from time to time, especially when it comes to falling asleep at night. I find listening to Rachmaninoff to be very relaxing. It also reminds me why I do what I do, because I love making gorgeous music.

Reaction to a Quote by Cara Olson

"I cant believe it was only a year ago that I was following tour guides footsteps across campuses across the nation." Cara Olson

I completely agree with this statement. It seems as though my high school years just flew by. Those were some of the best times of my life, and as much as I am loving being here, I can't help missing high school just a little.
I can still remember walking in to Millard South High School my very first day as a terrified little freshman. I had pictures ingrained into my mind of what it would be like, you the stereotypical high school settings you always see on TV. I had pictured all of the different cliques having there own hang out spot, and never mingling with those outside there cliques. I, of course, placed myself with the nerds in this picture. I was just waiting to picked on by one of the upperclassmen.
I discovered very quickly that I was wrong. Of course, high school had its cliques, but they were not nearly as defined as the are on TV and in the movies. You could be a jock and a musician, a nerd and prom queen. I however had a hard time finding the groups that I fit in best with. I tried to play basketball, but it just wasn't the same as it was in middle school. It was too competitive now. If you missed a shot or screwed something up, you let the whole team down. Plus, I really didn't get along with the rest of the girls on the team. I tried student government, but not enough people knew who I was to get elected. So I gave up for awhile, just hung around with some of my friends from middle school.
It wasn't until sophomore year that I finally found what I loved to do, as well as a really great group of people to be around. I signed up for Junior Varsity Choir, and absolutely loved it and was good at it too. As an alto, I loved just belting the parts. Not only was it fun, but it became a great stress reliever.
When it came time for the all-school musical, a few of my choir buddies convinced me to try out. I didn't make the cast, but decided to do tech crew instead. This was one of the best decisions of my life. During the run of that show, I discovered my passion for music and theatre and made some of my very best friends. I continued to do music and theatre all throughout high school and grew closer and closer to these people everyday. The performing arts department was not just a group of friends to me anymore; they were my family.
They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life and I owe everything to them and our art. They truly made me the person I am today.