Working for the siren has always been tough, trust me, I wore the green apron from 99-04, and we were SLAMMED. That was peak growth for the bux, but It’s nothing like now though, the menu’s bigger, the Karens are more Karen-y, and COVID. But I get it, more than those have only lived on THAT side of the counter, I promise.

I’ve also led to dark thoughts as a barista, while at the siren, then later when I came back to coffee when I was laid off during the 08 financial crisis working for another brand, Peets (fuck, that was a true shit hole, I can tell stories). That second act hurt most, I worked so hard to get out of coffee to only be led back because of economic forces out of my control. That hurt so much, and made me so depressed, it was bad.

All of that preface is to say this: if the job is leading you to those same dark places where you want to harm yourself, don’t. It’s not worth it, and there’s something better, always. Even if you feel like you can’t quit, endure and get help. I’ve been there too, I know. You are better, please trust me on that.

If you think you’re alone, you’re not. You are a part of tribe of motherfuckers strong and bold enough to don an apron day after day and do the job. You occupy rarified space. Few can do this, you are a part of special subset of humans with a skill set undervalued by the same folks that rely upon it. We have never met, but we share having been a bux bitch, and that’s like being an IRL shiny Pokémon. We are shiny Pokémon. You are a shiny Pokémon.

I can tell you that being a shiny Pokémon might not amount to much now, but can and will open doors to better opportunities. If you can sling coffee for the siren, you are destined to do more because you can, because you’ve already demonstrated you’re more capable than most on this world.

Please DM me, someone else, whatever, if you feel like you’re in that dark place with no way out. Especially this time of year, which can be hard, for lots of reasons, I know. I’m an old grey motherfucker that’s part of the tribe.