Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
Statement
16Apr2006 Filed under: ObservationsGranted:
Seattle is relatively small
I’m a compuslive networker
I’ve lived mostly here for 12 years
But still:
Every single “new” person I have met in the last month has actually been connected to me via at least one other person I’ve known previously
That business contact? Turns out her barista is an old friend of mine. That friend’s roommate? Turns out she’s best friends with the exgirlfriend of an exboyfriend of my exboyfriend’s roommate’s girlfriend (who became my roommate). I realize this maybe sounds like I’m making that up as an example, but I’m not. It’s gotten to the point where, when a current friend tells me he’s going over to the warehouse we lived in five years ago to see one of our old neighbors perform a faux sermon, I can’t say anything except, “Of course you know Pastor Kaleb.”
Of course.
- Previous: Bloody easter:
- Next: If you don’t:
9 Responses to “Statement”
Leave a reply
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
You're reading a page from the archives. Check the homepage for current content.
alison
April 16th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
her barista? HER BARISTA? what kind of silly world do you live in, woman?
Sara
April 17th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
I think I can pretty much guarantee that you wouldn’t be able to connect me to anyone you know.
Unless you schmooze with Republican politicos….hmmmm.
lb
April 17th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
“Her barista” sounds pretty stupid to me as well. I don’t know though. I will have to ask my egg fryer and my bacon crisper. I own them you know.
Ariel
April 18th, 2006 at 7:22 am
Why is “her barista” so weird? If you regularly use someone’s professional services, doesn’t it make sense? I’ve been going to the same hair dresser for five years. I refer to her as “my hair dresser” and say things like “You need to get your hair dyed blue? You should totally go to my hair dresser!” When I had my taxes done this year, I did them with a guy recommended by a co-worker who had suggested, “You should go to my accountant!”
If you get your coffee pulled by the same person every morning, is it so weird to refer to her as “my barista”? You might say something like “My barista is so fucking hot — and she always knows what I want!” Or, “You got a shitty half-caf nonfat vanilla latte? You should go to my barista — she makes them perfect every time.”
Am I not understanding something here?
ivy
April 18th, 2006 at 8:35 am
I think it’s a seattle thing.
Ariel
April 18th, 2006 at 10:05 am
Yeah, huh. Maybe it is a Seattle thing. I hear people refer to “their” barista all the time. Here, people are doggedly faithful to their favorite baristas. Local alt newsweeklies give annual awards to the city’s hottest coffee artisans. The use of the possessive term her barista is less to imply that the barista is somehow property or chattel, and more a reflection of how people have committed professional relationships with the folks who lovingly prepare their daily caffeine. What else should I have said? “The barista who regularly prepares her coffee”?
But what about my doctor? My lawyer? “Ma’am, could you please let my waiter know I’m ready for the bill?” Are these professional possessives offensive, too?
The irony here, of course, is that I’m defending the language of a culture I don’t participate in. I don’t drink coffee. That said, the barista at Victrola always knows I want a big skim chai for here when I show up on Friday mornings.
b
April 18th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Since I am the example barista in this post, I thought I’d weigh in on this one.
The hair stylist thing is right on. If you go to one shop regularly enough for the employees to remember your order, you can expect there to be some loyalty or at least camaraderie somewhere along the line. But the best reason is that I call you people ‘my customers’ when you’re in the shop. I give you a delicious drug fix in the morning and you pay some of my bills. Maybe a little mutual ownership isn’t too far off.
alison
April 19th, 2006 at 8:18 am
i think it’s perfectly fine to call someone your barista. my friend jessica has a barista, i guess, as she stops for coffee at the same place every morning on the way to work. the implied ownership isn’t pejorative at all.
mostly i thought the phrase itself was funny, since i don’t ever hear anyone say “my barista.” and when i read it in this post, i got this exaggerated image of ariel’s friend having a personal barista on staff, who would come to her house and make her coffee every day. the mental picture amused me.
Patty
April 23rd, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Since I’m the business contact, I’ll weigh in as well.
See, she’s MY barista because MY ex-husband and I agreed that I got her in the divorce settlement and therefore we can’t call her OUR barista anymore. So now she’s just MY barista.
Now what I find curious is that calling her MY barista summons up (for you) a mental image of her coming over and fixing little java treats especially for me.
If I tell you that MY mechanic fixed MY car or MY doctor fixed MY ovaries, you would not make the same geographic assumption, would you? You would naturally think that MY mechanic fixed MY car at HIS garage and that MY doctor would have the common sense to use a more sterile environment than MY living room.
MY goodness.