Comments on: Statement http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement Daily affirmations of a word mercenary Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:56:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Patty http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement#comment-6436 Patty Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:18:26 +0000 #comment-6436 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. ;) 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. ;)

]]> By: alison http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement#comment-6431 alison Wed, 19 Apr 2006 16:18:36 +0000 #comment-6431 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. 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.

]]> By: b http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement#comment-6428 b Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:07:11 +0000 #comment-6428 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. 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.

]]> By: Ariel http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement#comment-6430 Ariel Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:05:27 +0000 #comment-6430 Yeah, huh. Maybe it <i>is</i> 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 <i>her</i> 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. 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.

]]> By: ivy http://electrolicious.com/2006/04/statement#comment-6429 ivy Tue, 18 Apr 2006 16:35:06 +0000 #comment-6429 I think it's a seattle thing. I think it’s a seattle thing.

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