It’s been a while since I did one of these but they seem to be popular (every day people get to my blog by searching for “inspirational pictures”, so I’m not going to complain if it increases site traffic!), plus I enjoy finding them. The theme for this one is working hard, inspired by the fact that I’m at uni and need to work hard (despite what people might say about students!).
Don’t be so bloody daft.
There is currently an “outrage” because Starbucks, the coffee chain, have adopted in the UK a system they use in the US – asking for a customer’s first name when they take the order. Starbucks say that this is to make it a bit more personal and friendly, but there’s also a practical element to it too – rather than shouting out “Tall Latte”, which is what twenty people in the shop might be waiting for, if they call out the name, there’ll be little or no confusion as to whose it is.
Of course, Britain is now in uproar because it is just Starbucks’ way of committing identity fraud, of course, as with your first name and coffee order they can access a HUGE wealth of personal information and make you rue the day you set foot in one of their ridiculously overpriced but admittedly lovely coffee shops. As soon as they know that your first name is John, and you like to indulge in a grande mocha frappuccino with extra whipped cream, they will know your bank account details, the name of your first pet, where you live, your phone number, your National Insurance number, where you work and your Deepest Darkest Secrets.
We need to stop being so bloody stupid and spotting “conspiracies” where there are none. What crime is there in trying to be kind? When kids riot, smashing up family businesses that have been open for decades, destroying houses, tearing apart families, we say “Aww, bless, it’s not they’re fault the government is putting them at a disadvantage, they have every right to be angry”. When a barista, under orders from her boss and her company to ask you your first name (you can even make one up for heavens’ sake!), to make her job that little bit easier, to make your experience that little bit easier (ever had the humiliation of trying to walk off with someone else’s order thinking it’s yours?), and maybe even to try and make you feel that little bit happier, she suddenly becomes public enemy number one and is trying to find out every minute detail of your life.
It takes minimal energy and very little time to make up a name, and even less to just say your own. People say they are “uncomfortable” with the idea of telling someone their first name. How the hell do you fill in forms, or talk to people on the phone, or even meet new people if you don’t want someone to know your first name!? Change it if you hate it so much, or just get over it and tell them. No-one’s holding a gun to your head, forcing you to say your real name, and the world isn’t going to swallow you up if you do tell them your real name.
Why do some people seem to be so opposed to friendliness? Who cares if you’ll never see them again, who cares if you don’t particularly like the look of them, just don’t kick up a fuss – they have a job to do, they don’t care if you give your real first name, they may not particularly like you, but they’ve been asked to do it by their bosses, they might lose their jobs if they don’t and then they’ll be yet more “unemployed youth scroungers” for you to get all worked up about. You can run home and cry about it on the comments page of the Daily Mail if it irks you so badly, but remember – if you don’t like it, YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO THERE!
the life of a moomin 