so i work at a coffee shop. sometimes i like it, usually i don't. but last week i had a good day and i thought i should share.

i must preface this by saying that i LOVE my regulars - the customers that come in who i know not only by name but also by high-quality espresso beverage. somehow they make my job seem worth it, like it means something. and i truly enjoy getting to know the people who come in and then choose to come back.

one of my regulars came in last thursday to get his free mocha (his punch card was finally full). i was sad to find out however that this would be his last visit in the shop - he was leaving that afternoon to go back home to san diego after spending a few months in the ham for a work project. he was such a great customer. he was a great person really...i mean he was incredibly patient when i had to work by myself and had like 4 people on the drive thru and two people up front ahead of him...he was always smiling and understanding.

so anyway we said our short goodbyes and he left. a couple of minutes later i glanced at my tip jar (which usually consists of some loose change...maybe actual paper money if i'm lucky). i had to do a double take. there were 2 twenty dollar bills in there. and they were real. i was blown away. he left me a forty dollar tip. i could not believe it. it totally made my day...it made my week. some people can be so overwhelmingly kind. i mean i get excited when i get a dollar tip...especially when it comes from somene on the drive thru...but $40? amazing.

(and no i did not flirt with him :) )