Thoughts of coffee moments make me smile.
Reflecting, I've experienced many special coffee and cafe moments; Still, my most memorable are those spent with my best friend Racquel.
Year 1998.
It was just another morning working at the Hotel Front Desk, when an attractive, outspoken young lady arrived and asked to see my manager. She stated her name, which I identified as the person my boss told me he was expecting for an interview. I notified my boss, and he came to meet her in the hotel lobby.
Hired on the spot, my boss handed Racquel over to me, for me to give her an orientation, and an overview of what duties on the front desk entailed.
I liked her immediately, as she seemed level-headed with an aptitude for learning.
Come lunch time, Racquel and I, and another young lady on her first day on the job, all went off property to eat lunch.
While dining, my use of colourful words, had them holding their chests, as they breathed sighs of relief.
"OMG, you swear!"
said Racquel.
"Yeeees," I responded.
She laughed, and told me that I'd scared them when they met me.
I said, ME?
Racquel said, YES, you were so diplomatic at the desk; You had the biggest friendly smile, but you were very direct in looking in our eyes while telling us both good, and bad things, in no uncertain terms, (all with a big smile).
We were petrified.
Your demeanour was upright and serious, and we thought you were a perfectionist.
We were worried to make a mistake.
I said, I'm ever so sorry for that. I just think it's very important for you to know the rules and what exactly is expected of you, and the best way I believe is to tell it as it is...we hit it off as friends immediately.
A year went by, and Racquel and I were both promoted to Front Office Shift-leaders. Coincidence or not, that separated us, as we would now be working alternating shifts.
We had many things in common: Racquel loved coffee, vintage items, and stationery, and I also loved coffee, vintage items, and Italian Clothing. We would save our tips from guests, to treat ourselves accordingly, and our favourite place was a coffee shop on the resort.
Nothing fancy, but the perfect escape for us to recharge and reset our batteries.
It was a small coffee shop located in the shopping village, on the far eastern end of a 400-acre property; owned by an Austrian, the Managing Director's wife.
Bright yellow exterior, tropical shabby chic interior decor, with a few high chairs close to the pastry display, and some additional outdoor seatings.
To get to the Coffee Shop, Racquel and I would take a shuttle bus which ran every 15 minutes from the hotel lobby to the shopping village.
In the cozy, comfortable setting, we always occupied the seats by the display, as they were convenient for us to chat with the familiar barista.
We were always greeted by our names, with a friendly smile, and felt a genuine welcome.
The menu selection was small, with special concocted drinks. Our usual orders were extra large Lattes with slices of Jamaican Rum Cake.
We'd coax the barista to feed our cake with extra white rum, to enhance the taste and increase the texture. The boozy kick made the cake super delicious, and we'd sometimes order second servings.
On one particular day, there was an overlap of shifts where I'd finish a few hours before Racquel. We had arranged to have a late lunch together, and I would linger after my shift, till Racquel's shift ended.
Arriving at the coffee shop, we observed that all seats were taken, and we quickly decided that we'd still order, but have a takeaway. (not quite the same, but we were totally psyched up for the lattes). We received our orders, left, and hitched a ride on the shuttle bus back to the hotel lobby.
Racquel went straight back to working on the front desk, frequently slipping to the back office to take sips of her latte, while I offered to double check guests correspondence for Racquel, as this would enable her to leave work on time.
Retreating to the reserved small partitioned office, I locked the door, and started reviewing files; while I munched my rum cake and sipped my latte. It might have been the effects of the extra rum, but I was feeling rather warm.
Not surprising though, as my uniform was an impractical white jacket and black and white stripe short sleeve undershirt, with knee length black skirts, and dark stockings.
In an attempt to get comfortable and cool off, I removed my jacket, my shirt, and upper undergarment, and adjusted myself comfortably, to focus and accurately check all files.
On auto-pilot, Racquel unlocked the door to find me meticulously reviewing guests files in a comfortable, yet shocking state; I had forgotten that Racquel had a copy of the key to the private room.
Flabbergasted, Racquel bursed out laughing.
Me: "I'm feeling hot!"
Racquel: [Laughing uncontrollably] "Oh Camille, they're like 2 bright headlights."
Me: "I don't walk around in the sun like this, so of course, they look pale."
Racquel: Continues laughing; pops out her boobs.
We were both laughing uncontrollably.
Then came running, the other four young ladies from the front office, to find out what was going on.
Before I could even process what was happening, all ladies were standing topless, laughing and chattering loudly, comparing each others boobs.
I stood frozen, trying to make sense of what happened in a flash.
Is this what guys do at the urinal? I wondered.
In a distance, we hear the familiar rattling of keys; our cue to stand upright and look busy.
"Jingles!!😳" Said all of us in synchronised harmony; (the established nickname I'd given to our boss).
We listened apprehensively to his fumbling footsteps and jangling keys, as he approached the front desk; while we hurriedly got dressed.
Manager : Where are the ladies?
Guys Manning The Desk : At the back, sir!
Manager : What are they all doing at the back?
Guys Manning The Desk : Comparing boobs, sir!
All six of us stood at the back suppressing laughter, peeking at our manager. We watched the poor fellow holding his head with two hands in disbelief, looking as if he wanted the ground to open and swallow him.
(Our manager, was a shy devoted Church man, so handling "problems" of this nature was not his forte).
Manager: So where is Camille?
Guys Manning The Desk: Camille is at the back, sir!
Manager: And Racquel?
Guys: At the back, sir.
Manager: So how did that happen?
Guys Manning the Desk: Ask Camille Sir...
... all I wanted was to enjoy my latte and rum cake.
I have NEVER done another take-away coffee!
So you see, Coffee Shops play an important part in my life.
It's nice to sit in the comfort of coffee shops whether alone or with company. The aroma ignites the senses and lifts the mood, and triggers me to engage in conversations when I'm with friends.
Manning a virtual coffee shop excites me, and I'm always delighted to see a new post; It's like seeing a customer enter.
I love waking up to the smell of coffee. It brightens my mornings and makes me feel alive.
Breakfast in bed, does not appeal to me, as I'm a rise and shine kinda person.
I'll never forget waking up for sunrise yoga class in the Philippines. I arrived the studio enthusiastic, only to discover that the class was cancelled. Feeling a little annoyed, I sat and drank my coffee I'd taken in a flask.
Energised and feeling perky, I was just about to hop on my trike when I noticed a Spa across the street was open.
Normally I had a regular masseuse come to my home, so I thought I'd opt for a body scrub.
They offered my favourite - A Full Body Coffee Scrub.
This was my coffee in bed moment!
The room was dark as the lights were dimmed low. The pleasant smell of aromatherapy oils and fragrances were soothing my senses. The lady had a strong firm touch, and there was ambient relaxing music that drowned out loud gibberish from sidewalk idlers.
The application felt good.
Don't stop, I thought to myself before zoning out.
I was alerted by a timer, and the therapist smiled and instructed me to walk through the backdoor to the shower.
Sure, no problem! I said.
I got to the shower room, switched the lights on, and locked the door.
My eyes popped!
There was a full bucket of cold water waiting for me to shower.
I DON'T do cold showers!
There was no kettle.
There was no way around getting the coffee scrub off my body.
I twitched at every splash.
I almost died many times.
It was a brewed rude awakening.
Unforgettable coffee moments...
I thank you for reading my post; a response to a posting contest hosted by @galenkp in Cinnamon Cup Coffee community.
Of course, my post does not qualify as an entry, but I thought it would be nice to share my coffee and cafe moments stories that always bring back fond memories.
I'd love to hear yours.
Follow the guidelines to be eligible.
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the person sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
It is a very funny story of friendship. The coffee is always witness of many anecdotes and is always immersed in deep and friendly conversions.
Indeed!
These are the memories that will keep us laughing when we are very old;)
Hi Milly
Oh my word, your first coffee story had me in stitches. You must have been exceptionally warm to do that lol. Clearly warm enough that the cold shower in your second story probably would have helped in that situation.
Coffee is fantastic but I don't think we could have such awesome moments without the cool people that make it even better.
These stories are just the best to read.
Thank you!
Oh, you are absolutely right!
Yes, I think I'd have enjoyed that cold shower in the first scenario🤣
My girlfriend reminded me of this incident recently. It's funny the things we recall. She adjusting as a divorcee in a new country, yet its moments like these that we both reflect back and laugh at.
Coffee with friends are the best!
Those were the best days!;)
Omg, haha! And the entire situation wasn't even from the effect of the rum cake, was it?
Your boss' reaction was priceless 😂🤣 What a fun working environment lol
Hahahaha! It was such a funny moment. We laughed so hard. Everything happened way too fast for me to process; I was confused, and shocked.
Even if I wasn't there, and anyone heard that crazy story, it's the kind of thing I would have got the blame for anyway.
I did it in private, but I thought the others lost their minds🤣
It was unbelievable how fast all the ladies undressed in the open.
The job was very stressful and mischief was my coping mechanism.
On one occasion my boss and a preacher man came to perform an exorcism (on my flat I suppose)! He thought I was possessed.
He said he wanted better for me 🤣
Even my dad who is a preacher man would have laughed knowing that was a waste of effort and time!😂
Those were the best days;-)
Hi @millycf1976,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
Thanks for your continuous support ;-)
@millycf1976, Oh what a fun story, between sips of coffee and breasts made me interested in this story.
Thank you!
I can see the appeal;-)
Hello friend, I really liked your story, greetings
Thank you! I'm happy you liked it;-)
This is the impulsive I also have when I feel a little annoyed then have coffee, then be like " oh look there's a spa, a store, whatever really, then goes inside and getting random stuff" 🤣
Hahaha! It's therapy!😁🤣
I hope you get to join the contest ;-)
I will just read them all :D as I don't usually join contests hehe.
Ok, I understand;-)
They are a lot to choose from, so many good entries!
Love It..!
The mental visuals were an interesting use of my imagination. Although I was blinded by the bright lights... Lmao
It was almost like being there... ;-)
I bet it is🤣😊
It was the funniest unbelievable moment.
That was the only issue my boss dismissed, without wanting an explanation🤣
Thank God for best friends they are one of the bestest thing that could ever happen to a person~!😍
I love reading your stories. You have a knack for story-telling. I enjoyed this post so much. Coffee cheers to you and have a great week!😘
😊 Thank you for your kind feedback 😊😍
A great week to you too;-)
🥳🤩🥰✨🤗Yayyyyy let's all have a great week~!!
Congratulations @millycf1976! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 5000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Hello dear I hope you are well. Excuse me a question: I put a post in the coffee community and my photos can not be seen, I would like to know why that is? I am still not an expert and I don't understand many things, I would be grateful if you could clarify the doubt.@millycf1976
Hello @surglen, I just saw this now...is it sorted?
Congrats btw for honourable mentions!
Thank you, I am really touched by the mention.@millycf1976
You're welcome, well deserved 😍
Undoubtedly, this was one of the best "coffee" stories I've ever read! Bravo! 😂
oh wow! I'm glad you liked it😊
Thank you @thekittygirl ;-)