"POWER" BREAKFAST

Life has gotten complicated I know, but sometimes when good things happen in small ways, I am reminded why I believe in Karma and metaphysical phenomena .

My visit to Starbucks this morning went something like this...

1. When Mistakes Align to Cancel Each Other
After ordering a tall coffee and a bacon-egg-smoked Gouda sandwich, I remembered that I forgot to ask for the bold brew of coffee. (If you don't go to Starbucks, understand that when you don't specify what kind of coffee you want, they pour Pike Place. It's OK but it's under roasted and designed for cream and sugar - comes up a little short for my black coffee drinking taste.)

So I asked my barista Jenna (not her real name*) if she could make that the bold. But somewhere between not quite hearing me and saying something I didn't understand, she had already filled the cup, so I said "never mind" (my mistake).

Jenna handed me the coffee, saying, "Sorry. I poured you a bold because it was fresher."

"That's actually what I meant to ask for - but don't you default to Pike Place?"

"Yeah, but I messed up. I should have asked you if you would rather have the bold, but I forgot."

:-)

* Name changed to protect her identity and I don't know her real name, anyway


2. Instant Karma
Before the coffee exchange took place, and as I was entering the store, I held the door for the girl coming in behind me. Even though she was beyond the range of proximity for a natural courtesy, I waited - not because she was good looking (she was, but it was not my intent nor frame of mind) - but because I wanted to be nice. (I would take a poll of who believes me, but I already know the results).

Then later, after leaving the store with my hands full -- with my car keys and the breakfast sandwich and the coffee which had spilled onto my hand (through the stupid sippy hole in the lid), and now looking for a 3rd hand to pull napkins out of my pocket... I got back in my car. But where are my keys? After going through 2 cycles of a search pattern to find them -- not in the ignition, in my pants pocket, in my jacket pocket, on the seat -- but before I could plan a new search strategy, I saw that girl again (who I held the door for). She was backing her Audi A4 out of her parking spot and deliberately backing farther than she needed to in order to sneak one more look at me (my read, but it was obvious).

She rolled her window down. I rolled my window down. She said, "Are you looking for your keys?".

I heard the twilight zone theme song, playing in the air.

"They're on your roof".

OK.... but she had to have been looking at me already to have noticed the keys. :-)