Thanks For the Memories--Fall Out Boy
Saturday, August 28, 2010
11:09 PM


5 more days until Penn! This also means 5 more days until the end of this blog and the beginning of my Tumblr. But I'll talk more about that later.

Because my summer is coming to an end pretty quickly, I have been trying to relive my childhood. College--and with it my 18th birthday on the 21st--will mark an entrance into adulthood. I'm trying to hold on to being a kid for as long as possible. I've been rereading my old diary entries lately, and it's pretty interesting to see my own growth. I have pretty consistent entries since 2004. Entries that detail my elementary days, my middle school drama, shocco, math team, friends, movies, moving, vacations, and crushes. As I relive these days, I've experienced an improvement in grammar and maturity. It seems like the only worries I had in 2004 were boy problems...and they weren't even THAT important. Haha this makes it seem like I have a lot of problems now which isn't the case either. In fact, I'm living a pretty stress-free life. I hope I don't end up losing these journals because it would be really fun to reread them later [: This also shows me that I should really blog! I'll be able to read this in the future and relive this period of my life.

Today I also said goodbye to Krispy Kreme. I never thought I would actually miss waking up at 5 and pretending to be cheerful just to sell doughnuts to cranky customers. However, I've realized that being there really shaped who I want to be. Despite the hundreds of customers we serve daily, there are several that stand out. I respect these strangers so much despite not knowing much about them. I would like to dedicate this entry to them so that one day I can reread this and remember who I want to be like at this particular moment.

1. There is one lady who comes in every week to get 2 doughnuts (one always sour cream). Despite buying very little, she always tips us even though she comes through drive thru and tipping through drive thru is unheard of. She is always cheerful and makes it such a pleasure for us to serve her. After talking to her one day, we found out that she's a nurse and absolutely loves her job. Today she came in today and talked to us about college. She even remembered that Cindy wanted to go into medicine from a previous conversation. It astounds me how she has a place for complete strangers who serve her doughnuts and remembers our conversations. Today, I told her it was our last day before going off to college and she gave us $20 as a going away present. She gave it so willingly and it was really inspirational how she can give away money without a second thought to strangers.

2. There is an Indian man who comes in every day during the week to get 4 dozens of doughnuts. He is an engineering professor down at Pitt and comes in every day to buy doughnuts for his classes. He always remembers to buy one single doughnut and never specifies which one and allows us to pick. I was curious one day and asked why he didn't choose which doughnut he wanted. He explained that the doughnut was for the receptionist and wasn't for himself. This man is extremely giving and selfless. I have so much respect for him. Apparently he's been coming here for years day in and day out buying doughnuts for his students. It's not cheap...even though we give him a discount he still pays $16 every day for them. Not only that but he always brings us food whenever he comes. Usually he brings fruits so we can have a healthy snack because he knows we don't like doughnuts. The fruits are always washed so we can eat them right out of the bag. One time, he brought us half a cheesecake (not so healthy but still delicious!). Every time he comes in, he talks to us about life and even though it is only for 5-10 minutes at a time. He is memorable. He also gave us money for college...

3. There is another lady who comes in twice a week. The first time I saw her, she asked me if I have worked in customer service before because apparently I was really bubbly haha. We talked and she left. The next time she came through drive thru and really made my day. She told me that she tells all of her friends to come to our Krispy Kreme because it was very friendly. She also calls me Ms. Smiley haha :] I found out that her son is actually getting his PhD in Physics at CMU and will be graduating soon. She asked me about college and I told her about my dreams. This is the first time I've shared my dreams with a stranger. We chatted and she told me she was going to come again to see me the next week. I'm sad I didn't get to see her this week because I called off on the day she usually came.

4. This next guy is Cindy's favorite customer because he's a truck driver. However, whenever he comes into the store his truck is always missing the tail. So it's essentially a man driving a truck head (something Cindy is fascinated with...don't know why). This man always orders 2 strawberry doughnuts and a medium hazelnut coffee. The total is somewhere around 4 dollars but he always tips a dollar. He's a truck driver making very little money...and somehow he tips every time he comes in.

Leaving Krispy Kreme was hard to do. After working for a year, I know the ins and outs of the store. I know how to serve customers and how to restock and what goes where. I know the customers and what they want. I'm just sad I won't see these customers again most likely. I can always visit the workers during my breaks but the customers...it's hard to catch them. I will miss the workers too...today Carol (she usually makes doughnuts on the days we work) and Derek (the manager) both gave us giftcards as a goodbye present. It was really thoughtful (especially Derek's hannah montana bag :p)...I know it takes a lot for them to give us these cards especially since they don't make that much to begin with. These people are truly inspirational and I really want to be as giving as they are when I'm older. Even now...I want to be like them. Hopefully I'll read this blogpost later and remember my goal.


1 comments

1 Comments:

Aww, this was so sweet. ^_^ I was wondering why your tumblr didn't have any posts. XD

You really are a bubbly person, so it's fitting to call you Ms. Smiley. :D I don't know if I'd be able to get to know my customers like you do. I've worked at a coffee shop at the hospital and I'm pretty much terrible at customer service (I think). XD

By Blogger Melissa, at August 31, 2010 at 12:31 PM  

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My name is Connie
I'm currently a Senior
This is a piece of my life. [:





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This is a tribute to my amazing parents, who often say things that make my day.

Texts

From Dad after I forgot to text/call for a day: "Lost and find connie yuan. Female. 17. Last time found at wei yuan house. Since then, we lost contact"

From Mom: "How are you going today. We miss you. Dad said your group was wired. Connie maybe was kidnapped. You know your dad himself is wired. Mom. [I think she meant "weird" [: This was after my dad dropped me off at camp and saw the mob and was freaked out.]

From Mom after I forgot to text again (oops): "Bad pang pang [fatty--my parents' nickname for me]. You lost again."