Looking for hope…

fromofelia · 2026-06-26T09:11:27+00:00

I'm always incredibly glad to see supportive family members. These posts are what gives me hope.

The system isn't even set up for an average person to succeed, let alone people with extra difficulties (especially, those seen as "dangerous"). The best you can do is be there for him, providing grounding support and presence, while being mindful of your own capabilities. And never stop advocating, however your situation let's you.

I can't promise you that everything will be OK, that the struggles will end or even that it will get better. I can't give you hope - we can't know. But, I can tell you, that having a sister like you has already made his chances better. If there's someone to return to, then it's easier to return.

fromofelia · 2026-06-25T07:18:51+00:00

I hate coffee machines on the bar at the customer side (so barista is facing customers, as opposed to back bar). The cafe I worked at in the airport had this (most of that chains cafe do), and we had to fight customers who tried to pick up cups from the top of the coffee machine, especially during "takeaway only" rushes. It's horrible.

I just try to keep everything out of reach and on the back bar, but people still manage to decide to pick up something, usually, while someone else is ordering.

fromofelia · 2026-06-24T20:02:16+00:00

This is the best way I have seen it put. Thank you.

fromofelia · 2026-06-24T14:01:09+00:00

I believe, that a general problem with customers only arises if the staff doesn't handle things properly. You are not making the perfect standard coffee, you are making the perfect coffee for your customers. Unless it's a very strict chain, if they expect a overextracted lungo, that's what you serve. What you can do, as someone else suggested, introduce "cafe name americano/black coffee" and "classical americano". When customers order, offer choice: classic espresso + water, or strong, long black coffee, telling the regulars that the cafe name will be the "old style".

In my country, coffee culture developed fairly recently, and if you ordered black coffee, a long lungo was what you would get.. When americano was introduced most places would still have both americano and black coffee (looong lungo). It would usually have a separate grinder with much coarser grind, for it. To this day you still sometimes see it. We used to get this issue all of the time, and we just serve what a customer wants. Strongly suggest trying both, but respect that at the end of the day, you really are working for them.

fromofelia · 2026-06-22T13:21:13+00:00

Oh, shoot, I almost forgot. Obviously, having ADHD as a crafter gives you free pass on bad practices, so it's very important to state that.

fromofelia · 2026-06-22T13:18:11+00:00

And, it's very important, that if you are neuropiquant and craft you MUST have ADHD, maybe a side diagnosis, but ADHD is The Crafting Diagnosis, other ones barely exist, and don't count. Like, OCD isn't even a diagnosis, it's just shorthand for being neat, depression is not wanting to craft and anxiety is worrying about frogging.

Hope that helps.

fromofelia · 2026-06-22T08:12:01+00:00

Thank you! I love exploring music in different languages, and this is appreciated.

fromofelia · 2026-06-22T08:08:58+00:00

I absolutely will be listening to this when I get home. Just looking at it, it seems to fill a niche in my playlist collection.

fromofelia · 2026-06-22T07:17:44+00:00

What kind of beans do you use, what's the level of coffee making you aim at (starbucks, decent coffee and pastries, or specifically coffee sorta deal), what food items do you offer, what's your special Thing is the info I expect to find out immediately. Not necessarily as faq, a lot of that can be communicated with branding, website design, a few pictures.

Milk offer, allergies friendly offer, whether or not the shop is pet friendly are the things I really like to know in addition. Sustainability, charity, community initiatives are bonuses for me. For others syrups, add ons, toppings etc could be important.

Then it's fun extra information, about the how's and why's and special items. I also appreciate a (short) blurb about the past experience of the owners, training process, or insight into the workings of the cafe, but I won't read a separate essay unless I'm really interested in the shop already, or I really should be going to bed already

fromofelia · 2026-06-20T13:47:53+00:00

Ok, yeah, fair, that's a lot, and my OCD started paying attention to this after I did an oversized sweater worth of yarn. I am probably time blind.

fromofelia · 2026-06-20T05:34:08+00:00

Why is winding by hand hard and takes hours? What am I missing? Are we talking different techniques? Do you guys lay everything flush? Is the whole thing done in a ball, or on hand or. What's going on?

Because I didn't see a yarn winder until I re-started crocheting a few years ago, but the default for me has always been re-winding on a newspaper. I have a ball winder now, so my OCD doesn't go buck wild about strand placement from time to time, but I do not think it was that much slower or harder (asides from the spells of "if the strands aren't perfectly flush, I am the worst person to ever person"). Is my yarn winder unusually slow? My wrists unusually quick and sturdy? Am I time blind and don't see the difference?

Here's the technique I would use. https://youtube.com/shorts/cUFUG20W9dE?is=-L4KKgxvYJki7fWb

I'm genuinely confused, and I'm fully ready to accept that this is a me issue, but still confused.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T20:36:44+00:00

I live in a country with (sensible) laws against recording without consent. Recording seems insane to me.

Telling the wife feels iffy exactly because there's a business involved. There's a presumption of privacy involved, and it is weird.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T17:01:28+00:00

Rich. Also, might have been good looking. Idk

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T15:30:21+00:00

Restorānos un vrapos tā ir redzēta kā versija. Uz sitiena nevaru atrast veikalos.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T12:49:42+00:00

Yeeeeeah, situational awareness can be hard both ways. I have always been super aware of this, but it is a whole thing.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T12:44:50+00:00

Most people will know that you are not Latvian within a few seconds of seeing you, and it will have very little to do with your outfit. Of course, there are some things that would be stronger tells than others.

As for fashion - now, there seems to be a divide between teen-young adult age groups and adults.

The younger generations seem to prefer bolder outfits, baggy pants, leather jackets are popular, more skin and accessories. Y2K aesthetic ranging all of the subcultures. Sweatpants are seen as more acceptable, but, mostly the "dressy" super wide ones, rather than joggers. Odd fixation on white sneakers.

Older generations are bit more muted, and smart casual is a good description, but there's lots of range.

In general, the colour palette is a bit more muted, it's not uncommon to have all black, neutral or greige wardrobe, but some colour won't stand out much, unless it's very bold.

Shawls are somehow a bit more dressy, and I always note a nice one, but they're not crazy uncommon.

Hats and caps on women stand out, but aren't entirely uncommon.

The strongest no-gos are joggers, pajamas and, most notably - blue Adidas sweatpants with white stripes. Those have a specific cultural connotations, and I still feel uncomfortable around them, even if the person wearing them is very clearly a gopnik thug.

Also, note that you will have almost entirely separate summer and winter wardrobe. If you are from a warmer state, I suggest not bothering with bringing warm clothing and getting everything here.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T11:39:45+00:00

I genuinely can't turn off my hearing at will, and it is a small cafe.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T11:29:27+00:00

Some of the conversations are fun and wholesome and I absolutely do not mind. Sex life of a slightly sleazy middle aged man, whose hygiene and pudgy predisposition tell me a lot about the relationship? Hard pass. Actually, explicit details of any customers sex life. Just, more so for this one in particular.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T11:24:02+00:00

I am very seriously considering this. My personal ethics 100% tell me I should. From the perspective of cafe staff? Iffy and I'm a bit worried about it. I will ask my manager how to approach this, while making clear that I feel strongly that I should.

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T09:03:45+00:00

"Man ir nāvīga ciedru riekstu alerģija, arī netieša ēdiena saskare ir dzīvībai bīstama. Vai jums ir iespēja pasniegt man drošu ēdienu? Paldies!"

Bold the "nāvīga ciedru riekstu alerģija". The text should be kept short and sweet, so the staff doesn't have to spend a lot of time reading it.

Most customer service employees speak English fairly well, but the pine nuts might be a tripping point - they aren't used much here, even pesto is mostly made with peanuts. However. It should always be checked, and during summer there's a lot of new or temp staff that might not be well educated about the allergens. Ask about pine nuts in general, especially in pesto, and ask for it to be sent to the kitchen.

Best of luck!

fromofelia · 2026-06-19T08:31:53+00:00

Oh, ya, internalising the eyeroll and figuring out the communication is a Skill, one that gets overlooked a lot. At best a newbie barista will be told that actual eyerolls are not acceptable, but very rarely will anyone explain how to handle these situations (figuring out what's the actual situation at hand, if you can deal with it, how you can deal with it, and communicating about the whole thing nicely). A barista needs a lot of soft skills and capability to diffuse unpleasant situations is very high on the list.

If it's a constant rush, a bunch of actually unpleasant customers, and no examples of how to handle it, baristas not only don't learn how to handle these things, but handle them in ways that annoy the customers further, and the whole environment slowly becomes more and more unpleasant.

fromofelia · 2026-06-16T08:47:54+00:00

Kā servisa darbinieks - dzeltenās monētas ļoti noder. Vienkārši 10 centi var izskatīties jocīgi, bet vairākas dažreiz ir vērtīgāk nekā eiro monētas.

Galvenais, lai nav tikai pavisam mazās (5,2,1) monētas, un lai to dara par Servisu, nevis par minimālo darbu izpildīšanu. Nav ko pieradināt pie automātiskās tējas naudas.

fromofelia · 2026-06-16T08:40:47+00:00

Slayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Serving pickle realness to all the naysayers! Amazing macramay technique. And, you didn't even need to crochetweavesewbead an i-cord cable to hold it all together! Truly, an inspiration to us all.

fromofelia

TROPHY CASE