today i woke up and i went,

"shit. r2's closing down in six days."

so this will be an emotional entry.
should there be any r2 partners reading this, get ready tissue papers okay.

my journey in starbucks started officially on 14th february 2008.
while others were busy holding flowers at orchard road with their respective beaus,
i was diligently attending training at the commonwealth headquarters.
it was just pure coincidence trying out for starbucks.
i swear i was set on applying for coffeebean at kallang leisure park.
interview with the coffeebean manager was already set, but she bloody was on having her off day on my interview date.
so took the bus, and coincidentally alighted opposite sb-r2.

i never knew applying for a part-time job there changed my life.

samuel hired me on the spot.
an assistant store manager at that point of time, he was also keen on being my learning coach.
i really respected him as one, although there might be ups and downs along the way.
and thanks to him too, i had the opportunity to be a learning coach and a coffeemaster - all within six months being a barista.

and then there's noreena.
she was the first manager i worked with after being a certified barista who just clocked in sixty hours of training.
and from there, a beautiful friendship started.
i really look up to her as a good friend and a commendable manager.
we might not be meeting up as often due to her graveyard shifts at rc, but i still love her (:

kenneth was posted to my store as store manager three months after me.
it was really awkward at first working with him because he was all perky and chirpy.
and not to mention flirty with the pretty female customers too.
but he was awesome as a store manager, chinchai in a good way.
i never knew how close we were until that very day when he sat down with me and started to tell me his family problems with his wife.
a 39-year old confiding in a 21-year old!

my first learner was shammy.
shammy has practically been there for me.
spending a lot of time together in store really bonded us two together.
we have a lot of common friends which we laugh about,
and i was really touched by her willingness to lend me her listening ears when i had problems with rasyid back then.
it was really hard committing my time to train in starbucks but having problems with my relationship but shammy made it all easy (:

my next two learners were zack and wilson.
zack might have left starbucks to pursue a part-time career in selling bubble tea at tampines but the memories we have of each other are still etched in my mind.
wilson, the sweeter version of zack, was always there to offer me advice like,
"WHY MUST YOU GO BUY IPOD TOUCH FOR HIM? WORTH IT MEH??"
it was the nitty gritty details that made me remember him.

next is linda.
linda is actually a partner of wilkie edge,
and i was entrusted by samuel to train her to be a powerful barista.
she is the most bimbotic and most blur learner i can ever have!
even until now, although we are working in different stores, we still made it a point to drop by each other's stores.
she will be one of those learners i will always remember. always remember.

oh, speaking of which, she dropped by r2 that day with her boyfriend.


she loves to sit at the dustbin. dont know why.


this one best. my photography skill getting better, haha.


if anyone's wondering, the china auntie cut my hair wrongly. hence the china bangs.


sexy hor linda? but the brain a bit slow in functioning, HAHA.


suddenly my eyes turned sleepy.


wah very exciting. i got to carry hot girl on my back. woooo.


this is suffiy. he's always calling out quiche to me everytime im doing bar.


suffiy, shammy, mira. (:

i have many other partners i have to celebrate success with, but im confident they dont read my blog (i bet they dont even know i have a blog!).
so i'll end off with khairi.

khairi joined starbucks as a full-time barista in november.
i swear i only heard his name back then but never knew who he was.
he was down with chicken pox in december and it was only towards the end of the year that i got a chance to work with him.
this guy was detested when he first started.
so action! dont want talk to people, always a loner.
but im glad he opened up in due time, and started to send ferrero rocher to my house by post (:
hahaha. love you so much, chicken!

tsk. i think im tearing now.
r2, i dont think i'll be able to find another store like this.