Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Mar 30, 2015 15:18:52 GMT -8
((Admin Note: The site's location has changed since this thread!!))
Sungyong was pretty sure that the coffee machines were out to get him worse than usual today. This had not been a good shift already, and he was only halfway through it. Up until about thirty minutes earlier, he'd been fine, bouncing between cleaning things, cold drinks, and the register, but then someone had had the bright idea to put him on hot drinks. The coffee machines had already tried to dump scalding liquid on him twice in that amount of time, and they were starting to make that distressing high pitched noise that they only really seemed to make at him.
As the new shift started to come in, he started trying to discreetly look for anyone who regularly did hot drinks coming onto the floor. He would happily switch back to anything else, even cleaning duty, which his coworkers often seemed to want to get out of, to get off hot drinks. He was pretty sure that he looked slightly panicked because he'd never been good at hiding how he was feeling. His face was a traitor like that. At least he'd not been getting any complaints about the quality of the drinks he was making, which was a relief.
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Mar 30, 2015 17:50:34 GMT -8
Samnang ran a hand through his hair before washing his hands. He let out a sigh. He really didn't want to wake up today, and a part of him knew he should blame the fact that he stayed up until 3am when he knew he had to work at 9am, but he was having fun with Z and then Tumblr stole his attention and next thing he knew... bam. 3 am. This had been his life lately, which was only bad because he did still have classes and homework to do. The shift passed him on the way to grab something and told him to help Sungyong on bar. He mentally cringed at her pronunciation of his coworker's name, but Korean wasn't his first language, either. Neither was Cambodian, he thought to himself bemused, but that was beside the point. He dried off his hands and sauntered over to the bar. The poor guy looked stressed, but there weren't a lot of drinks, in retrospect. He surveyed the drinks in line. "There's about an even number, did you wanna take the cold or hot drinks?" He offered to the other man.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Mar 30, 2015 18:04:41 GMT -8
Sungyong gave his coworker a pained but relieved smile and replied, "I'll take cold drinks."
He winced as the coffee machine made the noise again and spat a bit letting out the shot of espresso, but he managed to avoid it splashing and finished the drink he was in the middle of without bodily harm. After calling out the customer's name from the cup, he snagged the next cold cup off the bar and made way for his coworker to take over the dreaded coffee machine. He noticed that his hands were shaking a little bit, and he took a moment to pause and reorient himself.
Glancing over at his coworker and taking a moment to read his name tag, he put on a slightly less forced smile and added, pronouncing the name carefully, "Thanks Samnang, you've rescued me, I think the coffee machine is out to get me." He tried to keep the muttered "again" under his breath, but he was half sure that Samnang heard it. He'd tried to keep his tone relatively light, but he was pretty sure that he seemed nearly as uncomfortable as he actually was. It was embarrassing.
As he started making cold drinks, he did start to calm down, but he kept catching himself at his nervous tics, intermittently tugging on his hair and twirling the beads on his shuzhu.
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Mar 30, 2015 18:17:37 GMT -8
Samnang could only smile as he took over hot bar, giving his coworker a shrug even though they were now pretty much back-to-back. "No worries, Sungyong." He assured the other man, careful to pronounce his name better than the shift lead had. He let out a light laugh, "I'm pretty sure we just need a new coffee machine." He jerked his hand away as the machine decided to rinse itself without his permission, then a groan. He prepped milk while waiting impatiently for the machine to finish, then began steaming one and getting a cup ready as soon as it was done. "It does things without our permission anyway. Mind of it's own, I swear." He muttered, not even sure if Sungyong would hear his mutterings. He turned around to glance at Sungyong, just waiting for things to steam or pull and noticed the other man truly looked a wreck. He kept doing nervous tics that didn't escape his notice, but his eyes drifted to the beads. He didn't know the technical name for them though, and he figured "those necklace things" wouldn't really be too appropriate, but he decided if he got a chance of downtime he'd inquire about them, as he really didn't know much about the beads and was curious to learn.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Sungyong Han on Mar 30, 2015 18:31:49 GMT -8
Sungyong glanced over at him in surprise as he went to get one of the syrups stored near the difficult machine, "That's actually a surprise, I thought it was like the one at the Claremont location that was fine with everyone but me. I'm kind of relieved. Though watch, even if they get a new one, it will still do that sort of thing at me."
Knowing that he hadn't been utterly failing at his job helped soothe his anxiety levels a little bit, and he could feel himself calming down as he worked on the much simpler task of remembering all the different combinations of cold drinks. His headache was even easing a little bit, though he was still tempted to rub at his temples every so often.
The next time he passed Samnang, he said, "I don't think that we've been on shift together before, though I've seen you on your way in. I mean I've only been at this location since December, so it's not that surprising, but I felt like I worked with almost everyone during the end of December when all the schedules were hectic."
He paused, not quite sure what to say next, and then, considering Samnang looked younger than him, though not too much, he ventured asking, "Are you a student?"
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Apr 2, 2015 7:23:39 GMT -8
Samnang let out a small laugh. "I'm sure it would simply because these machines seem to be more finicky. I wish we had a less automatic espresso machine. We have one at home that requires hand tamping the espresso and it's so much simpler when it doesn't try to have a mind of it's own." He said, exasperated. He grabbed for a cold drink, a latte, and readied it for shots so he could give it to Sungyong without the other man having to touch the espresso machine. He mused over the next comment. "Maybe in passing but my schedules tend to be weird all the time, because yes, I am a student." He said, giving Sungyong a kind, yet slightly goofy, smile.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Apr 2, 2015 21:12:06 GMT -8
Sungyong decided that Samnang had a nice smile. It was always nice to be on shifts with people who were friendly. He thought about the type of machine Samnang had described and replied, "You know, I don't think that I've ever seen a machine like that. Barely anyone I spend time around outside of work drinks coffee at all, and it all seems like an awful lot of effort for something I don't even like. That must sound weird from someone who works with the stuff."
He trailed off, still not quite sure how to keep the conversation moving. Finally, he decided that being a student was the most interesting thing to try. He added, "Are you taking any interesting classes right now? I kind of miss it, but I just graduated back in December, so sometimes I'm really glad that when I go home there aren't assignments waiting for me anymore. And I totally understand the being a student making job shifts way more complicated than necessary. My last semester was a bit of nightmare that way."
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Apr 14, 2015 15:30:35 GMT -8
Samnang shook his head. "When I first started here, the was a shift lead that refused to drink coffee. They didn't drink anything with caffeine and I was surprised she made it to shift lead because she was relatively useless, to be honest." He thought about the machine his family had at home. It was nothing special, bought because it was on sale and every kid in the house was a coffee drinker. "Once you get used to it it's not that much trouble at all." He spoke honestly. "Somehow I feel like the more expensive an espresso machine, the more issues you'll have with it." He joked, pointing accusingly as the work machine began making a low humming noise, as if trying to protest. He thought about his classes. "Not really. Just getting the general education out of the way, I guess. A part of me is excited for violin class, but students can't join it until they're a sophomore, for whatever reason..." He said, sounding a bit disgruntled about the last part.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Sungyong Han on Apr 15, 2015 3:18:36 GMT -8
Sungyong nodded about the coffee machine, "I think that the rule of the more expensive it is the less prone it is to doing exactly what it should applies to a lot of electronic devices. I mean, the printer in the music department at Pomona was constantly in some state of jammed or dysfunctional, especially if someone was trying to print one of the specialized music formats that none of the other printers on campus were really equipped for."
He perked up a bit at the mention of violin as well. He smiled at Samnang and said, "You like to play music? I was never able to stick with violin. It was one of the instruments that my parents had me play when I was a kid, and I was happy to take lessons with my best friend at first, but I just never stuck with it the way he did. Considering that he practices at home and is a concert level soloist though, well, I don't feel like I missed out that much. I play guitar still, and my minor at Uni was in music with a focus in vocals and composition, which was fun, but marginally less useful than my linguistics major, which I'm obviously using fully."
He shook his head a bit, realizing he was babbling again, and smiled at Samnang, asking, "What sorts of things do you do for fun around here? I've not been over here that long, and now that we're settling, I'm looking to try to drag my friends out of the house occasionally for things other than work."
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Apr 21, 2015 16:23:49 GMT -8
Samnang nodded in understanding, fighting with the steamer handle to keep it in the upright, off position now that he was done steaming milk. "My parents are pretty open to letting my siblings and I try new things, about a year ago I said I wanted to try violin, and they let me take lessons. I'm not really very good yet, but practice isn't as mundane as they warned me it would be." He said. He smiled at the mention of his major. "I like language but I've never really had a knack for it, if that makes any sense?" He let out a small laugh, "My best friend is half-Korean though, and he's always complaining I know more than he does." He frowned slightly, muttering more to himself, "Though now that he's taking a Korean class that could change..." He thought about what he did for fun versus what kids on his college campus did for fun. "I'm a boring college student. I mostly just hang out at coffee shops and play online. Or... cosplay... Or skateboard." He wasn't ashamed of his cosplay hobbies personally, he just knew some people - or a lot, really - found it rather weird. "My aforementioned friend is a slam poet so really it's the first one mixed in with maybe a Tumblr addiction." He admitted with a laugh.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on Apr 21, 2015 22:53:19 GMT -8
Sungyong smiled and shook his head, "Doesn't sound too boring to me. I mean, if that's boring then I was a boring college student too, except I never had the time to do anything as interesting as cosplay, though it was something that always seemed sort of fun. Back in high school, when I was skating competitively, I used to use cosplay resources when I was making costumes because my parents couldn't afford to buy a lot of the fancy things."
He dealt with a few drinks that required the blender and thus were hard to talk over before adding, "I put most of my ability with languages down to being trilingual from a very early age. It sort of came with the territory of being half-Korean, half-Chinese, and growing up near SF. I struggled with a lot of European languages though. My best friend is way better at picking up random bits and pieces than I am, but I find languages more interesting conceptually, which was why I got into linguistics."
Sungyong thought over the different things that Samnang had listed and added, "The slam poetry sounds interesting! There were sometimes events for it at the school I went to, and they were cool to be in the audience for. Also sounds like the kind of thing that I could talk at least one of my best friends into."
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on Apr 28, 2015 8:33:37 GMT -8
Samnang nodded, calling out a few drinks still on the bar before turning to face Sungyong, the crowd seeming to have died down for now. "Ohh, that's cool though! I always get excited when I can see traces of cosplay in a professional costume. It's really intriguing." He said, quickly turning and pulling out a rag from the sanitizer as their shift lead eyed the two of them suspiciously. He began cleaning the bar area. "I always envy the people that know more than one language. Both my parents moved to the US when they were really young, so learning Cambodian was never at the top of their list of things to make sure my siblings and I did. My grandparents speak it, but... quite honestly I'm not close with them." It was the truth in the simplest of terms, really. He had somewhat repaired the relationship with his grandfather, but even thinking of his grandmother made him feel a bit nauseous. "My oldest brother knows some, though. He's also most likely a genius." He was happy to switch the conversation over to his best friend, Jiuk, or Z, as he was often called. "Oh yeah. My friend tends to just recite already popular poems he likes, but lately he's been venturing into using his own poems. He's still kind of shy about them though. We're going to a poetry slam tonight, if you wanted to convince your roommate to get out of the house?" He offered, giving Sungyong a slightly crooked smile.
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Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Sungyong Han on Apr 28, 2015 22:20:53 GMT -8
Sungyong noticed that Samnang seemed uncomfortable when he brought up his family, so though the idea of discussing languages was always interesting to him, he decided to slide into one of the other areas of conversation. He shook his head about the skating costumes comment and said, "While I did skate at the international level as a junior, well the costumes are an amazing mix of super expensive stuff and clearly made at home stuff at that level, so I'd not necessarily class it as professional. I was just glad for cosplay resources online because they let me look like I had nicer costumes than I did."
After Samnang's offer, he took a moment to think over Yunjin and Hwangjun's schedules. He had gone to poetry readings and poetry slams mostly with Hwangjung in college, though Yunjin had gone to a few. Hwangjung wasn't working that evening though, so he was pretty sure he could drag his friend out. He nodded and said, "You know, I think that I can get one of them to come along with. I'll text him next time I have a quick break and see what he thinks, but going to a poetry slam sounds pretty fun."
Sungyong smiled back full force, dimples popping into view in his cheeks. He said, "I'm glad that you finally ended up on the same shift as me. First you save me from coffee machines of doom, then you find me something to do with myself for the evening."
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Starbucks Manager.
Heterosexual.
Single.
04/11/1996.
27.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Samnang Yun on May 2, 2015 14:17:00 GMT -8
Samnang's smile widened, "That's still super cool though." He waited for a response about coming to the poetry slam, and he ended up tossing the rag back into the bucket with a bit too much vigor at Sungyong's response. "Great! I'll be sure to give you the info about it during my own break." He said with a nod. He laughed at Sungyong's final words, I'm glad too! Z and I could use some new friends, anyway, maybe it was fate." He paused. "Oh, Z's the aforementioned friend, Jiuk is his real name." He said, also saying Z's full first name since Sungyong was also part Korean. He was about to say more when the shift lead asked him to switch to store support, and he nodded and slowly went about ringing out a rag, letting Sungyong get in any more comments.
((I'm thinking maybe we can wrap this one up and start a new thread with the four of them?))
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