Pocket Lint

    Premium Matcha Maiko Cafe      One random night at the Premium Matcha Maiko Cafe, I was on the register taking orders, when that infamous tip request flashes on the customers screen. It's not a spoken rule or anything, but I'm sure that stereotype of food workers subtly turning away from the customers gaze when the tip screen appears doesn't sound like a foreign experience. I find myself unconsciously doing it; whether it's my eyes turning to the right to see if more customers walk through the door or if it's my eyes turning to the left to see if my fellow employees are doing okay in this evening rush.     People never mention the tip screen. It just becomes a small two second timeout where everyone has to make a sudden awkward decision. Do I tip them or no? Being on the receiving end, my instinct is to turn away because I know this decision is held entirely by this customer and that I shouldn't do anything to interfere with this ritual.  ...

    "And can I get a name for this order?"      "Oh--yeah, my name is Ben."      My name is not Ben . It's nowhere near Ben . I would not like to be named Ben . My name is Linton, coming from Lin (林), being my mother's maiden name. Now, my name isn't exactly a Chinese name, but it's also not exactly an American one.  Latte from Cafe Immortelle, which ended up being my top choice.     I've been "cafe-hopping" for the past month in hopes of finding a 10/10 cafe. Whether it be going to study or to just simply have a cup of coffee, I always find it fun to go to a new place to critique their vibes. Cafes have a reputation for being calm, aesthetic, and most importantly, inviting. A cafe can't possibly make their customers feel laid-back if they aren't hospitable enough, so top-tier customer service is required.      One very common aspect of said "top-tier customer service" is one simple question at the end of the ord...

Life happens much too quickly for us to hold onto materialistic things.   I saw this guy having a lot of fun even though  he was simply riding an electric scooter      I originally got this idea from a line in Frank Ocean's White Ferrari, the 14th track in his album, Blonde. "Mind over matter is magic, I do magic", promotes this ideology that detachment from possessions overtakes valuing materialistic things. By labelling it as magic , he says that the effects of adopting the ideology apply as effectively as magic.        The physical forms of wealth and success won't amount to how much fulfillment you could get from making real memories by living in the present. But what does it really mean to live in the present? Does it mean living to your fullest? Does it mean living without thinking about the past and future? To me, living in the present means doing things with love and intention, because simplicity and peace will nat...