WHC-123

Dom: This email touched me so much that i wanted to read it again some time in the future and share it with all my friends too.

By Luke Barrett

Bruz’s,

I wanted to say a few words before I take off, never to be seen again (relax, take a deep breath, I’ll be back).

As an abstract (a brief summary of an article) I guess all I really want to say thanks. So if you’re busy, maybe come back to this when you have a few more minutes, but in more detail, it goes like this…

I think the best way to make sense (at least for myself) is to work chronologically. So first up, I wanted to say thanks for giving me a shot and employing me. I’m sure you had your serious doubts about me (like there is with any new employee I guess) with my absurd facial hair, small build and my less-than-impressive coffee order (flat white - standard), so even from the beginning you guys took a punt with me - so thanks.

Then as I settled in and began to learn the ropes of the WHC back-man, Dom decided to start barista training with me on Sundays. I couldn’t fathom how this big dark Croatian man could work stupid hours all week, then back it up on his one day off to train a punk like me - at 7am! It was probably after the second of third one of these that my passion for coffee really became apparent. I couldn’t stop talking to Cait about the relationship between particle size and rate of extraction, or the milk clock, or whatever it was I had just learnt (I’m sure she was listening). So Dom - thanks all your time, patience and knowledge, it means a lot.

We all know how the rest played out (Doms leg exploding, Baz thrown in the deep end only to solidify his position as the Tuesday morning shots man for ever after) but there is one more thing that has lead me to appreciate every second I’ve spent at WHC so much. It struck me after we had all gone into Pizza Mario’s, then Mecca that night and I was telling mum about it. She must have said something like, “Don’t you get sick of eachother? You spend 13 hours of the day with each other working, then you all go out for dinner together, then to a coffee thing, only to do it all again the next day!” While I can see where she’s coming from, it is definitely not the case. It made me realize that in the ten or so months I’ve spent working at WHC, I’ve made some of the best friends I think I’ll ever make. I guess there were always times the boss-employee thing was evident, more often that not, work was about hanging with my mates, doing the things I love (albeit at a frantic pace).

Who knows where I’ll be in 12 months time (my visa tells me its back in Australia), and while it’s safe to say none of us want to commit to anything that far away, I want to say that if the circumstances allow, there would be no hesitation whatsoever on my behalf of coming back to the best job I’ve ever had. I respect you both immensity in your knowledge, work ethic, abilities and character that it truly has been a pleasure to work with you guys. A big thanks might have been adequate, but given the lengths you went to say goodbye to me on Saturday, I wanted to let you guys know as best I could how much I have appreciated everything.

A few more things.
Matt - attached are those two fair trade articles you wanted again.
Dom - if you were serious about hooking me up with a tamper for France, what are you doing Wednesday arvo and could I swing by yours and accept? Hope its not rude me asking but if not I’ll just need to go visit Pablo soon, thats all.
You’ll find all my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/lukebarrett29 so bookmark that one and stay in touch. I also put up some of the photo’s I look at work the other week too - some turned out alright!
And lastly, I’ll likely be in and out of the shop a few times this week, but Cait and I have agreed we’ll come in for our last extensions the morning we leave (tomorrow week)!

Thanks again guys,
Luke Barrett