the day i accidentally stole from sandra bullock

so there i was listening to the news yesterday when i heard about sandy's car wreck. thankfully, she's ok. in light of the recent news, i realized i should share with you, my faithful blogees, about the time i accidentally stole from sandra bullock.

i went through a phase where i was bored during the week days because i was only traveling with music on the weekends and some nights during the weeks. so my days were sometimes boring. i decided to apply at starbucks because i figured every singer/songwriter should probably work there at least once in their lives. so i applied and got the job. i loved it and miss it.

one day when i was working at the register, i noticed someone that looked fam

iliar out of the corner of my eye. as she got closer in line i realized who it was. it was one of my fave actresses in all of hollywood, the one and only sandra bullock. usually i don't get star struck, but i'm embarrassed to say that i did that day. but in my defense, i totally kept my cool. well, kind of.

i took care of all the customers in front of her in line and then she stepped up to the register. i kept coaching myself, "lindsey, keep your cool. she's just a person. be smooth." so of course, i say the usual line, "hi. welcome to starbucks! what can i get you today?"

she answered politely and almost shyly from behind her really cute designer sunglasses, "yes, i'll have a grande lowfat latte." first of all, i was pumped that she didn't get non fat like all the other hollywood gals who carry small hypoallergenic dogs in their purses. this was my kinda girl. so in response i say smoothly, "what name can i put on the cup?" i thought that was appropriate so that she would feel normal. i didn't necessarily want her to think i knew who she was, so i wanted to ask her her name and not just assume and write "sandra" on the cup.

good thing i didn't just write her name on the cup, because she answered my question with a playful smirk "sandy." so there i was serving sandy. i'm thinking of making a made-for-tv-movie short film about what happened next. maybe it would air on lifetime right before that movie about the cheerleader who had issues with her mom so she started doing drugs and ended up in jail but was soon rescued by her 6th volleyball coach who then won the olympics. 

her drink cost around $4. sandy gave me a $20. at starbucks, we have to put $20 bills or higher in this little safe that is locked to the left of the register. so i took her $20, put it in the safe, and said, "thanks sandy, have a great day!" she seemed puzzled, at best. confused, to say the least. and she politely said (whie feeling sorry for me, i'm sure), "ma'am, i think you owe me some change."

sidenote: at this point, the line is backing up to the door. everyone has now realized who is in line. people are whispering and looking at sandra, though she is desperately trying to hide behind her sun glasses so as not to cause a scene. but there i was, causing the scene. also, at this point i should tell you that above the register, i looked totally cool. i was cool, calm, and collected. i was keeping my cool, despite the fact that below the register my knees were shaking. again, i would have never suspected that i would get star struck. but there i was, star struck. it was just so weird seeing her close up. not to mention, surprised that she was 5 foot nothin. she always looked taller in films. i reminded myself of a duck. they look so cool on the surface of a placid body of water, but underneath their little legs/webbed feet thingees are going a mile a minute. that's how it was for me: above the register, i was good to go. below, i was embarrassingly pathetic and shaking.

back to the part where i steal from her: so there i was panicking a little bit, realizing i had just put her $20 in the safe and only my manager could get it out. and i couldn't give her the change she needed because i couldn't open the cash register. it was a quandary to say the very least. so i tell sandy to hold on while i run to the back and yell to my manager, "sandra bullock needs change! sandy needs change!"

he runs to my aid, smiles sheepishly at sandy (her drink, at this point, had been ready for 5 minutes and cooling) and says, "i'm sorry sandra. lindsey is new here." he proceeded to get her $20 out and give it to her along with a service recovery coupon. that's what we give people when we do stupid things. i was needless to say embarrassed. my shot at being friends with sandy was over. there was no salvaging the what would've been a marvelous friendship. she took the $20, slipped into the corner of the store and looked down, hiding ever so smoothly. she got her drink, sipped it, and walked out. 

the store was buzzing. i was spinning and wanted to faint out of sheer disappointment in my "dealing with famous people" skills. i was a nervous wreck and i had stolen from sandra bullock. i bet the lady who hit her with her car feels a lot worse. but this, indeed, was not good. my manager wasn't pleased either, though he found humor in the ordeal.

i couldn't help but think, "sandy, you have all the money in the world. save me the embarrassment and let me keep your $20 hostage, and let's just pretend the whole thing didn't happen. chalk it up to new-employee-of-the-month." 

finally my heart stopped racing, i apologized to everyone at the store (though they were amused and frankly welcomed the debacle) and i continued working. but i'll never forget that moment. it was quite entertaining for me to be involved in, i must say.

ya know what though? after all this, i went home and God hit me with a gentle spiritual two-by-four and showed me something from the whole situation. something that impacted my life greatly and here it is:

there i was, shaking and trembling in the face of sandra bullock who just so happens to be famous because she is a good actress. but she is just a human being. she's no different than joe shmoe off the streets. sure she's beautiful and famous and rich, but she's just a person. just like you and me. yet, i trembled in her presence. my knees were shaking and i was sort-of in awe of this superstar. 

then i went to church that night and i found myself in the presence of God. guess what? i wasn't trembling. i wasn't shaking. my knees weren't knocking. frankly, that night i was bored. i sang the songs and listened to the preaching, but it barely affected me. i was in the presence of a holy righteous and perfect God, yet didn't blink an eye. He is the God of all creation and the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and i was in His presence but it had little effect on me that day. the same day that i was in the presence of a mere human and i trembled. where did i go wrong? i think i did a little of what Paul talks about in romans 1 about focusing on the created thing rather than the Creator. ouch. in that moment, God was challenging me to ask for a new revelation of His holiness. and in response i prayed a lyric from a nichole nordeman song: "o let me not forget to tremble." i would encourage you to go and read all of the lyrics from that song. just google "nichole nordeman tremble" and you'll see it. i would copy and paste it here but for some reason i am blog-challenged and haven't figured out how. 

sandy, i'm sorry for stealing from you. people in line at starbucks that day, i'm sorry for making you wait. latte, i'm sorry you got cold. roger my manager, sorry you had to come bail me out. and God, i'm most sorry for forgetting to tremble in the presence of Your holiness. make me like isaiah when He caught a glimpse of Your glory.