Coffee and Christmas

(photo from Coffee Mood)

I treated myself to a tall Toffee Nut Latte for my first taste of Christmas at Starbucks. Toffee Nut is the only one in their Christmas series that I buy. This particular cup comforted me. The very mild coffee jolt, the hint of toffee, the nutty aftertaste -- all blended in with my after-work exhaustion and turned into a homey, peaceful feeling. The day seemed in no hurry to begin, no thanks to the gray clouds smearing up the sky, no thanks to the drizzle which, however much intending to be propitious, still seemed like an unwelcome intruder to most, me included. Like most people, I have an aversion to rain. It depresses me, dulls my energy, slumps me down to melancholia. But this morning, the coffee acted as balm. The aches didn't seem as salient.

And so, I sipped away, thinking of the blue-and-silver tree in the office, loving the lack of greens and reds and yellows in it, wondering if this Christmas was going to hold any magic, at all.

Me. Me. Me.

Vantage Couch

Ted Neeley, "Gethsemane"

Slim, 40-something, Caucasian woman in a tie-dyed sleeveless top, sitting very straight and very tall. She is eating a muffin and sipping some iced, tea-like drink. She is reading something from her laptop. Or maybe she's just staring at the screen. Freckled arms. Shoulder-length, auburn, wavy hair. Very pretty bag, zebra print, red handles. It is lying carelessly on the floor.

Keri Hilson and Kanye west, "Knock You Down"
Skip.

Simply Red, "Fairground"
Good enough.

Man who looks like Santa Claus (hair, moustache and beard all white as snow) typing something on his flip-top phone. Message to Mrs. Claus, maybe? Hurry up, dear, I'm getting bored here..

Florence and the Machine, "Drumming Song"

Oh, turns out it wasn't Mrs. Claus sir claus was waiting for, after all. Some guy who looks like Ken Watanabe (from the back, at least) arrives and sits on the couch in front of Mr. Claus. His smile is warm (I could not see Ken, but I figure he's smiling, too). They talk. Mr. Claus's eyes are blue. He has very nice, very white teeth.

Fiona Apple, "Waltz"

Teen-aged girl reading Tuesdays With Morrie. Green shirt with white piping, denim shorts, sneakers. Hair tied carelessly in a ponytail. She seems so earnest, as if she were reading something really engrossing, something really... good. Hmm. I wouldn't wanna be in her shoes.

Oh, look, there's another guy with a white beard. I was gonna say "another Claus look-alike" but I figured he looked more like some character straight out of a Dickens novel.

Edie Brickell, "Good Times"

And now, for something light...

My lunch:

After lunch:

The only thing missing was a breeze.

Caffeine update

BEFORE: Double tall mocha, please.

NOW: Double, non-fat, no whipped cream, 2 packs Splenda,tall mocha, please.

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. -T.S. Eliot-

Last Saturday, I received what was probably one of the best news via text message that I've gotten in a long, long while:

AN ENTIRE WEEK OF FREE COFFEE FROM STARBUCKS!!!


Life is great!


Cheers, darlings! I leave you with this very amusing attempt at balladry by some anonymous chap (or girl, for that matter):

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal™:
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.
(source: quotegarden.com)

Another Win

Last night, I collected my prize for another bet I had recently won against one of my favorite opponents in debates, Wowoo. The deal was that if I won, he was gonna buy me coffee, so I asked for a tall (I should have asked for grande, darn it) cup of Starbucks latte in White Mocha Mocha.

We were arguing, last Saturday, about The 38th Parallel, the dividing line between North and South Korea. Wowoo said its name was "38th degrees Parallel" while I stuck to my guns with "The 38th Parallel."

Oh, how sweet victory is.

And bragging rights, sweeter.
:)

Finally.

The box...

The planner and the pen that came with it...

A new card, with 6 stickers...

10 more stickers to go and then I'll have another planner. Will probably get the blue one so I can give it to my Dad or either of my brothers.

This giddiness wouldn't make a lot of sense to most, but to the Starbucks addict, getting a Starbucks planner is comparable to the happiness a little girl feels when the Barbie doll Mommy promised to buy her is finally, after weeks or so of waiting, in her eager little hands.

I love it, love it, love it.
Happy!
:P

3 more cups of coffee to go...

...and I'll be getting my Starbucks 2009 planner!

It'll be the red one for me.

Yoohooey! I can't wait!

Thanks to the very supportive people who helped me fill up the card--Rowell, EJ, Migs, and JM. First thing I'll do once I get the planner will be to write down your names on the first page!
;p