Tuesday, April 04, 2006

The Venti Life

Sometimes I wish everything could just be solved by a quick trip to starbucks.
Of course, I still swear that their Tazo iced tea effectively shakes off whatever hangover I feel coming on after a long night of party-hearty-ing. But nowadays, even a nice free cup of coffee jelly frappuccino won't do the trick.
I am still at loose ends.

it's summer and hot as hell right now. Barring whatever threat of La Nina thats supposedly coming, the weather absolutely sucks. (Unless you live in Boracay, in which case that would be absolute heaven). The closest to the sun and fun I've had in ages are our weekly football games. I still havent decided what I am liking more right now, being inside the field and getting too hurt for my own good, or watching from the sidelines with a cool glass of iced tea. (no contest here, not when I think I might've torn my rotator muscle [again])

I am trying my darnedest not to go buy an orange popsicle right now. Everyone in the office always comes back from lunch with a waffle cone or iced treat. But I need to cut back. What the hell am I going to the gym for if I eat my way back to the weight I hate? Double negative. You hate yourself for succumbing to those killer gym fees which they hike up too often, then you put on weight that guarantees you no liberation from the bondage of organized fitness. Stupid cycle indeed.

Back to the venti, there's a starbucks in my office lobby and I can still count on one hand the number of times that place has ever robbed me blind (just once, when i was having my fortune read cuz we couldnt find a suitable area for a reading, and all other times were for business meetings). Truth is, despite the abominable pricing, they have pretty yummy stuff. Their strawberries & cream frappe tastes like the authentic strawberry milkshakes I've had in the states, their coffee jelly is the good chewy kind (not the wimpy variety that jollibee has) and their guava juice is really good (especially when your running late and need a quick pick-me-upper).

A friend from the States says that their local starbucks is interested in carrying the lengua de gato (a light crumbly cookie that loosely translates into "fingers of milk")that his friend's sister makes. I told him thats pretty interesting, considering that lengua de gato is kinda commonplace over here. I remember forever buying small packs of it during recess in grade school. I think i'm just afraid I'll get hooked on it like Holy Kettle Corn and then they'll jack up the price which'll leave me going for broke again. But I guess if starbucks can get away with selling $1.25 ham & cheese croissants while Dunkin Donuts sells their superior version for only 80 cents, then anything is possible (except the chance that my salary will go up this year).

I'm not griping, I'm just bummed I'm not yuppie scum enough to afford starbucks everyday (I'd rather save up for a trip to you-know-where). There's this story about the mayonnaise jar, the golf balls, pebbles, sand and coffee grains. The story is too long to tell, but the end point was, (and I truly believe it) that no matter how busy your are, there will always be some space left in your life to grab a few cups of coffee with a good friend. And for that, I thank starbucks (and all the other under-the-radar cafes I've enjoyed kiling time in) but not for the caffeine and the calories though.

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