SHould I blame the lack of blogging on the fact that I have nothing to say or no time to say it? Both, in all probability. When I have time I find things to say. It's rough going just sitting down front of a computer and writing because I think I should.
When I saw this post from Ticknart, I daresay I know what he meant by it. Sometimes it feels like I'm just taking up space so that my blog's layout doesn't look all fucked up.
So here's the news. China is now set for August. June was a little early for both me and the school. When offered the chance to get cheaper plane tickets, more money from starbucks (through stock grants from four years ago that vest in October and are still available three months after I quit) and, importantly, a little more time with my girlfriend.
The girl has moved into granma house (that's what we call this place). The original plan was that she would take Tom's room, who departs this weekend for the tenderloin district of San Francisco. (If you are going to have to brush aside a couple of crackheads to get to his apartment, don't worry about it. They won't even notice). She got kicked out a few weeks ahead of schedule, though. So we have a new girl and a new cat adapting to this place. Both of them are feeling kind of spooky so far. The girl less so than the cat.
I quit Starbucks, and I liked so much that I'm going to do it again. Seriously, I gave notice and then the next day China got bumped to August. So had to tell my boss that no, I don't quit yet.
The otherwise lovely and talented Cat, whom I can't link to, sent me an add for Starbucks line of canned espresso. Have you ever thought that canned espresso and "Eye of the Tiger" somehow go together but weren't sure why? Well there ya go. The ad is funny by the way. Anything involving "Eye of the Tiger" is.
Unless I misunderstand, I am going to China.
I still have to wait for them to contact me before I can get a visa.
So you want to hate Starbucks.
That's okay with me. I've worked for them on and off for about four years. I certainly hate Starbucks in passionate fits. But I also hate people who hate Starbucks for no good reason at all. For me it's personal. You've got to have a good reason.
The fact that Starbucks is big and successful is not a good reason. There are an awful lot of people who love to complain about things (here I'm looking at you, Berkeley). Starbucks are everywhere and that, I guess, is enough to get some people going. These people complain under the "it moved" principle. They just complain because it catches their attention.
Me and the rest of the world don't really give a crap that Starbucks is "everywhere." Ignoring the siren is about the easiest thing in the world. It's just background noise and most people can tune it out if they put their mind to it.
A related point that has some validity is that the flood of Starbucks tends to drown out smaller coffee shops. This I have some sympathy for. Personally I love to spend hours going over a newspaper listening to some weird barista's mix tape at an independent coffee shop. Nowhere in Starbucks is there a atmosphere that encourages you to sit down and waste a serious amount of time.
Still, it isn't like smaller coffee shops have disappeared. They are a little harder to find these days. I don't really mind putting in the effort and taking my chances on what might be a subpar cup of coffee. Plus all the yuppies in a rush and frappucino-seeking morons are in the Starbucks, so I can read my newspaper in peace.
The complaints about the expensiveness of the coffee at Starbucks are also misplaced. You have to keep in mind that coffee shops don't have much to sell you besides coffee, so they aren't going to sell you some below cost dreck just to get you into the store. If you don't buy super-sugary complicated drinks and choose to stick to the coffee, the prices are quite reasonable. The key here is to follow the hobos. They know that a twenty-ounce cup of coffee with a fifty-cent refill is a deal. That's why all the bums love the Starbucks.
Roasted coffee is another matter. At ten dollars a pound, I can't really figure out why anyone buys our decent but uniformly overroasted coffees. Still people do buy it. Any businessman who doesn't want to sell people something they are willing to overpay for is a damned fool.
Now that the silly reasons are eliminated, lets talk about the good reasons to hate Starbucks.
So there was a long, awkward pause in my life from the 8th to about an hour ago while I waited to be contacted about China. So now I have to go through a phone interview, and now I have to start waiting to be contacted about that.
The good news is that my passport arrived today. I am as ready as I can be as of right now.
Congratulations to Claire who is pretty much in.
Chase pigeons in an exaggerated and animated fashion, yelling "food."
Find those anti-domestic abuse signs that tell you "when you hit her, you are not just hitting her." Then hit them. The bums on the haight love that.
Acquire a rose and give it to the best person on the Haight. In our case it was a spun-out girl with a domesticated rat clinging to her hat.
Purchase a paisley lined jacket. Purchase a scotch cooler.