NP: Muse, Absolution (CD)

I never used to have a problem with Starbucks. Of course, there was a stretch of maybe five years where I didn't really go there, and when I did, I just got the plain-old stomach-lining-burning normal coffee rather than the myriad variations of foamy milk drinks. Sometimes a frappucino in the summer, which is what I felt like having yesterday afternoon. With all the heat and humidity, regular coffee in the afternoon doesn't seem like such a great idea.

Anyway, the whole experience was just unpleasant. There seems to be this whole weird subculture of either establishing your personality or one-upping the next coffee consumer with as many different descriptors for your order. The baristas, a social caste unique enough to warrant it's own name, feed off this with a smugness that is equally ingratiating. If I set foot in a Starbucks again, the odds of which are not great, it'll probably be for the regular joe, which I think is the only drink the simple cashiers are authorized to prepare, or the Wi-Fi access, if and when I ever get a laptop.

Will I ever get a laptop? Don't know. I desperately need to upgrade the home machine to XP, though. While I can't say definitively that Win98 is the reason for all the memory leakage, I have a strong hunch.

Speaking of coffee, damn you Dunkin' Donuts and your clever menus. A cup of coffee and a donut would be fine, but wait! For a small extra fee, TWO donuts? Who can pass that up?