When I looked at the mail last night, I saw an envelope addressed to me from Starbucks. I opened it to find my Starbucks gold card. A gold card! And it even has my name on it! About eight months ago, I began a job that has me traveling around all day. Starbucks has free wi-fi, nice restrooms, good coffee and allows me a place other than my car to sit and do my documentation in between visits. I guess I've been patronizing them a lot.
Today, I went to the Starbucks in La Canada to show off my new card and get some coffee. "A tall coffee of the day", I began modestly, "And here's my new gold card". "Very nice," the barista replied, "but I see you only have 1 cent on your account balance". "Well, that ill befits a gold card owner", I said, whipping the last $20 bill from my wallet, "Put this on my account". I stopped short of adding, "And draw a cup for yourself, my good man".
Later in the day, I drove past Burger King. The sign in their window says that they now serve Seattle's Best coffee. A cup of Seattle's Best at Burger King costs $1.00. The same size cup at Starbucks costs $1.50. Burger King also has nice restrooms and free wi-fi, and I can sit there for just as long without being disturbed. But they'll probably never give me a gold card, which entitles me to a free drink on my birthday. I will try not to think about how many extra 50 cents per cup I will spend over the next nine months in order to earn that free drink.
This is just the kind of quandary that ties me in knots. That, and my uncertainty over how to spell "quandary."
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