Getting a Starbucks

   I don't even like coffee. I can force it down during the McDonalds free coffee week, but I feel like that stuff is closer to caffeinated puddle water than coffee. Whether you enjoy coffee real stylez or not though, everyone likes Starbucks. I have always liked Starbucks but this year I have noticed a frightening spike in my Starbucks consumption.
   Again, I've been a part of the Starbucks nation for a very long time. And as I am a self-proclaimed "part of the problem" on almost all fronts, I am kind of indifferent about fuelling the evil baby-killing Starbucks machine. Previously to this fall season I was but a lowly civil servant in the nation- a humble shoe shiner, or librarian probably- recently though I have progressed to the equivalent of a trendy restaurant manager, or owner of a small chain of delis in the Starbucks nation. I don't quite know how I feel about that, but I know my wallet doesn't like it.
   Its not even that I could alternatively just make coffee at home, or even make a latte at home, despite the fact that we have a cappucino-maker in my apartment. Its not about getting a caffeine/ latte fix; its about getting a Starbucks fix. You make, brew or drink a coffee. You get a Starbucks. Even the language of Starbucks is exclusively its own thing. The name "Starbucks" is not just a synonym for coffee, but all other Starbucks products, the experience you have at the franchise and possibly even the employees themselves (as one of my university professors suggested). For me its no longer about drinking beverages as it was when I was a humble shoe shiner in the ranks of the Starbucks nation; its "getting a Starbucks". The "getting" is really what I'm getting at (see what I did there?). The Starbucks is a tangible thing to be with and without. I just finished my last sip of chai latte as I wrote that, and naturally, I am now as empty as the cup sitting beside me. Thank god its Christmas now (according to Starbucks) and I can justify getting Starbucks more frequently until I resort to leaving my credit card at home when I pass through campus.