I never actually thought this would happen to me. Despite years not regularly going to coffee shops, and never drinking coffee, I finally came to terms with the fact that I have a drink of choice at Starbucks. It comes with the realization that I go to Starbucks enough to justify having a go-to order.
The process happened rather slowly. I don’t drink coffee, so for a long time hot chocolate was the obvious choice if I happened to join some friends at a coffee shop. But now I live in San Diego, where hot drinks rarely sound very refreshing. So, via a combination of weather and Starbucks having hot chocolate that is far inferior to Caribou, hot chocolate fell out of the coffee shop rotation of drinks.
For a short while I ordered straight, unsweetened black tea. I’m not a huge fan of sweet tea, and I am a huge fan of the low price of iced tea. But one can only handle such bitterness for so long. I eventually caved and ordered myself what amounts to an Arnie Palmer: a black tea-lemonade drink, unsweetened.
I realized I had my drink when I finally learned to anticipate the question of sweetener in the tea, and began to directly state how little I wanted it during my order. Of course, the phrase “Grande black tea-lemonade, unsweetened” is not quite as absurd as other coffee drinks I’ve heard people repeat. Yet, this realization still caught me off guard somehow. I know I’ve slowly evolved into one of the many random folks you see hunched over some type of device at your local Starbucks. If I’m working remotely in another state, I typically seek out a Starbucks or similar establishment. Every week before I have concert band rehearsal, I hang out at the nearby Starbucks for at least an hour (and it’s often where I write that coming week’s blog post.) So it was strange to realize how these habits had crept up on me. Throughout college I rarely found myself in either a coffee shop or library.
But there is something to be said for having a bit of routine, something to look forward and navigate your week around. Week to week, I keep my schedule fairly fluid outside of work. But band rehearsal preceded by Starbucks has been happening for a couple of months now, ever since I was able to get out of work early on rehearsal days to beat traffic.
So here I am, sipping on my black tea-lemonade, unsweetened, on the patio. I’m tapping away on an external keyboard for my iPad. Everybody else is wrapped up in their own business, either buried in their laptops or having overly personal conversations in a rather public place. In fact, a few weeks ago I heard someone two tables down from me call someone, explaining his recent health issues and how his wife had left him ten days prior. It was not a fun conversation to hear.
But overall I like the environment of a coffee shop. Being in an area where people-watching is at a premium helps lubricate my writing wheels. It allows my mind to flow more freely, and every once in a while gives me something to write down for later consideration. Whether the idea of being a coffee shop blogger is just a placebo, or if the change of scenery does work wonders, I can continue cranking through blog posts on a weekly basis.
And fueling it all is my black tea-lemonade, unsweetened. I’m not upset with the realization, just amused by how much can change in a year.