Dear Starbucks. This is not goodbye, cause I still go to you from time to time.
Let’s talk about coffee shops. The ambience, the smell of coffee, the atmosphere, the space. But we all know I cannot talk about coffee without talking about writing and or reading, simultaneously, so, bear with me when I jump from one to another, alright?
Before I decided to glue myself in La Trinidad, I was a Starbucks-goer. Mostly because of the smell of coffee, and the way the place makes me write more, and feel like I was doing much with my time. It’s where I go to when I want to force myself to write, or if I have to meet someone in town, or if I was too sad for the day and needed a pick-me-up, or when I want to be surrounded by white noise (people chattering) and write some plans, plans, plans. Basically, I go to Starbucks for everything.
My go-to-Starbucks drink for any day: Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew. Not too sweet, not too bitter.
Oh, let’s not forget about the people. Yes, the people from Starbucks, and the classmates we meet along the way. It’s a different feeling when you planned to meet someone somewhere, it’s another to randomly see someone somewhere. And at Starbucks, you almost always meet someone randomly, and in this case, we call them “classmates”. We see them, we say “hi” and we all go on our way, to different meetups and different agendas. And sometimes, this is one of the biggest reasons why we go there.
But when other people gets to know your routine, it also has a bad consequence. One of the reasons why I stopped going to Starbucks is that, there are those who suddenly show up just because they know what time I’ll be there at what day. It is quite a hassle for uninvited energy and attention. I sometimes like it, but when it is becoming a habit, it also becomes a nuisance at some point.
But, things happen, and now we’re sticking to our neighborhood. Although, Starbucks will always be a part of me.
