“You’re a Regular, Aren’t You?

I write about Starbucks so often I might as well change my blog name to The Starbucks Chronicles or something.  I am very confident that when I go back to resume my studies, I will experience some withdrawal syndrome.

I’m hooked to this:

A hot, tall, double shot, low-fat caramel macchiato, less foamy, with extra caramel.

Anyway, I was at Subang SS15 Starbucks outlet this afternoon and I was waiting for my friend/collegue to arrive.  As usual, I set up a workstation first.  Within 15 minutes, a barista came up to me and this was how the conversation went:

“Excuse me, miss.  Are you going to order something?”

“Yes, I will, in a moment.  I’m waiting for a friend first.”

10 minutes later, he walked pass my table.

“Uh, so miss, can I take your order now?”

“My friend hasn’t arrived yet.  Can you wait a moment?  I’ll be sure to order from you.”

“My manager thinks it’s rather unfair that…”

“Yeah yeah I know.  Really, trust me, I’ll order more than coffee.”

And for the few consecutive 5 minutes he kept signalling me each time he passed my table.

So…

“Hi, can I order now?”

“Yes, yes, sure.”

“I’ll have a hot, tall, double shot low-fat caramel macchiato, less foamy, with extra caramel.”

“Excuse me, a hot..double… again?”

“A hot, tall, double shot low-fat caramel macchiato, less foamy, with extra caramel.”

*writes it down*  “Anything else, miss?”

“One of those chic or cheese pastry, heat it up, but just warm.  That’s all.”

“Alright.  We’ll send your order to you.”

Few minutes later…

“Here’s your order miss.  You’re a regular, aren’t you?”

“I think I’m more than a regular.  I even know which outlet makes the best macchiato.  And look, my caramel isn’t pretty anymore.”

“I’m sorry miss.”  *smiles politely and walks away, probably cursing a thing or two under his breath.

My macchiato was too foamy.  Jane said maybe they reused the milk, while Richie said they added more foam than milk.  Either way, I didn’t want to bring it up anymore.  Like CC said last night during a chat, “My mind’s got no room for all that kind of stuff.”

Not all baristas are like that.  The ones at the Curve are a nice bunch of people.  They let us stay as long as we want, even if we don’t order anything for awhile. I was there yesterday morning, and I was served by this barista who,  I think she’s new, is very friendly.

“Hi, good morning, how can I help you?”

“I’ll have a hot, tall, double shot low-fat caramel macchiato, less foamy, with extra caramel.”

“Alright, is that all miss?”

“Yes.”

I noticed she was writing my order onto a plastic cup.

“Erm, I wanted a hot one.”

“Oh!  I’m so sorry.”

“Nah, I’m sorry you wasted one plastic cup.”

She hands me my receipt, and I noticed something.

“Erm, I asked for a double shot.”

“Oh?  I thought you asked for a double drizzle?”

“Both.”

“Oh so sorry.  *looks to her collegue*  Please add another shot for her.”

“Aren’t you going to charge me?”

“Oh no no, don’t worry about it.  I made too many mistakes already anyway.”

“Thanks a lot, you made my day.”

How can you beat a free shot of espresso? 

Who vs Who

I was at Borders waiting for some friends to arrive.  As I was browsing around the “Buy 3 for 2″ section, I noticed a book that has intrigued me ever since it has been published.  It’s “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins.

I can hear some Christians whispering, “No no no no… not that book” and non-believers with “It’s about time you read that.”

I’ve always been the curious type.  The one whose brain will not take a break from thinking and looking deeper into things that interest me, or don’t interest me.  I question a lot of things.  I question a lot of people.  I question a lot of theories.

Sometimes, I question faith too.

I wasn’t born into a Christian family, so this religion wasn’t forced unto me since birth or anything like that.  But I won’t dwell into the whole process on how I got to know Christ and try to convert my readers the way some Christians do.

Dawkins is a very proud atheist.  When I began reading the first few pages of what Dawkins had to say, I was surprised that I actually agreed with him to a certain extent.  He spoke about how religion actually became the reason why there were terrorist attacks and tragedies that happened.  And how some people in the society were perceived as less than who they are simply because they did not believe in a higher authority.

Does the phrase, “Accept Christ or you’ll go to hell” ring a bell?

I was beginning to see his point of view.  But as I read on to the second, third chapter, he challenged the power of prayer.  He stated that tests were conducted to see if prayer really worked.  For example, plants.  Some people ran a test to see if prayer would help a plant to grow faster.

If prayer worked that way, we’d all have money growing on trees, wouldn’t we?  Murderers would get out of jail free simply because they got to their knees and prayed for liberty?

Suddenly I found myself arguing with the content of the book silently.

And at one point, I stopped.  I closed the book, stared at it like it was rubbish.

I felt disgusted.  Not at Dawkins, nor the content of his book.  But at the society.

True, there are religious fanatics out there who will stop at nothing to get you to convert to their religion, and then there are a group of people who are fighting the idea of religion and call themselves atheists. They come up with their own theory of what is right and wrong, and proclaim it to the whole world.  Not all atheists are the same, some are discreet and prefer to do their own thing, just as some religious people are too.

But those who are going all out to convince others that God doesn’t exist… they are no better than those who go all out to convince that THEIR God exists and condemn other religion’s.

As a matter of fact, I’d say that these proud atheists are also a religious group of people.  They have beliefs too, with a little bit more flexibility on their side.

And suddenly, I feel tired.  I don’t want questions anymore, for now.  I’m not running away.  There’s a difference between running away and feeling tired.  Running away is leaving the battlefield, and hide your identity that no one recognises you so you can get away with responsibilities and duties for the rest of your life.  Feeling tired is putting down your sword for a moment in the middle of the battlefield, and read some chic lit.

Which was what I did.  I put the book back, and started reading Sophie Kinsella’s instead.  The first page already got me laughing.

Meet Stan

So I finally made up my mind.  It was an obvious choice, actually.  Each time I entered the Adidas store this was the first pair I would always look at.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane of the sneakers I once owned and some still have.

I’ve owned an Adidas Superstar.  That was my first pair.  The ironic thing is that that pair was pink-striped.  Haha!  Funny isn’t it?  I hate that color, yet that was my favourite pair ever.  Took months of convincing from my mom to get rid of it when it got too Hole-y and torn.  You can see its final days here.

Then I got a blue Nike Air Force One. Truth be told, I haven’t been very fair to this fella.  But I did wear a good deal of it when I was in Sydney with my parents.  The color’s slightly faded, but I’m going to wear it more often from now on.

An orange pair of Missy Elliot Adidas.  At this point, a friend of mine told me, “Only you would buy a shoe of this color!”  It was a love-at-first-sight shoe.  When I saw it and the price tag I knew I gotta have it.  It was the last pair in the store and it was the correct size for me.  And it was less than a hundred ringgit after discount.  What more could I ask for?  Poor thing have a few black spots now due to the sparks from the welding lab I had in campus.  Still wearable.

Then came along a white pair of Nike Air with a blue logo.  Comfort-wise, this stays at the top.  Probably the pair that I wore most often since I bought it.  Unfortunately, due to some carelessness in purchase, this pair didn’t last too long until the bottom of the shoe came off at the front.

And yesterday, another came to the family.  But this is most expensive pair of sneakers to date.  My first pair of Adidas Stan Smiths.

Here are a few tips from experience to consider if you ever want to purchase a pair of sneakers:

1. All-Rounder
   Look out for the stitches that hold the bottom of your shoe to its body.  Ensure that the stitches go all the way around your shoe.  The mistake I made when I bought my pair of short-lived Nike Airs was that they did not have stitches at the front, so before long, they were smiling right back at me.



2. Less is More
   If you’re like me, a buyer who gets about maximum a pair a year, consider your dressing options.  You will want a pair that will be able to suit most of what you’re wearing and will not go out of style even if you don’t change them in four years.  Plain-looking, or at most, two-colored pairs will go a long way.  Unless of course if you’re a bigger, richer sneakers fan, then you can get all those funky looking ones since you can switch as often as you like according to what you wear.
3. Save Your Ego, Spend Some Money, Save Your Feet
   Please do not think that buying those Petaling Street versions will make you cooler because you get to show those who buy genuine ones how stupid they are for paying triple the price for something that looks similar.  I challenge you to try on a pair at the market and then go try on the ones in the boutique.  They look similar but the comfort level is way different and the cheaper ones won’t last as long.  It’s alright to get them if you want variety at a cheaper price, but if you’re looking for long-term, comfy ones – save up a little bit more for much better treatment to your own feet.  Stop pretending to be an anti-commercializm supporter by saying “Aiya… Nike and Adidas not good one lah… all brand only… get those at Petaling Street enough already lah…” Believe me, getting a pair of fake Adidas doesn’t make you any less brand conscious.
   
   
4. TRY, TRY, TRY
   Don’t worry about hassling the salespeople in getting boxes of shoes that you’re not going to buy.  They’re paid to do that.  To be polite, just say “Sorry for the trouble” at the end of the day and walk out.  Like five pairs but cannot decide?  Try them all and see which one fits you most.  Some shoes may look good on display but they don’t necessarily suit you.  To me, shoes do reflect a person’s personality.  It’s like buying a book.  You may buy one where the illustration on its cover may look like a ultra-cool murder story, but if you’re a person who reads chic-lit, you won’t like what you read.

   And watch out for comfort.  Some shoes have different kinds of cutting and shape.  I have broad feet, so those shape-y, slim women sneakers don’t always suit me.

I guess that’s all I have to share.  Any questions feel free to ask and I’ll see if I can answer them.  Other than that, I think it’s time for me to look for some suitable green shoelaces to go with Stan. 

Out Of Brain Juice

It’s one of those days when the creative juice runs dry and no amount of Starbucks can replenish it.

So what to do when you’re this bored and unproductive?

You take this baby out:

Yes, my camera has a remote control!  Even my brother wanted to have a go at it.

Ok ok, then it’s back to work.

Dum dee dum….

Find Your Own Cat

I was just fiddling with my Photoshop out of boredom and randomness.  I’m kind of fed up with people who can’t seem to find their own identity, duplicating other people’s AND trying to outdo them at the same time.

Especially good friends.  Annoyed yet you can’t really tell them off.

And then those who expect me to be just like everybody else.

Haiyo…leave me alone, please?  I like being me, I don’t like being you, and I don’t like you being me.  Ok?

Therefore, art is therapy.

After-School Ciggies and Family Bonding Over Shoes

“Excuse me, is Lamb here?”

“Lamb who?”

“Lamb, he works at the Starbucks here.”

“Lamb?  OH! LAM!!!  He works at the one in Borders.”

I thought of Jasmine at first (It’s an inside joke so I don’t expect you to laugh).  But I don’t get it.  If people can pronounce Starbucks and not Stare-bucks, why can’t they pronounce LAM instead of LAMB?  Just thought that conversation might interest you.

Anyway.

Today seems to be an uneventful day for me.

Minus the fact that I watched 6 episodes of GTO (one of my favourite J-Dramas) and cleaned 2 ceiling fans at my brother’s place.  

This morning as I hopped downstairs happily (I never hop downstairs happily unless I was really bored), I saw a group of secondary school boys and a girl smoking away happily (yes, I suppose it is a happy day for everyone) and the girl seemed to enjoy it as much too.

This led me to wonder… did any girls in my school smoke back then (I come from an all-girls school)?  Why wasn’t I one of the before?  With my level of curiosity enough to resurrect a killed cat, I would have been one of those who have tried a puff or two.  But I don’t feel left out in this case.  I actually thought I was really lucky to be one of those whose parents’ voices of “DON’T YOU DARE START SMOKING” would be booming in my head before the thought  of “Maybe I cou…” could even finish.

I wanted to tell them that there are better things to do than to pollute their lungs and risking others of cancer when you’re at the age where you haven’t got enough of life to punish other people yet but of course I didn’t.  I would have forgotten about the papers and returned with a black eye instead.  No offense to other older smokers out there.  If you’re that old and you’re still smoking…hey, that’s your business.

Anyway, later on I was in MidValley just looking around for a new pair of sneakers.  Yup, like life, once you’ve reached Enlightenment or something like that you go to er…Heaven.  For shoes, once they reach a certain level of “Holey-ness”, they go to Shoe Heaven too.  I guess Shoes are Buddhists or Taoists in general.

I was in an Adidas boutique and there was quite a crowd at the shoe section.  What surprised me was that out of what-looked-like-10-people crowded around, only ONE was browsing.  The others were… family members.  I was trying to find a little bit of space and suddenly I caught two girls staring at me sheepishly.  I wondered what was going on and then I saw the camera in one of their hands, pointing towards the feet mirror.  Ahh… one of those creative camwhoring sessions.  I excused myself, waited for 10 seconds until they gave me a sign that I was allowed to cross.  They seemed like a jolly bunch, and I wondered how many big families actually do that?  Even when their kids are teenagers?  Doesn’t have to be an Adidas store, even pasar malam would do.

I didn’t get my shoes in the end, because I couldn’t make up my mind and neither caught my attention.  I don’t even know why I’m writing all these down, especially when things like that are what we see everyday.  I guess they just got me thinking, what does spending quality time mean to us?  Puffing cigarettes with friends, buying shoes with family, being alone listening to your favourite CD?  When that clock is ticking, how does one ensure that each tock is worth the tick before?  

I wonder.

How I Click

I’m in KL now.

And thank goodness for Starbucks.

My brother’s modem got struck by lightning (I’ve only heard of all the endless possibilities on how it could happen, but never thought that it actually would!) so I didn’t get my dose of the internet yesterday.  It’s been just past 24 hours and I was having the withdrawal syndrome already!

Anyway.

Thank goodness for Starbucks (did I say that already?).

I just realized how routine my surfing habit is.  First, I open my Firefox browser, which immediately leads me to my iGoogle homepage.  Check my Gmail.  Then, it’s Google Reader where I catch up on my circle of blog pals.  While my MSN and Gtalk are signing in automatically, I await updates from my Hotmail.

Here’s how my email accounts work.

My Hotmail will inform me updates of comments and responds in the Kooky world (The Kooky Jar and Kooky Snaps).  My Yahoo will inform me about latest events, adverts from my subscriptions, and most of the time, spam (if I ever give you my Yahoo email address…it does mean something).  And Gmail takes care of…other stuff.  Stuff I usually pay more attention to.

So if my Hotmail tells me I have new comments, I check them out, and reply them.  If not, then I’d most probably post something new.

Once I’m done with blogging, I log on to Facebook.  I think those new Notifications and Chat stuff on Facebook are really handy.  Saves time.

Then it’s either HowStuffWorks or Wikipedia or the Crime Library.  I enjoy reading random stuff so that I can pretend I’m not entirely an airhead.  That’s important to boost my already depleted self-esteem.  Every little bit counts.

Of course, I forgot to mention that in between those pages I get a lot of buzzing and ringing and nudges from my online friends.  Which is a way of telling you that you’re pretty much alive.

When I’m really bored, sometimes I check out FanFiction, and most of the time, Youtube.

And then my personal assistant will be knocking at my door, reminding me that I should probably take a break.  In this case, my mom would say, “Munn, I think you better rest your eyes already.”

Ta-da.  Wow I could even imagine those pages as I type these down.

Are your surfing habits a routine?  Why don’t you share how your pattern is like?

Ok, I’m done writing.  Guess where I’m heading to next.  No prizes though.