Coffee Coffee Coffee!!!

I find myself envying the people in Starbucks in the morning. Not the ones in line – I’m in with that group – but the ones in the back. Leisurely sitting in the comfy chairs along the wall, typing away on their laptops and sipping coffee out of little white mugs.

This is one inner circle I’ve yet to break into. How does one go about getting a REAL mug and plate at Starbucks?

One of these days I’ll be one of those people. I’ll wake up on a rainy morning and tote my laptop to Starbucks to work on my next book, or maybe my award-winning, nationally syndicated column recently picked up by the New Yorker. And I’ll sit in the comfy chairs and dunk biscotti cookies into my mug of coffee.

As far as I can tell, this is the closest grown-up equivalent to Oreos and milk.

Alas, I’m not there yet. While I’m on the subject of coffee though, I have to admit that after more than a year of berating myself for it, I’ve finally given up on my boycott of Starbuck’s. It was a half-hearted boycott anyway, but it’s still worth explaining.

The Square has a plethora of little indie coffee shops (ironically, one being named “Indie”), but I’ve come to realize that the coffee at Starbuck’s is just better. It’s stronger. And it’s purchased through fair trade, which was one of the reasons I originally decided to go to Java Monkey down the street instead.

But Starbuck’s treats their employees well, which leads to them being FRIENDLIER. When I walk in, they know my name. They know what I’m going to order. It’s like Cheers, only less sad. (How many bars you’ve been to are actually that clean, that cozy, that well-lit and quiet? None! But Starbuck’s is!)

So I admit it. I’ve sold out. But damn, that’s good coffee.