The story of how Ysabel turned into a geriatric.

Ok, there's really no story. Just that I was at work the other day checking our Hal Leonard warehouse inventory, when I realized that I can no longer stand up from a crouching position without putting a hand on one knee and grunting under my breath. And I now have a bedtime of midnight instead of 2am because...ugh, for a variety of reasons - namely being: work. Blah. Also, I find no greater joy than getting ready and driving to work on Saturdays while listening to NPR's Car Talk and Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. Well, except for not getting ready for work and sleeping 'til noon on Saturdays instead. But that goes without saying.

Speaking of going to work on Saturday: I (of course) swung by the one of the gloriously numerous Star*ucks drive-thrus on my way to work on Saturday morning. As I was pulling into my place in line, I noticed that there was a car just idling a bit behind and towards the right of the end of the line. I thought nothing of it, assuming that it was just waiting for a parking space and proceeded to drive around and in front of it to get in line at the drive-thru. About 20 seconds later I noticed a guy get out of said car and make his way to my car. I immediately figured out what had happened and sighed as he tapped on my window and said, "Hey, I was next in line." At which point I simply said, "Oh, sorry! I didn't know..." and proceeded to pull out of line, drive around the Star*ucks and get back in line behind the guy in his car. Anyway, when it was my turn to pick up my drink (and since you're all dying to know: a tall soy one-pump no-whip pumpkin spice latte...), the lovely Star*ucks barista said, "The gentleman in front of you paid for your drink and he said to tell you 'thank you.'"

!!!

Yay! It totally made my day. Nowadays I think it's so common for us all to become too easily irritated at the little inconveniences and/or misunderstandings that happen constantly throughout the day. I kind of assumed that the guy would be pissed at me for cutting him off in line. And I'm sure that he assumed I would react defensively and put up a fit when he came and tapped on my window. So when a simple misunderstanding ended up being nothing more than just that and we both just reacted like two civilized human beings, I think we were both pleasantly surprised. Huh. Anyway, the guy in front of me was cool, I got a free latte and the Star*ucks barista received a generous tip courtesy of Yours Truly. Everybody wins. Have a nice day!

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And while we're on this wonderful subject, can I just tell you that stories of the famously overbundant...erm, abundance of coffeeshops in this area is all absolutely true and absolutely fabulous?! So there are these little coffee huts scattered throughout any given city here. Here is an example. They are usually located along a street corner or along the side of the road and are just little roofed stands with, I'm guessing, just one worker (maybe two) and just as many espresso machines where your general busy Seattle-ite can just walk up to or drive through and grab a quick and delicious latte and be on their way. While I will always and forever be a Star*ucks devotee, I have come to love the charm and sheer numerosity of these little java huts. Case in point: there are a rumored 12 (at the least) coffee stands within a one mile radius of my office. Ha!! And the coolest part: many of these places have happy hours, in which, during a specific time of day (usually from 1 or 2 to 4 in the afternoon), any drink you order is just $2.00! I love this place!! Wheee!!