I’m down at eBay waiting for a 1:30 meeting.
I knew I was going to be early and so I had Nate get me the eBay guest wireless WEP key. When I got there, I settled in the cafeteria, found something good on my iPod, and started working. I went to connect to IM for a few meetings and Trillian couldn’t connect. Then I tried to send an email, and couldn’t. Turns out eBay blocks all sorts of ports on their guest network*. I have no idea why they would do this. I can’t really work without IM so I packed up my things and went hunting for a coffee shop.
I ended up here at Orchard Valley Coffee which turned out to be a lovely coffee shop I highly recommend for anyone that finds themselves early to an eBay meeting. I pretty much have no idea how to get back to eBay, or how I got here in the first place, so I can’t offer you any directions. Beyond free wireless they keep their coffee mugs on this warm slab so your cup is toasty warm when they hand it to you. Nice touch.
Speaking of coffee, a couple weeks ago Mark Sladden, “super frugal spenderman**” mentioned the fact that Starbucks has a “short” size in addition to their “huge,” “gar-gan-chewin,” and “holy shit I could swim in that”. Did anybody know that? I had no idea. I was as excited as when I learned that you could order a double double “Animal Style” at In-N-Out. The thinking behind short is that Starbucks knows that they have a slice of people that are super frugal (like Mark**) and would be appeased by a short. At the same time, they know that most people will just order the smallest size the menu. Short isn’t on the menu so everybody settles for “huge.” Pretty clever eh?
Somehow when I order a “short,” I feel like I’m sticking it to the man AND I’m part of some cool club that knows the secret “short” handshake. I have noticed the cashier will often give me a knowing nod. “Power brother,” they say with their nod.
Or is it a mocking head-shake?
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* Nate, we both know it is only a matter of time before you get recruited into facilities. When you do, please fix this.
** The “Super Frugal Spenderman” title does not apply when it comes to wine, clothing, and electronics
I consider myself a “super frugal spenderman”-wannabe at the very least. However, this begs the question: Is ordering “short” at Starbucks the same as ordering a “chica” burrito? There is a reason that thing is dubbed “chica.”
I am completely with you on Animal Style - having In-N-Out any other way should be punishable by the law.
Ya know, I’m always irritated when companies block useful ports but I was talking to a guy on an airplane yesterday (you hang in Starbucks, I hang on airplanes) and we hit on a potential point. Ya know all this stuff about needing to keep emails for compliance purposes (someone should tell Gonzales about it). Well, it turns out you need to keep IM conversations as well. I wonder if they are blocking it because they don’t want to track it…
I get the Venti coffee (I think that is the “holy shit I could swim in it”), BUT my ‘genius’ is getting room for cream even though I drink it black so that I don’t get it all over my car and clothes on the way to work. (It only took about 30-40 trips for me to figure this out…)
Hmmm. Nowhere do you mention “tall” — the smallest cup on the menu. Mom thought you might mean tall instead of short. Of course if you really do mean short, is it cheaper than tall?
Hey! I found some great tastes in some of their free trade coffees. Try Serena, or Gold Coast. Of course it’s pricier than their regular blends, so you need a “short” to make the purchase reasonable.
Intrigued, I went to Starbucks this morning. Yep! There’s a Short for 15 cents less than the tall. The Barrista said they just got in the cups last week after being out for a long time. News for bold coffee lovers. Sumatra will now be dark roasted and classified “Extra Bold.” I now find this coffe to be one of my favorites, except that one tall cup is enough to set me on edge for a long time.
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