Affairs as they should be

I claimed my third Starbucks planner two days before Christmas and I'm already half way through my fourth redemption card! By the time this promo's over, I'll probably get two more!

And to think this promo has not necessarily made me increase my Starbucks intake. I have very little practical use for the planner. Not that I am not enamored by the planner's sleek and simple design, mind you. I just prefer planners with no dates and no lines, blank white sheets really and nothing more.

So the planners end up with loved loves who love them but who are not exactly coffee lovers like me. A nice Christmas gift idea indeed.

Having these three planners just makes me realize how much of a Starbucks lover I've become and still am.

I had my first taste of Starbucks in 1995, a red pack of ground coffee sent to me by a North America-based friend. Not love at first sight. The coffee was good, granted. But it was no different I thought from the other imported ground coffee I could get from Rustan's back then.

I had my first Starbucks experience on Robson' in Vancouver in late 1996. I was puzzled at why there were two branches on the same street and almost directly facing each other, intimidated by the baristas shouting out names for unclaimed cups and hypnotized by the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

That was it. I was smitten. The love affair began.

I was there when she first opened in6750 ten years ago. The encounter was just as good as the first time we met more than a year previous. No, it was better. Much better. Having to wait patiently in line behind other ardent suitors makes the pursuit of a love object all the more satisfying.

I followed Starbucks wherever she went. It was my obsession to be among the first to welcome her in her new homes. To Rockwell, to Tomas Morato, to Filinvest Alabang. I was a certified stalker.

And as she became an instant celebrity, her allure more universal, like a wise --- and tired! --- lover, I stepped aside to give way to other more fervent pursuers. The lines became longer. The crowd a lot younger and rowdier.

Now ours is a long distance affair. I still have at least two tall cafe mochas a day which the messenger buys for me from the Starbucks across my office, one in the morning and again when I get back from lunch. I still date her at least once a week, in the Shell station on SLEX, on my way to Forest Club.

And I get to take her home too: a pack of espresso ground House Blend weekly for my early breakfast and late night fix.

And remember that first Starbucks on Tomas Morato? The one that used to be across Alba's and Annabelle's and beside BPI? The one that closed after a few years to give way to the present one just across the street? I now hold office in that same old building. Nostalgic it is to now stay in the same place where we had our early dates.

The love affair continues, albeit at a slower but more satisfying way. It's a match made in caffeine heaven.

Another shot of espresso for me, my dear?