Starbucks: Get Back into the Coffee Business

Betrayed. That's how I felt when I drove to Starbuck's at 1:00 p.m. on Friday to get my coffee fix only to find that they were "out" of Gazebo, the bold roast of the day.

"What?!" I asked. "I'll wait for it." 

I do not like Pike Place Roast and would have gladly waited 10-15 minutes for them to brew something I did like--which is most any flavor considered the "bold roast of the day." When I've asked for the bold coffee of the day, and was told Pike Place IS bold, I gave the barista a look of incredulousness.

"Sorry, but we're out. Once we have used what we ground for the day, that's it."

How can a Starbuck's be OUT of coffee?!

Why can't you just grind more? I can frickin' do that in my own house for goodness' sake. But I spend my time AND GAS MONEY to go to Starbuck's because I expect to be able to get a BETTER cup of coffee there. But with Pike Place as my only choice, that is no longer the case.

I left empty-handed: a first for me in my long relationship with Starbuck's.

I have wasted time and gas one too many times driving to Starbuck's just to find that they are "out" of anything but Pike Place for the day. I refuse to drink that swill when all I really want is coffee that tastes like COFFEE, not some weak imitation. I could get that any place else and for half the price.

BRING BACK BOLD!!!!

How many social networking strategists does it take to change a lightbulb?

With all I'm learning about social media, and my growing fascination with it, I just had to share these posts by dozens of "social medialites" poking fun at themselves and these quickly expanding technologies. 

The original question was posted by Scott Monty: How many social networking strategists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Andy Finkle brought attention to Scott's question on his blog and collected even more (creative) responses.

Be sure to check them both out. If you've got more ideas, be sure to add them in the comments. Enjoy!

Comfortable Business Dress: Is it possible?

I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks, working for a large company downtown. The dress code is business, with business casual on Fridays, and I'm wondering how I can dress business and still be comfortable enough to hike around the downtown area to and from my car and during my lunch breaks.

Coming from a business casual environment where putting on your tennis shoes to walk at lunch was a lot less conspicuous, I just really can't stand the thought of changing shoes every time I come to or leave work, or just to get out of the building for a break. Not just because it's a pain. It's a fashion nightmare! 

Does somebody make comfortable walking shoes that are suitable for business dress? Something that won't get caught in the sidewalk bricks (skinny high heels do that). Something that looks great with a suit or skirt and won't kill your (bare) feet. I don't want to wear pantyhose either! 

And winter's coming soon. That means I'll need to worry about wet and cold feet, too. Ugh!

Sometimes I think about trading my entire wardrobe in for a man's. They've got the whole clothing thing down to a science: can get away with five shirts, two suits and a dozen ties for their business wardrobe, with only two pairs of dress shoes and five pairs of socks. This would get them by week after week and no one would think anything of it.

So send me your suggestions! I've just got to be able to get around comfortably, and without twisting an ankle or something. And if you've got additional ideas on what kinds of clothes to wear with those shoes, I'd be happy to hear them, too. 

No hope for keeping up

Once upon a time, I was so smart. I knew everything about everything. But the older I get, the more I don't know.

And there's nowhere that is more true than in keeping up with changing technology.

With a dad who is a gadget-loving engineer, I was once on the cutting edge of technology. As a child, I even knew about mainframe computers and punchcards. I also remember my dad trading in his slide-rule for a calculator. In middle school, I knew DOS and could amaze my friends with what I knew about computers. We had a TI-80 at home and a Commodore 64 at school. At another school, we had an Apple computer, and I remember when we got our first Windows PC at home, with its copied features of the Apple OS. I became an expert at Windows Explorer and MS-DOS. And I watched floppy drives become smaller and not-so-floppy.

For a few years in my early 20s, I worked at Circuit City, and then Radio Shack. I got more training there and more exposure to changing technology: EBBs and email. Scanners and printers. Zip drives and CD-ROM drives. In college, as a graphic design student, I learned HTML and Photoshop 3.0 and PageMaker 5.0 and Illustrator 6.0 all on Apple desktops -- when they weren't popular.

I bought and used Apple computers at home and PCs at work (even still), so I was comfortable in both OSs. In my graphic design job, I learned to use digital cameras (I was taught old school in college classes) and new versions of Adobe, but I began to really fall behind the curve with the demands of a full-time job and a family. And it seems I won't ever catch up.

So here I am now--between jobs--and spending most of my time on the computer: networking, posting resumes and applying for jobs. I've learned a lot in the last 6 weeks about social media and blogs and mini apps, and just what has been going on in the world while I've been in the vortex created by my last job of 2 years, where I mostly used MS Office, and had little time or need for new technologies. 

All I can say is "Wow!" I've still got a lot to learn.

Evidence of spirituality in our physical bodies?

After listening to Jill Bolte Taylor tell her story -- a brain scientist, who experiences a massive stroke and lives to share the insights learned from the experience (see link) -- it makes me ponder even more the idea of our spirituality and connection to each other and the world around us. (She does an amazing job of explaining this!)

I'm very much caught up in my own mind -- to-do lists, projects, calendars, chores -- and constantly struggle with remaining "in the moment," a very Zen idea. I have tried yoga, meditation, various religions and books, and nothing ever seems to get my left-brain to let go long enough for my right brain to kick in.

But before hearing her tell the story, this concept never occurred to me -- that it really is a brain exercise. I always thought of spirituality as something outside of myself, something I had to try to attain. 

In considering it as a left-brain, right-brain issue, it helps me to consider my spiritual journey in a different light. Perhaps I can think of it as needing to exercise the right brain to strengthen it and learning to rest the left brain. This appeals to my logical nature, creating a tie to our physical bodies and tangible properties proven by science, and not just "something out there" that I just can't relate to.

Let me know what you think!