Monday, June 25, 2007
Starbucks
Since returning home from Philadelphia I've been surrounded by an abundance of Starbucks', and in the past 2 years I had gotten addicted... having at least one, and maybe two drinks a day. A couple of years before starting dental school (and in response to the anonymous comment left a couple of days ago: "No, I've never been to China, nor do I have a degree in engineering, but I will consider the suggestion you made about a future post.. thanks") I would go to Starbucks often, but not as much as I had been recently.
I moved to Philadelphia in 2001, and at that time there were 2 Starbucks' in Center City (separated by at least 10 blocks). I remember a discussion in one of my business classes. The other students were shocked that living in a suburb of Vancouver I had 4 Starbucks` within a 3 minute drive from my house.
I decided to try and quit (or at least cut down) this terrible addiction, and it was actually pretty easy to break the habit. I decided I would allow myself one (sometimes two) drinks a week. A day or two after I stopped the daily Starbucks visits I received a letter from Starbucks with a $10 gift card. When I opened the letter and saw the gift card I immediately thought "How'd they know?!?!?", but then I read the letter. Starbucks was just sending me the gift card to apologize for the delay in processing my refund for a coffee maker recall. How nice of them. Then the next day, the cheque for the refund came, as well as a coupon for a new coffee maker at a reduced price and a free bag of coffee beans. The timing I thought was funny.
About a week after that I received a new credit card in the mail. My credit card company suspected fraud and some suspicious activity with my card and issued me a new one. Weird, I thought, since all I bought on that card on a regular basis was gas, and coffee. I wondered did the absence of my Starbucks' purchases cause my credit card company to believe something was wrong? :|
I moved to Philadelphia in 2001, and at that time there were 2 Starbucks' in Center City (separated by at least 10 blocks). I remember a discussion in one of my business classes. The other students were shocked that living in a suburb of Vancouver I had 4 Starbucks` within a 3 minute drive from my house.
I decided to try and quit (or at least cut down) this terrible addiction, and it was actually pretty easy to break the habit. I decided I would allow myself one (sometimes two) drinks a week. A day or two after I stopped the daily Starbucks visits I received a letter from Starbucks with a $10 gift card. When I opened the letter and saw the gift card I immediately thought "How'd they know?!?!?", but then I read the letter. Starbucks was just sending me the gift card to apologize for the delay in processing my refund for a coffee maker recall. How nice of them. Then the next day, the cheque for the refund came, as well as a coupon for a new coffee maker at a reduced price and a free bag of coffee beans. The timing I thought was funny.
About a week after that I received a new credit card in the mail. My credit card company suspected fraud and some suspicious activity with my card and issued me a new one. Weird, I thought, since all I bought on that card on a regular basis was gas, and coffee. I wondered did the absence of my Starbucks' purchases cause my credit card company to believe something was wrong? :|
Comments:
By , at
6/26/2007 8:02 PM
I find it funny that you should write about kicking your Starbucks' addiction to the curb so soon after realizing that you have now got me addicted!!!
By Foodie, at
7/23/2007 6:19 PM
Hi Pavandeep,
Just if you don't remember, I commented on your eggless brownie recipe.
Since I did not have your email id,I am posting the Eggless spinach dip recipe here in the comments section.
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach
11/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Nayonnaise (it's a tofu based mayonnaise with no eggs)optional
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.
You can add the regular mayonnaise if you eat eggs.
Just if you don't remember, I commented on your eggless brownie recipe.
Since I did not have your email id,I am posting the Eggless spinach dip recipe here in the comments section.
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach
11/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Nayonnaise (it's a tofu based mayonnaise with no eggs)optional
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.
You can add the regular mayonnaise if you eat eggs.
