Everyone has obsessions. For some it is a certain celebrity, or reality show. Others obsess over clothes, cars, games, sports teams... For my father, I would say it is airplanes. Ever since we were young, my dad would drop everything and stare into the great blue sky every time he heard the roar of a plane overhead. I'm pretty certain that from the age of four onwards, I believed that every object above my head was a twin engine beaver. I'm not sure if my mom had any real obsessions, but perhaps cleaning conch shells will be her new love. I digress, the point of this blog is to discuss my husband's loyal love and obsession for Starbucks and how he has coped without it for the past 15 months.
Blake's love for Starbucks began well before I met him. If you ask him straight out when he began to fall for the wavy haired little siren in the green circle, he is unsure. He guesstimates it was in 2005. In an effort to stay awake during long study sessions he became more and more dependant on his cup of Italian dark roast. By the time we met, he was frequenting Starbucks on a near daily basis. I am convinced that is why we are still paying off some student loans! He tried so desperately to initiate me into his Starbucks cult with luring cups of Caramel Macchiatos and Mochas, but he had not yet discovered my deep dark secret. When trying to convert me failed, he moved on. Joel became his next target, which he is proud to say was a success. He moved onwards, converting those he worked with, and even trying to entice my parents in to Starbucks Stops when they visited.
As a result of Blake's dependance on a grande cup of coffee, we have visited Starbucks all over the world. I know many people who collect Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts from vacation destinations, well we collect photos from Starbucks worldwide. Having effortlessly covered all cities and many towns in western Canada- one on our very own wedding day (with me in my massive gown!), our first international Starbucks venture had us visiting the Kuta location in Bali while on our honeymoon. Known for Australian surfers and a laid back vibe, four cafes were scattered around the beaches. After nearly 2 days in transit from home, the relief in Blake's eyes was palpable when he first entered the Kuta Starbucks. Our next stop was Tokyo. Although the menus were written in Japanese, the coffee still tasted the same. Our third and fourth international stops were in Denver and Miami (with Miami actually becoming our "local" cafe, since I am certain we know the exact location of every Starbucks in the Miami International Airport as well as all those on South Beach). We have also spent some time in a Costa Rican Starbucks and nearly 10 hours camped out beside the Lima Starbucks waiting for our flight. With our recent trip to New York booked, Blake has already planned our outings around Starbucks runs.
Moving to the Cayman Islands saw a new challenge for Blake. There are no Starbucks on island, so instead he suffers with the local blend, or the odd tin of Tim Horton's that gets imported to the supermarket. Each time we head off island he dreams about placing his first order of the day in Miami, and then following up with whichever destination we have chosen. We stock up on Starbucks VIA when the opportunity arises, and both Cheryl and Dave have sent up care packages from Canada. We aren't entirely sure that Dave didn't go bankrupt sending us nearly 5 pounds of VIA with a shipping cost upwards of $50 for Christmas. We are still drinking it!
The only downside to Blake's addiction is me. Since I can remember my dad always used to jokingly ask me if I wanted a cup of coffee every morning. As the years flew by, I think he anticipated that one day I would say yes, like Melinda did. That day has still not come. It is not that I don't find the smell alluring (because I do!) and it isn't because I don't like the taste (because it has grown on me), but there is something far worse that keeps me passing on the coffee. My caffeine sensitivity is out of this world, and just a cup of coke or some chocolate can keep me up for hours. I have grown to enjoy lattes, and Blake has taken to making me some, but I pay the price of sleepless nights, heart palpitations, nausea, extreme giddiness, painful headaches and twitchy eyeballs every time I succumb to the temptation. Sometimes the sensations I get from just one cup makes me nervous that it has been riddled with speed or some other drug. Blake can always tell when I am on a high, because he can't get a word in edgewise and I begin a full scale cleaning of the house. Anyways, despite my "disability" when it comes to coffee, I enjoy the odd Cinnamon Dolce Latte (decaf, of course) and look forward to more worldwide Starbucks visits.
Above: Dave's starbucks xmas present; me in Miami Starbucks, Blake in South Beach Starbucks where we saw David Caruso from CSI, Blake outside Kuta, Bali Starbucks, Blake waiting for flight to Tokyo with Starbucks in hand.
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