Sticker number seven is a new favorite of mine: a tall dark cherry mocha frappucino.
Too bad it's just a holiday special. Then again, it's just because I want that Starbucks planner. It's not really a big deal. I'm just challenging myself to gather seventeen stickers so I can get one of those planners. I've never done it before. That, and I have disposable income now. And I'm incrementally sleepier every day.
There is a branch near my office, one populated by college girl stereotypes and those who have gotten over it. The faces there have grown familiar, although I'm not yet on a first-name basis with them. There were a handful of hellos, especially with this one barista, I presume, the senior one, when I spotted her in the 7-Eleven branch nearby. Thus, I don't expect anyone to get my name right when they write it down my cup.
"Tall dark cherry mocha frap for Niko!"
Of course, they'd write my nickname with a C instead of a K. I understand. Apparently the way I spell mine is uncommon, although from where I am how they spell it is uncommon. I understand, because both letters sound like each other, like the way we mangle our Ps and Fs, or our Bs and Vs. I want a praf from Starvucks.
The bit worth blogging was when I finally claimed my frap. I knew it was my frap. I saw the barista blend a mix of milk, coffee and dark chocolate bits, and I saw the barista add in that cherry syrup bit. I knew it was mine, but there were formalities, so I just let them be. "One tall dark cherry mocha frap for..."
She was struggling to read the other barista's handwriting. It did say "Nico", only it was round and plump. Cyclical, but still readable.
"...Nice?"
"Niko, actually."
Wasn't it just yesterday when Marcia talked to me on Facebook, asking me how work has been, not realizing that I am at work, because her months, maybe more than a year, in Canada has warped both her sense of time and her ability to detect when snow falls? The same Marcia that, when she was still, I can't remember, training in a call center, maybe, goaded me to treat her to a dark cherry mocha frappucino? Venti, not tall. "Bago ako umalis papuntang Canada," she said, when her departure became imminent.
Of course, neither took it seriously. It's just funny that, by some weird twist of fate, or maybe a flick of the pen, she had her own. Well, I drank it, and it wasn't what she wanted. Still.
Surrounded by college girl stereotypes, I went back to the office. Unfortunately for the rest, lonelier.
12/08/2009
Niko Batallones writes The Upper Blog.
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"Nice"??? Hahaha. :))
Hindi marunong magbasa ung barista hahahaha :D
i LOVE dark cherry mocha!! they had a similar one, some dark chocolate one that i liked better haha but i guess no one else did!
ok, i hate it when my name is read the wrong way. CRAZY daw ako. and you, NICE :))
happy holidays! i hope...
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