I never thought my life could be
Anything but catastrophe
But suddenly I begin to see
A bit of good luck for me

‘Cause I’ve got a golden ticket…

It finally came: after weeks of waiting, my Starbucks Golden Rewards card finally arrived in the mail. I worked hard for it, slaving away, buying drink after drink, day after day. And I am weirdly proud of the payoff. I mean look at: it is beautiful! And beyond that, it is down-right prestigious. But now that I have it, I simply cannot bring myself to use it. I mean, what am I trying to prove – who I am showing off for? Are the Baristas impressed? Do I get a special place in line? Well, sort of – for every 15 drinks I purchase I get one free, but still. At the end of the day, it feels good to be in a club, especially when it comes with such awesome benefits. For instance, with the Starbucks Gold Card I get:

• All the free wifi I can use
• the ability to get in line with everyone else
• free refills all day long, so long as I am willing to pay for them
• the barista will write my name in sharpie, right on the cup
• free extra foam on every latte
• a free cardoard coozie as long as they are available.

That is right – cha-ching! Thanks, Starbucks!