Find Your Favorite: The Starbucks Coffee Planner 2006

After 21 crème brulees and peppermint hot chocolates (among many others), I finally claimed my Starbucks Planner at Starbucks Petron Station, North Expressway (yep, we were on our way to Bulacan and Nueva Ecija then). Too bad my friend Jonjon was not there with his usual perky smile and warm hugs, but thanks still to baristas Ren and Lea who made me feel welcome during my stay at the store.

A lot of people have said that buying that much coffee does not compensate for just a planner. But for the collector in me, it was the process in itself that I cherished. I did play Santa (as their ads suggested), as around half of my precious stickers were through freebies I gave out to family and friends. It felt good to treat them to Starbucks, because it gave me a chance to catch up with them—what’s going on in their lives at the moment, how they’ll be spending Christmas--a welcome escape from our usually hectic work schedules.

This year though, the planner itself was indeed worth it! The whole thing works as a journal in itself, encouraging the owner to write not only appointment schedules, but their most intimate thoughts as well. That’s convenient for me since my 2005 Starbucks planner was more of my diary than a planner anyway (the first one that I actually finished after millions of required homework and online journals!) Each month features a flavored drink (which is actually cool because I get to learn the Starbucks lingo a little bit more) weaved into a blog-inspired entry. The GCs are a plus to help you find your favorite Starbucks concoction—something that actually inspires you to pursue life’s choices and make each experience as personal and memorable as possible. Wow… I never appreciated poetry until now. And I didn’t know that there were so so much more coffee variants to choose from… so much more to get you hooked into the Starbucks Coffee Culture! I know I’m now a full-fledged convert!

As for my drink… I’m still torn between a venti green tea frappucinno with extra whipped cream, a grande hazelnut caramel affogato, or just a good old white chocolate mocha with a ham and cheese croissant… gotta go find my favorite! 