Starbucks Planner

Yes, it has been a tradition. Four years has passed when Grace and Ia first encouraged me to collect stickers for this “expensive” planner, maybe because they’ve seen how shoddy it could be to use a steno notebook as my daily diary. With the nature of my work, and my nature of being so forgetful, it is really a must that I maintain a daily journal, the one that (if it could) would shout on me whenever I miss an important task.

At first I was kinda apprehensive to collect the stickers. Let’s face it! It’s still huge money; it’s like buying a Php 2,000 – Php 3,000 worth of planner, only that you’re enjoying a cold or hot coffee drink. Putting this biggie aside, my motive in completing the stub (and yes, if not for these the hell would I try to complete it) were (1) to have a new planner which I can elegantly display during meetings, (2) to slurp on a delicious blend of coffee which can help me pass the night shift wide awake especially that the cold months of November and December (the usual months when I am on graveyard shift) are really sleep-triggering and (3) to join an informal office competition as to who will first complete the required number of stickers. The first two I can do easily, but the last one I cannot beat Grace ~ she’s the perennial winner and the certified coffee addict in our group.

And so, when I got my 2009 Starbucks planner after completing the 16 stickers buying only the Hot Dark Cherry Mocha, I immediately bunched up my previous three and took a picture of them. My personal favorite? The 2007 edition, even if it was quite bulky. I also like the 2006's for it has freebies inserted(though I was not able to use them all!). Try to open these planners and you’ll see how used and torn they had been… but tattered as they were, I liked the realization that an expensive addiction has been a practice I will surely continue in the coming years.

Thanks Starbucks! By the way, I just got a Complimentary Beverage stub from them. And yes Lois, you’ll have your planner in a few more days!