More than just Coffee

So, I received one of these gift cards as a Secret Santa gift giving a week ago in one of the parties I attended. It was a Starbucks gift card worth $20.

Ok, I thought. This should be good for around 5 or 6 grande Frappuccinos (just about the only thing I buy in Starbucks). In the back of my head though, I wished that I had received the Target or even the Best Buy gift card that other people received.

However, when I went into Starbucks to 'claim' my first frappuccino, I was pleasantly surprised. There were so many other thigns you could buy besides coffee (and I'm not talking about tea!). I guess I never paid attention to the shelves of mugs and other coffee-related items before till now. What interested me were the CD's strategically positioned near the cashier. Hey, they expanded their selection of music! Not just 1 or 2 CD's but a whole shelf of sounds ranging from Bob Dylan to John Legend. I ended up picking an excellent CD of Christmas music.

Along with the CD, my grande frappuccino and the sunday newspaper, I was able to max out and use the gift card all in one transaction... not bad for Starbucks!

I then remembered what I read about Starbucks wanting to become more than just a coffee store... they wanted to branch out to other things and offer services above and beyond just coffee. Well, they're well on their way to achieving that!

La Vita e Bella!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Television... Redefined

I've just gotten HDTV and I am loving it.

The picture is so clear... When I watch sports, I can see beads of sweat on the skins of basketball players, the blades of grass on the football field. When I watch regular tv shows, I can see the wrinkles on old actresses and pimples on young ones. It's so clear, you can see where the foundation makeup ends and the real skin color begins. And when I watch nature shows on Discovery HD, those panoramic shots of mountains simply take my breath away.

I really can't believe what a large difference in picture quality HDTV makes. When I switch back and forth between HD and non-HD channels, its so obvious. I sure hope they make more channels in high-definition... it really is television redefined. This could make me into a couch potato again!

On another note, I really hate the fact that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are each gunning for the title of the new format of high definition DVDs. Critics are comparing it to the VHS / Beta wars in the 80's. I don't want to commit to one format now only to realize I made the wrong decision (especially since high def DVD players are over $500). So as much as I would like to watch movies in glorious 1080p, I will have to wait and see who wins the format wars... and hope that the players go down in price to more manageable levels.

Life is Beautiful!

High School Reunion

Over the weekend, my high school batch (DLSZ 96) had their first official high school reunion. Unfortunately, I couldn't go because I am here in the USA and it was held, of course, in the Philippines. But thanks to the digital camera and the internet, I was able to see pictures of the event the day after. It made me really jealous! I wanted to go and see my batchmates! Some looked the same, some looked thinner, some fatter. But they were all familiar faces.

I can't believe it's been 10 years since we all graduated from high school. I think 10 years after graduating high school is a good time to get together and catch up with each others lives. Presumably everyone has completed college and have begun their own lives... whether that would be working, pursuing higher education, or even starting a family.

According to one of my friends (thanks, Ben John!), it was a great success. The party started at 9am and lasted until 5am, with people drinking and reminiscing about high school life. He told me that the best part was that there were no cliques or barkadas during the party... people matured and realized that we all really belonged to the same group... DLSZ Batch 96.

La Vita e Bella!

Gym Memberships

I am writing this as a word of warning to people out there who have gym memberships. Be careful when it is time to end your membership! Trust me, no matter how much you work out now, you won't be a member of your gym forever and the time will come when you too will become frustrated when you part ways with your gym.

Right now, Caroline is currently at war with her gym (Fitness First) because she got billed twice on her credit card (among other things). As usual, the gym is making it difficult to get her money back.

As much as gyms exist as a place for you to work out, I think gyms count on you to become lazy and forget to work out. This is the reason you have to give your credit card / bank account details to them and pay by direct debit on a regular basis, and normally have to sign a 1-year contract. Rare is the gym that has a "pay as you go" payment plan (if they do, the rate is significantly higher than the regular rate).

Most gym members don't even use their membership for the full year. I should know. I used to go to my gym almost 5 days a week, so I knew who the regulars were. And I saw alot of people come and go too. Most people give up after 1 month, 2 months at most. So most customers end up paying for something that they don't even use. Now that's free money for the gym!

So, when trying to cancel your membership, always look at the fine print! When I had to cancel my Golds Gym membership a few years ago, I could not believe how hard it was. I ended up having to pay 3 extra months just to get them off my back. Apparently, I had to cancel the membership in writing. Of course, the person behind the counter in my gym didn't tell me about it when I told him that I wanted to cancel my membership. Imagine my surprise when I saw my account statement and still saw money being withdrawn from my account. When I complained to the gym, thats the only time I found out that I had to submit a letter to their accounts department. Apparently it was mentioned in the contract, not mentioned by the gym personnel. They blamed me for not having read my contract properly (ok, I admit, I did skim through the contract). By the time I sent the cancellation letter and they processed my request, 3 months had passed. Lesson learned, which is why I only try to enroll in gyms that have short-term plans (with no direct debit).

When its time to end your gym membership.... good luck!

La Vita e Bella!

Uniform Shirt

Note to oneself: Never, ever wear a red shirt when going to Circuit City or Target, lest you be mistaken as an employee! In fact, there seems to be a lot of stores where a red polo shirt is their uniform (to complete the look, be sure to wear khaki chinos).

I teased Chad about this before when we went to Best Buy and he was wearing a shirt in the exact shade of blue as the Best Buy employees. Caroline and I laughed so hard, and Chad couldn't wait until we were out of the store.

To be fair, its not that bad. At worst, someone will come up to you and do a price check on something, and you will have to politely apologize tell that person that you don't work there. They will then just walk away and look for a real store employee, and you'll feel a bit red in the face.

But at best, who knows? That person who needs help looking for digital cameras happens to be a chick, and you can score points by pointing her in the right direction, and even helping her choosing one out for her. You might even end up using that same digital camera in that night in the nightclub, taking pictures of her and her sexy friends. The possibilities are endless!

Ok, enough with the fantasies, haha!

Life is Beautiful!