A Starbucks Birthday
Without meaning to, Starbucks figured prominently during my birthday last 21 December 2006. After a family dinner, there was an invite to watch a musical act at Starbucks Eastwood City.
I had the misfortune of arriving almost at the tail end of the second set, which made me want for more.
However, I could only stay for an hour, so, in between sets, I implored the three musicians namely, violinist Dennis Contreras, keyboardist Conrad Mananes and percussionist George Gabriel not to eat dinner yet, because it would mean starting the third set at a later time.
They kindly obliged, so I was able to stay till the second song of the third set, the classic ‘Merry Christmas to You,’ with Mr. Gabriel, who provided the vocals, wittily changing the lyrics at the end to ‘Happy Birthday Lorna.’ Thank you very much, gentlemen.
And then, the night was capped with a first time visit to Starbucks on Temple Drive (facing the Mormon Church near White Plains), where I was charmed by the old fashioned fountain at the mouth of the store. We were even further gleeful to find kiddie style low wooden chairs settled around equally low wooden tables.
Unlike Starbucks on Tomas Morato, which closes around 3-4am, the Starbucks on Temple Drive shuts its doors at 12mn, but together with other patrons, we were able to stay a little bit longer.
However, the walk back to the free basement parking was riddled with a little bit of apprehension as the driveway was without lights and the guard was nowhere in sight.
Nevertheless, I was still ensconced in the warm feelings of birthday greetings from family and friends when I had an unexpected gift from Harry Potter author JK Rowling choosing 21 December 2006 as the day to reveal the title of the last book in the Harry Potter series — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I basked in the illusion that she did it for me because it’s my birthday.
June 21st, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Hi read your comment at you tube, I just want to thank you again and may God bless you!!!!
June 19th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Thanks so much God bless!!!
June 18th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Hey Dennis,
Nice to hear from you. Will surely check out your vid and music. Congrats on your solo cd Wind of Change
June 18th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Hi thanks so much, thank you. hi please check out Wind video at http://www.myspace.com/threepeaksmusic or see it at you tube search “Wind Dennis Contreras” . Wind is a song from my solo cd wind of change. Thanks so much and may God bless you always. Arigato
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Starbucks Tomas Morato closes now at 2.30am. I didn’t like it there because the staff lacked the professional demeanor that the baristas from the other branches have. One barista left the counter to talk to her girlfriend for a long period of time. Another barista made a joke that showed he was a smart aleck. I got very disturbed with their behavior.
January 13th, 2007 at 3:16 am
yeah, i heard from a friend of mine that george gabriel is a good percussionist and a really good singer to boot.
January 12th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
hey lorns!
cool story. read both this and the one about the eastwood gig. glad you made it! ’twas great to see you. happy as well for your happy birthday
God bless you everyday this new year.
in Him,
GEORGE
January 6th, 2007 at 5:54 am
Dear Ms. Lopez,
Thank you very much for writing about your wonderful experiences in Starbucks.
If you don’t mind, may I share these accounts with my colleagues as I’m sure they will love reading about how our customers enjoyed their stay in our stores.
Thanks and have a nice day!