I order my grande nonfat latte. J orders his decaf Americano. We wait. The barista accidentally bypasses our drink order and, all apologies, she gives me a venti latte instead.
So I get a free latte upgrade and outside, a family sits in their crumpled car to keep warm, waiting for the tow truck.
And I think about what is keeping me up at night right now. It occasionally seems like a joke. As we're leaving I see a CD album title in the Starbucks music rack. The album is called: "Some People Have Real Problems."
In academia, I have real problems. People confirm this by the serious looks they give me when we talk about my situation. In the real world, those problems are nothing.
Hm, why don't I have a tag for "latte" in my blog? ;)