One of the perks of working for Starbucks is getting a free pound of coffee every week. Yesterday, I took home my last of about 420 pounds of coffee. Only in the past few months have I arrived at a favorite: Arabian Mocha Java, closely contested by Anniversary Blend. I like strong but well balanced coffee, which reflects my tastes in beer, scotch and (when I still smoked them) cigars.

I might buy the occasional pound of coffee from now on, but I don't expect to be much of a source of revenue for Big Green. There's plenty of good coffee out there. I may roast my own; I'm silly like that.

I've also paid a lot of rent with Starbucks paychecks (I actually did okay when I was in management). I also spent a lot of money trying to distract myself from how much I hated it. Retail just sucks, plain and simple.

I've met a lot of people, including my wife. I had some very cool customers, and I worked with some cool people. Starbucks is a giant fraternity, in a way. We bond while we're getting shit on by dickweed customers.