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Starbucks Bali

Starbucks Bali
Starbucks

Image by ♥ he@rt ♥
Starbucks Bali brewed coffee with cranberry walnut pound cake.
Coffee from a place like no other.

Starbucks

Starbucks
starbucks drinks

Image by HermanCheah

Starbucks #04085

Starbucks #04085
Starbucks

Image by martin_kalfatovic
Starbucks, Spring Hill Road and Queen St.

Tha Pae gate monday

Tha Pae gate monday
Starbucks prices

Image by bluemonkey.
this is the most tourist kind of gate of all 4 gates here.
I usually avoid this one since I dislike tourist area.

I hate Starbucks , horrible coffee and ripping off asia and EU by over pricing all since they know these naive asians and europeans don’t know the real prices of thse trashy quality coffee and whatever stuffs they sell in the US……….

And in Asia , they dont let us choose a real simple coffee ,only offering sugery junks like frappcino or latte or like that , also, they did not let me choose kind of bean I want ;namely columbia.

I will never go back the Stabucks you see in this photo.

Starbucks free drink card

Starbucks free drink card
starbucks drinks

Image by Abel Cheung
Before going to hotel, I went to Heathrow Starbucks for a drink. But they missed my order completely! So one of the staff apologize to me and give me this card as a compensation.

Starbucks “Black Eye” Coffee

Starbucks “Black Eye” Coffee
Starbucks

Image by pchow98
Starbucks’ grande with two espresso shots and they call that "black eye". I think there’s another name for three or more shots…

Empty store #1

Empty store #1
Starbucks prices

Image by Ed Yourdon
Note: this photo was published in a Sep 30, 2011 blog titled "25 Depressing Portraits Of Closed Bookstores."

*********************************

This was taken on Broadway, between 91st and 92nd street, and it is an increasingly common sight on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, as well as the posh Upper East Side, and other parts of NYC: empty storefronts, waiting in vain for a new tenant.

In many cases, the previous tenant — in this case, a wonderful little niche bookstore that specialized in detective novels — had been there for years, if not decades. But as the neighborhood became more "upscale," landlords gradually increase their rents to profit from the situation. But sometimes it’s not "gradual" at all; in this neighborhood, it was not uncommon to see commercial rents suddenly double, at the end of a 10-year or 20-year lease. Older businesses that were barely making ends meet on the old rents simply couldn’t handle such increases, and so they moved out — sometimes moving to cheaper quarters, sometimes moving out of the city altogether, and sometimes shutting down completely.

C’est la vie: this has been going on for as long as I’ve lived in New York, and one could think of it as the "creative destruction" associated with free-enterprise capitalism. What’s different now, though, is that the economy has deteriorated so quickly and so far that there are no new businesses moving in to replace the older tenants. "Murder Ink" isn’t likely to be replaced by another niche bookstore, or a delicatessen, or a discount clothing store; the profit margins are too small. It would have to be a boutique selling high-priced clothing and jewelry, or a Starbuck’s selling five-dollar lattés, or a bank. But banks aren’t doing so well these days; Starbucks is closing old shops, not opening new ones; and the high-priced boutiques aren’t doing very well either.

As a result, many of these stores remain empty; and surprisingly, landlords seem to be quite reluctant to lower their asking price. "Murder Ink," for example, has been empty for over a year, and there are other commercial spaces along this stretch of Broadway that have been empty for 2 years or more.

***************

These are photos that I began taking in mid-December of 2008, after the government helpfully informed us that the recession (a word they had dared not use before, just as they refuse to use the word "depression" now) has actually been in effect since December 2007.

Having lived through roughly half a dozen previous recessions, with nothing but vague memories to mark their existence, I thought it would be useful to start gathering some photographic memories of the current one. It may or may not turn out to be as severe as the Great Depression of the 1930′s, and it may or may not produce the kind of grim photographs that we have of that era … but we won’t really know until it’s over, and our 20-20 hindsight might be better informed with some pictures.

Thus far, I have only a few pictures of signs showing steep discounts; these are interesting, but it’s the "human story" that I think will tell the more important story. Thus far, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of homeless peoplehe street, asking for money, food, and handouts; but I have no direct evidence that it’s associated with the recession itself. In any case, I’m reluctant to take advantage of such people by taking casual photos of them; I’m sure more appropriate opportunities will present themselves, and I’ll add them to the album as I find them…

52.42 – Button!

52.42 – Button!
Starbucks prices

Image by dichohecho
It’s lovely and sunny today, and even at 6pm warm enough to lie about in the garden like a cat…
This is the lovely navy skirt I bought from H&M at Cabot Circus last Thursday :)

To business!

Monday: The day I finished my little felt bird. Worked 1.05-6.05. Hmmm.

Tuesday: Day off! I had a bit of a lie in, ate lunch at home with Dad then went into town and had coffee with Lilian and Izzy. Lilian went to Peru on Wednesday/Thursday so this was the last time I’ll see her for a few months! I hadn’t seen Izzy in ages, she went to secondary school with me but left after yr 11. They’d had lunch in Starbucks & I joined them with my free drink voucher. I had a dark berry mocha frappuccino which was YUMMY. After Lils’s parking ran out Izzy and I hung around a bit more, it was nice to see her after so long!
Then I went and bought more wool from St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice (they have new stuff!) and picked Kate up.

Wednesday: Mum and I took Kate in and then proceeded to hang around in town. We had breakfast in Starbucks (fruit toast!) and bought a Guardian & did the crossword and Kakuro and Su Doku. Then we wandered about & went to Primark (shock horror, no navy leggings still) and Whittards (where I showed Mum nice plates).
We went to M&S café for lunch and then I ran off to work (12-5) and Mum went to an exciting meeting for a few hours before picking up Kate and me.
When we got home I tooks some bad photos of plants and the crackly paint in the shed/greenhouse. Thrilling!

Thursday: I took Kate to school, parked and rode and hung about for hooouuurs. I bought Glamour magazine (trashy but £1) and went to Nero. I had a full set of loyalty stamps so I got a free fancy hot chocolate which was v nice. Very thick like what you get in Spain. Yesss. Hmm. Well I read my magazine and went to Primark again, where I bought grey leggings and a skirt with butterflies on and a small bag and a pajama top and a cardigan(slightly odd colour) all for £13.79!
Thennn I worked 12-5 (I hung around in town for three and a half hours, oh the things I do for petrol money…) In the evening we made pizza :D

Friday: Mum had a dentist appointment so we went to that, then we tried to go to the café at East Lambrook Manor but it seems to be a coffee and cake only honesty café. Unfortunately what we wanted was proper lunch. The pub up the road had stopped serving but the landlady directed us to a deli in South Petherton with a café. T’was very nice. I had ravioli and Mum had bits of smoked duck. They were accompanied by a salad of leaves, proper tasty leaves out of the garden with herbs and things. Very yummy. They had luscombe drinks too! And we had coffee and cake there… Nice cake and good coffee. I recommend it.Shame it’s called "Provender".
After lunch we bought various strange foody things from the deli part (some for Dad’s birthday) and looked in a shop down the road which had little toys and pretty things and ethnic things. Then we went to Langport where we looked in Jane Diliway (possibly related to Diliway & Diliway in Glastonbury) which has very nice beads. We got me a red spotty lunch bag! And then we got more foody things from Sue’s Pantry and looked at all the books about how Langport’s a "transition town", it’s all very green…
My Bristol accomodation prospectus arrived! I think I’m going to go for Durdham and Manor Hall. One’s in Stoke Bishop and one’s in Clifton, but the only other self-catered hall in Stoke Bishop is not lovely and apparently where they stick you if there’s no room anywhere else. So it’d be a wasted 2nd choice really… And Durdham’s normally oversubscribed. Manor Hall does look lovely, the reason I haven’t put it first choice is that I think it might be better to be in Stoke Bishop where the majority of people will be living, even if it does involve a 40 minute walk to the city centre / university precinct.

Saturday: In the morning I… didn’t do much. Then I put some left-over pizza in my lunchbag and went to Taunton. It was the first day of preview shopping for the "summer spectacular" which starts on Wednesday so I bought the pajama shorts (navy with white spots!) that I’d had my eye on. Then I ate my pizza and worked 12-5. I had to count how many of the sale items at 50% and 70% were from different departments (within Lingerie ie. 1150 Fuller Bust, 1152 Bra "solutions", 1161 Collections) and remove all the really old stuff that’d been reduced to round prices (£2, £3, £5) to be put away in totes. That was ok… I mostly didn’t have to do anything else while I was at it so it was calmer than a normal Saturday for me.
There was an annoying woman who kept asking us to tell her how much things were (ie read the price tags to her) and who tried on a 32E and a 32F and acknowledged the difference but then forgot when she’d taken them off, hard to explain. She was odd.
Aaand there was another woman who had a go at one of the girls because she’d picked up a bra and expected it to be £6 because that’s what it said on the top of the fixture. It was £16, but it was clearly marked on its label. The sign at the top was over a mixed rack of bras and said "Debenhams T-shirt bra £6" and had a model next to it wearing that one. I don’t describe it well, but she was being unreasonable. And anyway, the price is right next to the size on the label… you have to look harder to see the size than the price, and she can’t've tried it on or looked at it for long! Ugh. AND it’s not our fault… maybe it’s a bit misleading but the woman hadn’t BOUGHT the bra before she realised (we would’ve refunded it if she had) and she shouldn’t take her mistake out on one of us! /rant
Hmmm. Mum and Kate came and chose some underwear which I got on my discount (allowed for immediate family) and went to Whittards and bought me plates and bowls! Yaay. They went in there and found that they were half price :D
In the evening Kate googled what we had in the fridge and found a recipe lemony thymey chicken with courgette & sundried tomato mixed into spaghetti. It was very nice indeeed.

Sunday: In the morning I was woken by my radio alarm (6.48am) and listened sleepily to something nice about Mendelssohn. Then I got up and had toast aaand got dressed aaand went to meet Meg. She texted to say she’d be late so I went the long way over the hills, it was beautifully sunny and I had a lovely drive! I parked in The Crescent car park and shamefully abused M&S’s free loo. Then I met Meg and we shoppped. In Debenhams we found presents for me (top up of favourite perfume), Meg (invisible knickers (NOT pervy, just anti-vpl)), her Grandmother (chocolates), our friend Caroline (secrets!) and my Dad (also secret!). We spent far too long in there wandering around & trying things on. Meg tried a few fancy dresses as she’s going to a ball in June, there was a lovely black and white one and a Coast one which was a lovely shade of green.
Theeeennn. We went and got a picnic from M&S and sat on a bench. I had their lovely raspberry jelly :D Then we went to Monsoon (where she worked/s) and found more nice things for Caroline, and belated birthday necklace and knickers for me.
Then we went & got insurance for her new phone, finally found my full-length navy leggings in Primark and tried on far too many pairs of shorts before she went home. I bought mince and bread from Sainsbury’s. I got a french stick, a wholemeal loaf and a wholemeal cob thingy for £1… yes! I arrived at that magic time again :D 4pm on a Sunday it seems. I could’ve had deformed hot cross buns, minty cookies, oniony bagels or large amounts of doughnuts but I refrained…
When I got home my family plus cat were sitting about in the garden & thinking about getting garden furniture out. It was amazingly warm! I was lying on the lawn at 6pm! Aaand we had gammon for supper.

Done! And 58 minutes to spare :D
My taste is back but my sense of smell is still a bit iffy. Meg tried loads of perfumes today but I couldn’t smell them :s

Starbucks Togo Cup

Starbucks Togo Cup
starbucks cup

Image by JyChen
我買的 Togo Cup,大杯裝。

Starbucks

Starbucks
starbucks drinks

Image by Jax60
My first drink from the near [closer] Starbucks.
Tall Caramel Macchiato.



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