My alarm went off at 3:50 this morning. It reaffirmed that I am definitely NOT a morning person. But my 6:20 AM departure for Seattle forced me to wake up at such an ungodly hour. I had a layover in Atlanta. When I got to my gate, there was a sign that said the flight was delayed, but it didn't offer any information on how long the wait might be. I milled around a bit to see if there was anyone to ask. There wasn't. So I decided to visit the Starbucks kiosk across the hall.

After being in the States for a few weeks now, I finally have my Starbucks ordering down pat. I used to roll my eyes at some of my friends' drink orders---with all their complicated Starbucks lingo---but really I just had beverage-order-envy. So now I'm feeling good about knowing exactly what I like and exactly how to order it.

The line at Starbucks was pretty long. The woman taking the orders seemed rather impatient with anyone who didn't order with politically correct terminology. I kept repeating my drink order in my head, determined to not be one of "them".

I'm next in line. She shouts, "What can I get you?" And I freeze for half a second before telling her my order. "Grande non-fat, no water, no foam, 180 chai... please!" Phew. The Starbucks pressure is, at times, overwhelming.

I get my drink, take one sip, and start walking back to my gate just as they open it up for boarding. WHA?! Yep. And with the new FAA regulations barring all liquids on board, I had to pitch my completely full chai. Shame!