Starbucks finally listed to my whiny plea of reinstating the mocha peppermint coffee that I love so much. To show my gratitude, I ordered myself up a 20 oz. cup of nonfat, hold the whip, false happiness and ethereal feeling drink. While waiting for my freshly brewed cup of dew of the Gods, the gal at the window offered me a free sample of their new Gingerbread Chai drink. I'm not really a chai type of gal but when faced with a bargain or a freebie, a girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I casually sipped my freebie, enjoying the initial burst of whipped cream and sprinkles. Not so bad. What was it about chai I didn't like? Was it to spicy taste? Different texture on my tongue? I couldn't remember at that point because I was thinking I might be an actual convert and decide to switch over to the dark side (or would that be the light side) of chai. I continued to sip away, thinking about how sophisticated I looked drinking up that yummy chai.

As I drank through the frothy layer of love I suddenly realized I was sucking down a hellish liquid that demonstrated to me what the floor of a lumber mill would probably taste like; turpentine, dirt, redwood shavings, and some man sweat. It was a total assault to my taste buds. I knew I didn't like chai - Hell, I don't even like gingerbread but still, I took that dang drink. I drank the whole mini-cup thinking that maybe, just maybe, the bottom of the drink might hold a secret taste of deliciousness. No such luck, it was pure ickiness the whole way down and surprisingly, back up due to the heinous heartburn it caused.

Did I learn my lesson? Did I learn that even a bargain costs something (like repeated memories of lumber mills caused by unrelenting burps)? Sure, maybe just a little - but the bargain high was sorta good while it lasted.