I burnt my tongue on coffee...

Many of you know Seattle for it's magnitude of coffee and being headquarters to the largest coffee chain in the world - Starbucks. While I'm not a Starbucks advocate, before I moved here I was what we'd call "anti" Starbucks. And while I'd like to say that I still am, living in such a close proximity to something you're against kinda breaks you down. There are literally Starbucks every three blocks, how can you avoid it? Plus their chai is del-ish.

So in Birmingham there is a small independent coffee shop called Lucy's. While I admit to never visiting Lucy's, it appears to have it's charm for locals and regulars, what you'd expect from a mom and pop coffee shop. When Starbucks moved into Birmingham in 2001, they set up their first shop on the corner of 11th and 20th, the heart of 5 points. Later, they set up a shop on 4th and 20th in the hospital district. Lucy's resides on University(or 8th if you'd prefer) and 20th, in the middle of it all. About a two years ago a Starbucks moved in next to Lucy's causing concern amongst its patrons. I, being a fair weather follower of the "crunchy granola" lifestyle, was angry that this corporation could destroy such a quaint business without a concern.

It wasn't until I moved to Seattle that I had my first cup of Starbucks after that. Hovering over my warm cup of chai on a rainy, cold Seattle February, I walked down University Way looking at the store fronts and getting acquainted with what this city had to offer. It was at that moment, sipping my grande non-fat chai, clinging to its warm, I knew I made the right choice. Not by breaking down my moral convictions to drink Starbucks, but for moving to the place where it all began. Moving to Seattle. At that moment, I knew I made the right choice.