So I went to fetch a huge coffee before my 5 pm 3-hour lecture.
“It’s free,” told me the barista at the campus Starbucks.
“Why is it free?” I asked.
“Why not?” the barista retorted.
I had no answer, so I just took the coffee.
Now I’m wondering, though. My morning class is quite large and I don’t know all of the students in it. Might this barista be one of my students in that course and did I just accept a bribe in the form of free coffee?
Clarissa's Blog 
Nah I bet they just like you!
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Well, that’s just freaky. 🙂
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Wait and see how you feel. I assume you ordered a large cup of coffee for the caffeine.
If you have a normal amount of caffeine, they like you.
If you’re vibrating, they might like you (assuming you like the caffeine and that more=better).
If your coffee that keeps you awake does nothing for you, it’s decaf and they’re messing with you.
🙂
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Sometimes Starbucks just does that — it’s possibly because the baristas make test drinks, so the coffee you got for free may have been something they were testing out with the machines.
The coffee is perfectly drinkable, of course, but it’s possibly not one they were going to sell.
So don’t worry, your bribe-free status has not been soiled. 🙂
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OK, that’s not what I wanted to hear. 🙂 I’m way too old to be a good guinea pig.
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You do realise they throw the absolute failures away, so in fact you are a “good guinea pig” in the sense of getting the good stuff … 🙂
OH LOOK THE HEDGEHOG DOESN’T LIKE BEING A GUINEA PIG
🙂
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Actually, I’m feeling like shit. I’m guessing there’s a chance this guinea pig will find herself at the dump tomorrow.
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Seems regional — I rang up someone somewhat near you in the States today and had to listen to his hackish cough through our extended conversation.
I almost wanted to post a few cartons of Strepsils just for relief.
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I often get offers for extra shots in my drink.
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It’s a slippery slope!
Clarissa testifying before a congressional hearing a few years from now:
“You think I got time to ask a man why he given me money or where he gets his money from, I’ll take any mothafucker’s money if he givin’ it away! “
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Perhaps he is a student but rather than a bribe it was more meant as a performance enhancer. If he was a student why wouldn’t he want the best possible lecture?
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I’ve gotten Thank You cards and small gifts ($10 Starbucks gift certificate, cookies, etc) many times from students after they turn in their final (so technically, I haven’t input their grades yet). I’ve never felt there was anything wrong with that. The only time I’ve refused a gift was when 3 students got me a $100 Gap card. That felt like a bribe (and one of the student was barely making a C). But I see nothing wrong in accepting a free coffee from a Starbucks barista, as long as you remain impartial if she is your student
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I was kidding about bribery. 🙂 I accepted a whole package of coffee from a student last semester.
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You got me there! I need my coffee before I start commenting on other people’s blog!
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This is how it begins, a “free” coffee and the next thing you know you’re sweating on TV in front of a Congressional Investigation.
“What did you know professor? And WHEN did you know it?” demanded the chairman.
The professor stammered and looked confused until armed guards tried to lead her away at which point she began screaming incomprehensively about “vile freakazoids”.
Testimony from co-workers and former students is expected to continue tomorrow.
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That…sounds like a series of Dunkin Donuts commercials.
[I’m told lots of people like their regular coffee, but their specialty coffee drinks are vile. ]
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Tried one once — they’re obnoxiously sweet, even for someone who sugars up a regular coffee in order to combat early-morning sugar lows …
If you have a K-Cup brewer, the stuff DD sells in K-Cups is lovely, but it’s mostly unavailable in the western half of the United States because they only sell it from their shops.
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Yes, and then someone will go over the top with it …
I HAVE A DREAM
THAT EVERYONE IN AMERICA CAN ENJOY THIS COFFEE
🙂
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