Starbucks goes Comm Theory

It seems as if Starbucks is not only interested in brewing a good cup of coffee, but they are also interested in cultivating the public sphere. Long a place where people could come together and share ideas to a democratic and rational end, the public sphere was famously defined by Jurgen Habermas and rooted in the theory of communicative action. Basically, he stated that the public sphere was a place where people could congregate and discuss issues relevant to the public in hopes of influencing each other and/or reaching consensus. This is supposed to be a rational, inclusive, and status-free place. Coffee shops represent a classic venue through which this could take place.

Of course, in this day and age, I would be hard pressed to walk into a coffee shop and strike up conversation with anyone other than the barista (note my professional terminology). I don't talk to strangers, and most other people don't , either. Unless they are online, of course. But the movement of the public sphere to the Internet is another story. Starbucks, in its brilliance, has realized that people don't talk to each other. So what do they do? They put conversation on their cups.

When I went to my local Starbucks the other day, I picked up a pamphlet titled "The Way I See it," which details their "The Way I See It" campaign. For anyone who doesn't go to Starbucks, all of their cups are printed with "The Way I See It" and a quotation underneath. They use writers, musicians, philosophers, etc. I always wondered what that was all about. Now I know --they are trying to stimulate thought and conversation! But now, they've taken it one step further -- anyone can write in and either respond to a "The Way I See It" quote, or submit one of their own. And sure enough, my coffee cup from yesterday contained the one woman's musings about her parents. Hmmm.

So I got to thinking -- because Starbucks corporate is obviously selective about what they publish, they are clearly trying to cultivate a certain image of what a "Starbucks" public sphere would be, and by extension, what mindset is indicative of a Starbucks public. Wouldn't it be interesting to go through all of their cups and quotes and see just what that image is? My guess is that it is some kind of liberal, intellectual, somewhat self-important kind of public. No wonder I like Starbucks so much -- I fit right in! Okay --sort of -- but I'd still like to see exactly what kind of image they are trying to cultivate. It will take a lot of cups of coffee, but I'm up to the challenge.

In the meantime, I've found a way to save money at Starbucks. Whenever I bring in my travel mug, they only charge me for a tall even though my travel mug is a venti. It is one particular person who works behind the counter, and I'm wondering when she is going to realize that she is only supposed to give me a $0.20 discount. Hopefully not for a long time. However, by using my travel mug, I may be saving the planet, but I am removing myself from the conversation.

I realize this whole post makes it seem like I have a ton of time on my hands, but really, think I just have adult ADD.

Easy as 1-2-3

In what is absolutely no surprise, Olivers braces have started rubbing at the skin on his feet. Our vigilence about watching for signs of wear on his skin was short-lived considering it took only 3 days for the breakdown to start. On Saturday, his physical therapist told us that we had to keep the braces off, since wounds on the foot are slower to heal. So he has been braceless since Saturday (again -- very aggravating since this totally works against the effects of the surgery). I did my customary Monday morning thing of calling (insert doctor here -- sometimes a pediatrician, sometimes ortho, but you get the idea), and was told to call the brace shop. So I did, and you'll never believe this, but that have a local office only 10 MINUTES AWAY that I can go to. I almost wet myself I was so excited. I had no idea when I was going to fit in a trip to Philly this week, and now, I don't have to. Aaahhh....

Go RU!

My little Scarlett Knight

Oli's New Kicks

Our man Oliver got his new braces yesterday. Not as unobtrusive as I'd hoped, but certainly not bad, either. As far as I know, he will now wear these forever. Well, not this pair, of course, but you know what I mean.

Not sure if I'd mentioned that his casts came off again, the day after I took him last week. So he had them put on on 12/19, they came off by Christmas. So I took him back on 12/26, and they slid off by 12/27. So he's been castless for a week. Which means that as his tendons reattached from surgery, nothing was holding them in the right place. Extremely frustrating. And yesterday they told me that the braces will likely slip out of position all the time, too. I have to check them and take them off/put them back on every hour. What?? Apparently, this happens for two reasons a) his fat little baby legs lead to tiny baby feet, so whatever is put on them just slides off and b) they way his feet are formed he doesn't really have a prominent heel to anchor them.

So it is kind of difficult to get the feet in the braces just right, and once I do, I have to take them off, stretch him, and put them back on again. Also, because he has no feeling, we have to be very vigilant that the skin isn't breaking down. He won't let us know, and aparently sores can build up pretty quickly.

Our orthopedist is a very academic man. He seems to like treating patients for practical purposes, but also likes the learning aspect of it. He is always off lecturing or bringing visitors on rounds with him. As such, he has lamented (more times than I want to hear, quite honestly) that they haven't figured out anything new to do for Spina Bifida babies with club feet since the 1950s. He told us that right before he took Oliver to surgery -- Well, great. I kind of felt like telling him not to bother with the surgery then. So poor Oliver is stuck in these funky looking plastic braces that won't even stay on his feet because nobody has figured out anything new. They are better than nothing, but they certainly aren't any great answer.

In other news:

Mac now has a rash to go with her ear infection. Not only did her ear infection not clear up in the last week and a half, but now she has a rash to go with it. And you guessed it, it is contagious. So we all know who will break out in a day or so...

and...

Although this deserves its own post, because it is very exciting news, I'll just throw it out here -- I GOT A JOB! That's right -- I negotiated a bit more money from Penn State and I'm now a Nittany Lion. Okay -- a pending Lion. I'm still a Scarlet Knight for now. I guess I have dual citizenship. That is a huge load off of my mind. I have a really busy semester coming up and I'm so glad to have one less thing to worry about.

Preparing for a Happy New Year

It's been quite a busy and wonderful year.

Welcoming Oliver into the family has been exciting beyond words. It's hard to imagine that this time last year he was just a tiny little bean waiting to be born. We had no idea what was to come. Getting his diagnosis was momentarily devastating; we had to mourn the baby we thought we'd have and then accept the baby that we were going to have. For me, that took the first weekend of getting the news -- after that, I didn't look back. Once we hooked up with CHOP, things went pretty quickly. All of the visits and uncertainty and waiting and praying that took us up to the birth of our little boy seems like a blur now. But when I sit back and reflect, the change in our lives is amazing. We are parents of a special needs child -- part of a new group, a new subset of society with a whole new vocabulary and priorities. But most importantly, we are the parents of a perfect, sweet, amazing little boy. In all of my prayers, I could not have asked for a more perfect son.

Watching Mac grow from a little toddler into a full-fledged little girl has been an amazing (and tiring!) process. It's hard to even remember, but I don't think that she was talking much this time last year. Now, she is the most articulate, most impressive little girl. She "reads" books, tells stories, reasons with me, argues with me, and absorbs everything. In my wildest dreams, I could not imagine a smarter, sweeter, more amazing daughter.

Tim and I have spent another year together -- we're going on seven! In some ways, that doesn't seem like nearly long enough for all that has gone on, but in other ways it has been a lifetime. Even though we don't see each other as often as we should (or maybe because of :) we continue to love each other and learn a lot about being married. Sometimes the learning isn't easy or fun, but I have to think that it counts for something.

I even got a job offer, which I have been stressing about basically since half-way through the PhD program. We turned the garage into an office and a playroom. Tim has remodeled the school. We have tunred a thousand tiny corners this year in order to bring us to 2008. God has been with us and kept us safe and close. We are both blessed and grateful.

Looking forward, I hope for health, happiness, and a little organization!