my daily jonesing for caffeine has led to the folks at both dunkin donuts and starbucks knowing my name and what my order is. which is nice, but the fabulously kind and wondeful guy at starbucks has gone from calling me "catherine" to "cathy," which....frankly, it's unacceptable. every time i get called "cathy" i shudder uncontrollably. it's not the name so much as it is me. ok, it's the name. i hate it, and i never have been or will be a cathy. throughout my ten years on the internet and participation in various mailing lists, IRC chat rooms, millions of IM sessions and blogging communities, i have become ok with "C," "cat" and "cath." but cathy simply WILL NOT STAND. at this point, though, it really just seems obnoxious to correct the starbucks guy. so each morning i suffer in silence. i know. i can feel your sympathy through the tubes of the internet. it's a difficult life.

UPDATE: relatedly, this article on a starbucks closing in new jersey is kind of hysterical. the starbucks is closing because the building it's in is slated to be replaced by condos and other retail, and the people talk talk wistfully about their starbucks memories like it is an old-timey store that's been around for a hundred years. just, like - did starbucks really influence the narrative of your life? are you really THAT sad? i find it hard to believe. exceprt:

Jeremy Bilas, 28, and his wife, Melanie, reminisced about going to the Morristown Starbucks for sandwiches and espressos before closing on their house, and about sipping hot chocolate at the coffee shop during Christmas season, before going to cut down their Christmas tree.

"We had to get one last coffee here today," Melanie Bilas said, as she shared an iced caramel macchiato with her husband. "We'll probably have to get our own coffee machine and make our own coffee from now on."