The Starbucks Roastery - where people go to feel famous while sipping a cup of coffee.

For my birthday I treated myself to a trip to the new Starbucks Emporium - where people go to feel famous while sipping a cup of coffee. (at least that's my guess).

Between the 250 decibel ethno-jazz (can't hear yourself think) and the 6 story coffee factory with walkways and ladders it is quite an experience and not a quiet contemplative one at that.

It's more like a Starbucks-gone-Vegas experience. The idea is modeled after 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Funny, but I don't remember the smell of coffee while I was there.

And I wouldn't know the meaning of what 'happy birthday' meant. I always fight against a pensive sadness that creeps into the occasion - like a frozen chill of defeated dreams.  Sigh... c'est la vie.