hooked on phonics worked for starbucks

I'm back from Oklahoma. It was good times with good people up in Native America. Oklahoma will definitely introduce mixed feelings into your life, if you don't already have some. On the upside it's such a friendly place. Everyone is nice, hospitable. On the downside it's cheesier there. Apparently happy people tend to be cheesy.



I spent a day in Branson (Missouri) then a day in Tulsa before moving on to Oklahoma City, where Dan and Meghan's wedding was. Oklahoma City (which is not, as its name suggests, the only city in Oklahoma) has an interesting downtown area called Bricktown. It reminds me of Austin's downtown a bit, because they've taken old brick buildings and restored them, complimenting them with new buildings - also made of brick. The mix of old and new is what reminds me of Austin's downtown. Bricktown's fault lies in it's borderline cheesiness. I only need cite one example: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill. You're so close Oklahoma, and then you go and totally un-redeem yourself.

I went to Starbucks while I was in Oklahoma, because I usually default to Starbucks on the road. It's corporate, I know, but I trust it. It's kind of like the McDonald's of the coffee world. There's something comforting in the fact that I can walk into a McDonald's anywhere in the world and get too salty french fries.



Apparently, Starbucks thinks my name best without it's second "T". I'm in no place to argue, but what's that about? I thought Bret was the female version of Brett. Is Starbucks trying to take a stab at my manhood? (I drank my coffee black, just in case.) Or are they just taking the phonetic approach to names now? Henre, Jayson, Mikeall, is that what we're in for?

Support your local coffee establishment. Save your name.

All that to say, congratulations Dan and Meghan. I wish you all weren't living in Ft. Worth, but I wish you a ton of years of happiness and a relationship that gets deeper each day. I hope that you love each other, even when it's difficult.