Exactly what is wrong...

today I encountered a perfect example of exactly what is wrong with the world...my roommate and I went to starbucks, a place I generally find to be filled with a certain part of the populus...While sometimes these people are a bit lofty in their opinions, I have never really encountered anyone too unpleasant. Until today. You see, starbucks was not THAT busy. A woman and her young daughter (maybe 7) got in line behind us as we were ordering. I say this because it is important to note that there is no way to confuse that the two of us were in front of the two of them. As we finished paying, we quickly browsed through the cds (easy tiger was there, and definitely goes well with coffee....kudos starbucks) then sat at a table right by the counter where the finished drinks come out. The portly woman, along with her equally portly daughter decide that waiting patiently somewhere out of the way is not befitting of them, so they hog right on up to the bar itself. The woman even made eye contact with us at one point, and I blame myself for not realizing at this point something was about to go wrong. I re-imagine that moment we locked eye contact almost like the scenes in better off dead where john cusack is being taunted, even dared, to just TRY and stop those americanized asian brothers from beating him in a race, but at the time, I had no way of knowing that the enjoyment level of my day was in great peril.

I guess I should clarify something about myself...and that is, that above anything else, poor public behavior is the number one way to upset me. If you're an idiot at home, so what...but the second your ignorant behavior keeps me from accomplishing something is the very second I wish I could just take you out and beat you. Why? Because i'm not asking you to understand kant's categorical imperative, I don't expect you to be able to quote me lines from the tempest, I just ask that in public, you act like a decent human being.

So with that said, the time comes...my roommate's drink comes out first, and as the barista is calling out "tall caramel whatever for justin" and sets the drink on the counter, the portly daughter quickly grabs the drink before I, being less than an arm's reach away, can...and not only that, even as i'm reaching for it, takes a drink. As she swallows that first sip she tries to cover up the fact that it was too hot to taste, and instead looks at me and smiles.

I look at the mother, fully expecting to receive an apology for the behavior, but instead she says "well, she ordered the same thing...how could she know?" and with that the woman seems fully confident that she has fulfilled her obligation to me.

the barista hands me my drink, and seeing as how my roommate ordered the same thing, we accepted the one that was originally intended for the little girl.

I was careful to not make a scene, but the situation made me think about a couple of things.

First and foremost, this a blatant error of parenting. Nothing was done to insure that, in the future, this little girl refrains from drink theft. I'm not saying you have to yell or beat the kid or anything like that, it's as simple as saying "rachel, (which was the girl's name on the cup) wait until they call your name, ok?" but instead the parent tries to just excuse their child's poor behavior.

Second, why are you giving your seven year old overweight kid a combination of espresso, caramel, and mocha?

Thanks. Day ruined.

-update- despite my day having previously been ruined, it is now NOT RUINED as it is now snowing.