The chai-lites, or, Taste buds held hostage: Day 2

Having just loaded another $31 onto my Starbucks debit card, I've decided it's time to cut back - way back - on my daily chai tea latte habit. By one estimate (mine), I was spending nearly 70 bucks a month on the stuff, one tasty grande cup of lusciousness at a time. And, as I think you'd agree, that's approximately way too much.

Of course, I saved 40 cents every purchase because Starbucks waives the extra fee for soy milk when you pay with the debit card. (Yep, you're welcome for the tip.) And, come to think of it, I essentially got back 99 cents per week because Starbucks had these nifty little promotional cards for a free iTunes download every Tuesday. So, I was getting nearly $82 in value out of the deal each month, which is not too bad.

I won't even get into the caloric benefits of cutting back on my chai habit, but I will give you the link to the nutritional 411. Perhaps the strangest - and most annoying - aspect of this page is the revelation that, apparently, there are fewer calories in Canadian soy milk than in U.S. soy milk. Which is just great. First I have to deal with our dollar being worth the same as theirs, and now this.

Anyway, I've made it to day 2 of my chai-free existence, and I'm holding up OK so far. Thanks for asking. How long can it last? Stay tuned to SFTC for regular updates.

Of course, I still have about $20 left on my Starbucks card, so maybe I'll swing by sometime this week and pick up, um, a New York Times and some oatmeal.

To satisfy my chai craving, maybe I'll just start singing "Have You Seen Her?" every morning, because, well, if you know your R&B groups (or if you click through), you'll figure it out.