Proof of Vaccination or Negative COVID Test required for theme parks soon?

[TP2000]

My local, non-Starbucks coffee house gave me a plastic straw with my drink this morning... and I've never been happier.

I walked in and got a Starbucks Grande Mango Refresher (it's hot and headed to 90 today!) just an hour ago at a full-service Starbucks down the hill. It came automatically with a plastic lid, and the lovely young lady asked me if I wanted a straw, and when I said yes quickly grabbed a paper sheathed individual straw from a bucket of them on the counter and handed it to me gladly.

I also wasn't wearing a mask, along with a few others in there, but the Starbucks employees were all kind and chatty. What's with the no-straw thing at Starbucks? Because in OC they're giving them out like free candy. Or was that not really plastic? It seemed like a plastic straw.

Or is it that if you don't wear a mask they assume you are "one of those" and automatically load you up with plastic accessories for your drink?

 

[Mac Tonight]

I walked in and got a Starbucks Grande Mango Refresher (it's hot and headed to 90 today!) just an hour ago at a full-service Starbucks down the hill. It came automatically with a plastic lid, and the lovely young lady asked me if I wanted a straw, and when I said yes quickly grabbed a paper sheathed individual straw from a bucket of them on the counter and handed it to me gladly.

I also wasn't wearing a mask, along with a few others in there, but the Starbucks employees were all kind and chatty. What's with the no-straw thing at Starbucks? Because in OC they're giving them out like free candy. Or was that not really plastic? It seemed like a plastic straw.

Or is it that if you don't wear a mask they assume you are "one of those" and automatically load you up with plastic accessories for your drink?

Ever since Starbucks started using those plastic lids you could drink from, I assumed they were abandoning straws. But every so often they'll still ask if we want ones, "for free".

Honestly, you'd love the folks who operate our drive-thru.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I walked in and got a Starbucks Grande Mango Refresher (it's hot and headed to 90 today!) just an hour ago at a full-service Starbucks down the hill. It came automatically with a plastic lid, and the lovely young lady asked me if I wanted a straw, and when I said yes quickly grabbed a paper sheathed individual straw from a bucket of them on the counter and handed it to me gladly.

I also wasn't wearing a mask, along with a few others in there, but the Starbucks employees were all kind and chatty. What's with the no-straw thing at Starbucks? Because in OC they're giving them out like free candy. Or was that not really plastic? It seemed like a plastic straw.

Or is it that if you don't wear a mask they assume you are "one of those" and automatically load you up with plastic accessories for your drink?

A friend that works at a Starbucks in Utah said that there was a shortage and they couldn't get them in, so they were only giving them out if asked. But I'm like.... sure the brand approved straws are preferable but if your supplier doesn't have them you can't go to Costco and get a bulk pack of standard straws?

 

[SuddenStorm]

So glad I have to beg for a plastic lid at the park.

It's ridiculous to me that you spend $5 on a large coke, but they don't have lids or real straws. Makes walking around with the drink difficult.

 

[TP2000]

Ever since Starbucks started using those plastic lids you could drink from, I assumed they were abandoning straws. But every so often they'll still ask if we want ones, "for free".

Honestly, you'd love the folks who operate our drive-thru.

I don't go to Starbucks nearly as much as I did a decade ago (cut it out when my Doctor told me to lose 20 pounds), but the ones here in OC seem exactly as they've always been to me regarding straws and plasticware. Thinking about it, the big bucket of straws she gave me one from had two distinct sizes, medium and long.

The only thing different that reminds you it is 2022 is that their lunch and food case was completely barren, and it had a sign in it saying "Due to Supply Chain issues, we regretfully can not offer..."

 

[mickEblu]

It's ridiculous to me that you spend $5 on a large coke, but they don't have lids or real straws. Makes walking around with the drink difficult.

Especially fun with young kids and your hands full. Also I guess Covid doesn’t exist around the top of Coke cups. Only around our faces. I’m more worried about somebody sneezing in my drink that sitting in my kids stroller without a lid while I’m on a ride than anybody giving me COVID. Just another thing to plan. Plan your drinks around rides or buy a new one every 20 minutes or just beg for the lids like me. And no I don’t want a coke bottle unless it’s glass. Coke can only be drank out of a glass bottle or from a fountain in a cup of ice.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I don't go to Starbucks nearly as much as I did a decade ago (cut it out when my Doctor told me to lose 20 pounds), but the ones here in OC seem exactly as they've always been to me regarding straws and plasticware. Thinking about it, the big bucket of straws she gave me one from had two distinct sizes, medium and long.

The only thing different that reminds you it is 2022 is that their lunch and food case was completely barren, and it had a sign in it saying "Due to Supply Chain issues, we regretfully can not offer..."

It's been interesting to see how companies have adapted with the supply chain issues. Finding an alternative is always preferable to offering nothing, and in the case of Starbucks they could easily buy some bagels, frozen breakfast sandwiches, etc as temporary replacements. Sure it creates inconsistency across stores in the short term, but that's better than offering nothing.

Hotels have been struggling with sourcing stuff also. Towels and sheets were in short supply over the summer, then it was shampoos and other complimentary toiletries. I know a hotel that was buying bath towels from Target to get by, and ordering whatever soaps they could from their supplier even if they weren't the brand approved. Marriott is in the process of revamping the complimentary breakfast for their select service brands- and hotels have been having trouble sourcing the new breakfast items from USFoods and Sysco.

I enjoyed a brief conversation with a senior manager for Trader Joes and I made sure to mention they've been out of my favorite item for months- which got him to talk about all of the issues they've been having sourcing stuff the last few months.

 

[drizgirl]

I walked in and got a Starbucks Grande Mango Refresher (it's hot and headed to 90 today!) just an hour ago at a full-service Starbucks down the hill. It came automatically with a plastic lid, and the lovely young lady asked me if I wanted a straw, and when I said yes quickly grabbed a paper sheathed individual straw from a bucket of them on the counter and handed it to me gladly.

I also wasn't wearing a mask, along with a few others in there, but the Starbucks employees were all kind and chatty. What's with the no-straw thing at Starbucks? Because in OC they're giving them out like free candy. Or was that not really plastic? It seemed like a plastic straw.

Or is it that if you don't wear a mask they assume you are "one of those" and automatically load you up with plastic accessories for your drink?

My daughter asked for a straw at a local Starbucks over Christmas and was chastised by the woman working the window about it being bad for the environment. But at least she gave her the straw.

 

[TP2000]

It's been interesting to see how companies have adapted with the supply chain issues. Finding an alternative is always preferable to offering nothing, and in the case of Starbucks they could easily buy some bagels, frozen breakfast sandwiches, etc as temporary replacements. Sure it creates inconsistency across stores in the short term, but that's better than offering nothing.

This was my first Starbucks visit since before Christmas. The food case was totally bare, and you could tell it had been abandoned for quite some time. It had a professional sign placed in it apologizing for not offering food any longer due to "Supply Chain" issues.

So many Starbucks have given up on offering food items? That's got to really hurt their profit margins! Yikes!

I enjoyed a brief conversation with a senior manager for Trader Joes and I made sure to mention they've been out of my favorite item for months- which got him to talk about all of the issues they've been having sourcing stuff the last few months.

I love my Trader Joe's too! I chat occasionally with one of the manager ladies there, she's a doll and always says hi. They've had many items I like just go missing, and she says the main goal is to just try to fill in the empty shelves with whatever they can find. She said she doubled the size of her bagged chip section because the bags can be easily spread out to fill an entire aisle!

 

[TP2000]

My daughter asked for a straw at a local Starbucks over Christmas and was chastised by the woman working the window about it being bad for the environment. But at least she gave her the straw.

That's unacceptable. Just simply unacceptable. And talk about brainwashing. My God.

Once I had the straw I would have told her "Thanks. I do keep these after I use them. And then twice a year I go out in a boat towards Catalina and wait for the Blue Whales to surface as they migrate to Baja. When they get close enough to the boat, I take a handful of your straws and SHOVE them down their blowholes just to teach them a lesson!" Then I'd wave and drive off from the window.

It would at least give her something to rant about on TikTok.

 

[drizgirl]

That's unacceptable. Just simply unacceptable. And talk about brainwashing. My God.

Once I had the straw I would have told her "Thanks. I do keep these after I use them. And then twice a year I go out in a boat towards Catalina and wait for the Blue Whales to surface as they migrate to Baja. When they get close enough to the boat, I take a handful of your straws and SHOVE them down their blowholes just to teach them a lesson!" Then I'd wave and drive off from the window.

It would at least give her something to rant about on TikTok.

And I would have bought your Starbucks drink (even at the new inflated prices ) just to see you do that.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

My daughter asked for a straw at a local Starbucks over Christmas and was chastised by the woman working the window about it being bad for the environment. But at least she gave her the straw.

We use paper straws and it’s amazing how often people complain about them.

I’ve never had a problem using our paper straws, and if it saves some marine life that’s a good thing, but if someone complains I simply offer them a second straw (which probably offsets any positive environmental impact)… I do find it funny how angry people can get over something as tiny as a straw though, whether for or against.

 

[drizgirl]

We use paper straws and it’s amazing how often people complain about them.

I’ve never had a problem using our paper straws, and if it saves some marine life that’s a good thing, but if someone complains I simply offer them a second straw (which probably offsets any positive environmental impact)… I do find it funny how angry people can get over something as tiny as a straw though, whether for or against.

This wasn't even about paper vs. plastic. She just preferred to have a straw over sipping from the cup directly. And she didn't get angry. The clerk was slightly annoyed (and annoying) but my daughter was quite pleasant.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This wasn't even about paper vs. plastic. She just preferred to have a straw over sipping from the cup directly. And she didn't get angry. The clerk was slightly annoyed (and annoying) but my daughter was quite pleasant.

I was talking more about the attitude from the worker, I just find it very odd how upset people can get over something as insignificant as a straw.

 

[TP2000]

I was talking more about the attitude from the worker, I just find it very odd how upset people can get over something as insignificant as a straw.

It's a bizarre way to go through life, I agree. I have noticed that many younger people can be so very earnest and serious about the smallest minutiae of life. And then there's these giant societal problems that they just ignore.

It's quite fascinating how that works for them, and how they decided that it's straws (or pronouns, or Tweets from total strangers, or vodka only made from organic grain, etc., etc.) that they must stake their life on.

 

[Mac Tonight]

I had some big elaborate, TED Talk-esque "anti-social media" rant planned in response to this... but it would be too long to type, and frankly I don't have the energy for it right now... but suffice it to say, with each passing day, I start to step further and further back from social media in it's entirety, and I think everyone else should too.

And, sometimes that even includes this place.

 

[mickEblu]

I had some big elaborate, TED Talk-esque "anti-social media" rant planned in response to this... but it would be too long to type, and frankly I don't have the energy for it right now... but suffice it to say, with each passing day, I start to step further and further back from social media in it's entirety, and I think everyone else should too.

And, sometimes that even includes this place.

I agree. In addition to this I’d say having a mobile device attached to us like an appendage is also not good for various reasons.

 

[Mac Tonight]

I agree. In addition to this I’d say having a mobile device attached to us like an appendage is also not good for various reasons.

True.

The other day I went to my in-laws for dinner, and it wasn't until I got there that I realized I left my cell phone at home... AND I SURVIVED! Was it awkward at first? Sure. But really, I think that's just because our modern brains have been re-wired to accept that a man and his phone are inherently linked and what has been joined together, let no man separate... or something like that.

 

[TP2000]

Here's an interesting look at the case rates by city for all of Orange County (pop. 3.3 Million). Throughout the pandemic, it was always Santa Ana with the highest case rates and deaths. Santa Ana is the least affluent and most working-class city in OC, with a big majority Hispanic population. (Unfortunately, Hispanics continue to the least vaccinated demographic in OC)

Even as the Omicron wave dies away, Santa Ana leads OC with a case rate that's often double to quadruple more than adjacent and/or more racially diverse and affluent cities in OC. It's the dark red dot in the middle of the county.

Daily Case Rate Average Past 14 Days

Santa Ana = 1,637 Cases Per 100K Residents
Anaheim = 865 Cases Per 100K Residents
Fullerton = 832 Cases Per 100K Residents
Tustin = 787 Cases Per 100K Residents
Villa Park (Go Spartans!) = 556 Cases Per 100K Residents
Mission Viejo = 496 Cases Per 100K Residents
Dana Point = 391 Cases Per 100K Residents
Newport Beach = 232 Cases Per 100K Residents

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Agreed, that's probably part of it. But every human on the planet has said things they should not have. The problem the youngsters have is they don't push back on cancellations, they only apologize and accept their fate from a Twitter mob of strangers. Fight back kids! Say "Yeah, sorry, that was a dumb thing I said 8 years ago"... and then keep talking. Don't allow strangers to shut you up. Easy-peasy.

While I wait for the Friday statistics and hard data to load from the California Department of Public Health to update this thread with, a funny Friday story about vodka from organic grain...

A few weeks ago I was in the bar (native environment) at the Capital Grille at South Coast, waiting for some friends to join me for dinner. An attractive young lady young enough to be carded by the bartender sidles up and asks for a Lemon Drop. But then she starts questioning if he has a certain type of vodka; but nope. So he offers a subsitute, and she begins speaking slightly louder so we all can hear that "she only drinks vodka that uses organic grains" and how she's "fully organic, I do not allow toxins in my life", and they begin a discussion of what types of vodka in stock might meet her dietary guidelines. And I'm thinking "You are about to injest liquid that your human body considers a poison and that will require your internal organs to overstress themselves to eliminate from your system, and you are worried about organic grains?!?"

As someone who’s never been PC, but tries to always be polite , I’m so thankful that what we joked about as kids wasn’t recorded. I don’t think we ever said anything too horrible but a lot of it would never survive todays scrutiny.

As for the booze I always chuckle at the need to be organic or gluten free because by the time the source grain is broken down to sugar, then fermented, then distilled it’s source is irrelevant. Not true for beers but if it’s distilled it makes no difference beyond marketing.