I’m a ridiculously-versed music junkie. It’s been established. But not in a cultural or intellectual way. No, I’ve always been a fan of pop, pop-rock, and other processed and acoustically-appealing, unoriginal music. There’s nothing wrong with any of it (with the exception of a few of the new unlistenable bubblegum pop and urban songs). I could easily be a great radio DJ for a any station that plays popular stuff from the past twenty years with all the mainstream stuff I like. But that’s not all there is to the music scene, and I’ve turned a blind eye to the rest of it for way too long.
First off, I’ve just gotten sick of this type of music and hearing the same songs over and over again. I have 200-some channels on my XM Radio in the car, and only listened, until recently, to three or four. How sad is that? So last week I started exploring other stations, and my new favorite is channel 45. It’s called Starbucks XM Cafe. There are many names for the music they play. Some call it coffeehouse music, some call it Triple-A (adult album alternative), and there are others.
Anyway, this station has just gotten me started. There’s so much good stuff out there that’s more down to earth, genuine, original, and appealing. I’ve listened to similar stuff as that station and gotten hooked on the refreshing stream of unprocessed or doctored music. I guess the main thing is I just wanna discover some new artists. If you have a particular favorite alternative artist, comment this post and pass them along! I’m done with this pop crap. There’s so much more to life, musically speaking.
Have you ever stopped to think about how you got to where you are? I’m a firm believer that there are no coincidences in life whatsoever. The people we meet, the things that happen to us, the experiences we have, they all happen for a reason. They’re all part of God’s plan for our lives. But do you ever think about how many small things could have lead to big things in your life?
Well this is a new one. I can’t count how many times people have thought my name was Travis (though I still don’t understand why that’s such a common thing that happens to me, because honestly I haven’t really met any more people named Travis than Trevor in my lifetime, but I digress). Well this morning at the Cabell Library Starbucks at VCU, I ordered my usual pick-me-up, a grande nonfat Chai Tea Latte. They ask for your name with your order at this particular location because it’s so incredibly busy, and the lady asked mine twice because I guess she couldn’t hear me. But I ended up with Thomas on my cup. I don’t know I just found that interesting. How in the world do you get Thomas from Trevor? Yet more proof that I really don’t exist, especially at VCU, like I 
This is awesome news in so many ways. AT&T plans to start implementing wi-fi networks at more than 7,000 company-run Starbucks locations nationwide (that’s pretty much all of them except in certain locations, such as Barnes & Noble, for example). The best part? It’s going to be free! If you have a Starbucks card, you will be allowed two hours of free, unrestricted access per day to the network. For anything beyond that, there’s a very nominal fee. If you’re an AT&T Broadband customer, you’ll have unlimited free access. The networks will be installed in the Spring in many markets, and all locations should have networks by the end of the year.
