Coffee, Conversations and Company

For me, an idyllic picture of contentment after a horrendous day at work would be coffee, conversations and company.

Braving through the much anticipated rain and traffic from Alabang to Makati, I met up with fellow compatriots from the One Tama movement and new-found friend Zarah "Zee" Perez from Starbucks Philippines' Global Responsibility group.

Zee's responsible for Dialogues@Starbucks - a move to elevate coffee shop conversations into a networking and launching forum of good works. When I met her, I just knew that we would connect. My favorite term for that is "kindred spirits" (Anne of Green Gables). Zee is obsessed (I mean this in a good way) of putting the spotlight on unknown yet potential Pinoy gamechangers.

My One Tama group is an example; we adopt small yet doable things to influence the way how things are ran in Philippine everyday life. From bringing one's own bag to the grocery store to demanding receipts for purchases to following traffic rules to greeting/ smiling at/ thanking taxi drivers when getting inside/outside the cab and more.

Last night was about the upcoming 2010 elections but I won't write about that here. I want to focus on the simple yet deeply appreciative things such as coffee, conversations and company melting away figurative toxins.

Just talking with Zee about how we can work together for the Brain Gain Network - a pet project of my boss Paco Sandejas - and Dialogues@Starbucks, interlaced with news from our other partners and friends we regularly engage with, did not seem to tire us out at all. I guess if one is so madly in love with work, talking about it is so effortless, light, exciting that you can actually feel yourself getting so hyped up.

Because of the rains, Starbucks was a bit empty --- and it added a bit of an allure to it. Quiet, soothing, and relaxing, talking felt more wonderful as we did not have to scream at each other so we can hear what we're saying. I notice when coffee shops get crowded (sure, it's good for business but ...) the ambiance shifts dramatically.

But yeah, going back to what I was writing, last night was a perfect night for caffeine (though we did not have any, smelling the brews was just so heavenly) and catch-up time. The 3 C's seemed to have pull us out of what seemed like zombie states, lulling us into a world of engagements (work - again - and otherwise), pride in being Filipinos, and nurturing relationships.

We parted close to ten in the evening. Admittedly, we were already feeling petered out but knowing that we were well and good put things at peace ... until we find ourselves activated by an idea bug or Eureka moment that one just has to get a hold of each other in the soonest possible time.