I'll bet you a buck. A Star buck.

I'm a therapist, and that sometimes means listening to people confess things that are difficult for them to admit. Maybe you can identify. What is your deep, dark secret?

Here's one of mine: I frequent Starbucks. Okay, so maybe it's not that deep. It's usually dark, though. That's my favorite roast.

Anyway... I hate to admit that I am addicted to something I used to make fun of people for. But I am. Some marketing genius lured me in several years ago with a card entitling me to a free cup of coffee every Wednesday for about two months. That's all it took.

But this isn't a post about Starbucks. Well, it is. But it's more a post about a Starbucks card and a bizarre phenomenon that I do not understand. It becomes more and more perplexing as time goes by (and my caffeine tolerance goes up).

Here's the deal: I have a miniature Starbuck's card. A few years ago, Starbuck's offered gift cards that were a bit smaller than the traditional credit-card size. And they had a hole in the corner so you could put it on your key ring.

Genius, right? Well, no. It turns out the mini cards created a problem. Customers would go through the drive-through; and when they arrived at the window, awkwardness and inconvenience ensued. The customer would have to turn off their car and hand the "barista" (I can't believe I just typed that word) their entire key ring, card attached, to pay. So, as far as I know, Starbucks discontinued the mini card.

Fast-forward to now. I am apparently one of the few people left still carrying one of those cards. I've never attached it to my key ring because, well... that implies that I frequent Starbucks, which is not something I wish people to know about me. So, I carry that little card in my wallet.

The fascinating (to me) phenomenon that comes with carrying a mini Starbucks card is this: Almost without exception, when I hand that little card to a "barista" (I can't believe I just typed that word again) for the first time, they almost always comment on its size. "Oh, how cute!" Or, "Oh, it's so tiny." Or some other comment more appropriate for a puppy or newborn human than for a piece of plastic.

This phenomenon is, perhaps predictably, more common with female "baristas" (wow... a third time). But even a few "baristos" (guys) have made similar comments. It's rather bizarre, really. I mean, what part of our brain is responsible for such nonsense? And how far does this seemingly universal phenomenon go? Would someone who had only ever seen quarters comment on the cuteness of a dime? Would a pebble be a "cute mini boulder" to someone who had never seen one?

It's just plain weird. So weird that I've begun losing sleep over it. Or maybe that's the caffeine... I don't know. But either way, Starbucks is to blame.

Any ideas out there? I'm open to any theories you might have on this. Perhaps we could discuss it over a cup of coffee. And I'll bet you a buck that when we step up to the counter to purchase that coffee, the "barista" (I've lost count...) will say something along the lines of, "Oh, how cute!" And she (or he) won't be talking about you!