The Sweet Triumphs and Bitter Failures of NaNoWriMo

I have two items to discuss here, both on the subject on NaNoWriMo (although the second one is only tangentially related):

1. Dear NaNo writing buddies: STOP BEING SO AWESOME. Everyone else on my buddies' list has, like, 15,000 words already, and I have a little more than 5,000. I was so proud of myself for not falling TOO far behind the daily goals that the stats application on the website suggests, and then I saw my friends' stats and felt horrible.

Why am I not as cool as you guys? WHY? And how do I become more like you?

This novel stuff is teh hard works, yo. I should return to the safe, fluffy world of form poetry, where I belong.

2. After I leave work today, I'll be getting on a bus and going to visit Claire, who, as you all are well aware, is incredibly awesome. My trip will last two hours, so I intend on getting some real, concrete novel-writing done. To facilitate this process, I am allowing myself a rare treat:

I'm going to Starbucks.

Many of you know that I have an inexplicable obsession with Starbucks, mostly because the area where I grew up only had one and my family hardly ever went out for stuff like that, and so it always felt special and exciting to go there. Plus, I like any combination of too much sugar and too many calories in one large, caffeinated beverage.

However, my love for Starbucks must frequently go unconsummated, since A) my husband hates hates hates it, and B) I am poor, and cannot afford such luxuries on a regular basis. Perhaps when Adam and I have clawed our way up from the lower middle class into the world of shabby-but-financially-secure academia, I will be able to indulge myself more often. For now, this is a treat I have not had in over a year.

Today, though, I am going to Philadelphia, and I have two hours in between my arrival home from work and my bus' departure time. I will be away from Adam all weekend (he's going to be in Connecticut for a retreat thingy) and I will be sad about this, and thus need some beverage-related cheering before I step onto the bus. And of course, I neeeeeeed coffee to be able to write. Right?

So here is my question: I heard through the grapevine (i.e., Facebook) that seasonal lattes may have made an appearance at Starbucks today. Can anyone confirm the return of the pumpkin spice latte? Or, more importantly, the peppermint mocha latte?