I am not paid to do PR for Starbucks. This is all out of love, people.

I don't go to Starbucks very often at all, so I might be about three years behind on this, but I've just found out that frappucinos come in low-calorie versions. I tried the coffee flavor and it was very good; hardly different from the standard version. Hypocritically enough, even though I laugh at the ridiculous proportions the whole low-carb low-blah blah blah craze has reached, I have to admit that I am pleased to now have a healthier option at Fancy Coffee World.

Last summer, a friend gave me some Starbucks gift cards for my birthday and as a pick-me-up, because I was unemployed and not taking it very well. I think she had gotten the idea from a story in the Onion about a guy who was unemployed and totally demoralized, to the point where his only reason for leaving the house every day was to go to the local Starbucks.

Now, this article could have been written by me. I was a sad sad girl. For the first few weeks of joblessness, I used my free time to explore the city, walking around unknown neighborhoods and visiting the most neglected of the Smithsonian museums, so they'd feel popular, but that ended real quick. DC is seriously hot in the summer. And I hate the heat. Pretty soon, my daily routine had been pared down into endless cycles of classifieds-reading, resume-sending, and TV-watching.

Lo and behold, the Starbucks cards turned out to be the most brilliant gifts ever. Like the guy in the article, I now had a reason to peel my ass off the couch. And since I was poor and getting poorer, using free money alleviated the $3 coffee-splurge guilt. The daily trek for coffee had ended my pathetic hermit life!

I did eventually get a job (thanks, God), so my coffee-shop-frequenting has gone way down. But I haven't forgotten you, Starbucks! You were there for me in my hour (season) of need! I will recommend you as a cure for unemployment-related-depression for as long as I live.

And, if you don't mind my saying so, your new light frappucinos are delightful.