My most wanted: STARBUCKS City Mugs Collection (Series 4)

It's been a long while since my last entry. Let me update everyone with the lastest on my collection. Here we go...

From my Spring 2009 vacation in Australia.

My friend Alvin and I spent a few days in Melbourne.

It's been Sydney where I spent most days.

Jakarta: from the June 2011 vacation of Tina and Wlad. This was their birthday present for me. Too bad they missed my bday party.


Ligawa went on a work trip to Shanghai June 2011 but when I told her that I have the Shanghai mug already, she just got me the China one since I didn't have this yet.

My first-ever mug was from Vienna when I went on vacation winter of 2002. The 2010 series was from the Padua family. Thanks to Sharon and Lester.

My former boss Arjay (with wife Marix) would normally go places and get me my favorites. They went to Taipei last year and got me this.

In my short vacation in Singapore (Nov 2010), Tina, Bam and I initially went to a Starbucks store too late in the evening so they were closed. We had to buy this from the mall near the Singapore flyer.

April 2009 was when my family went to Shanghai for a short vacation.

Still from Arjay and Marix when they went to Seoul.

San Diego: It was at a Starbucks store in Huntington Beach in Orange County where I got this from. Thanks to Leanie for suggesting to get coffee that time of the night. I got a few others from the same store actually.

Sacramento: ... still from the same store in Huntington Beach.

Jai was on a work trip Feb 2011. This was his pasalubong from his client facility in Portland.

Marrk one of my trainers was sent to North Carolina for a product training for a new client. This was his pasalubong.

My friends know how deeply in love I am with New York. Too much love that I have two of these! One was from Lester's US vacation and the other from Marky's side trip to NYC during his business trip.

It has been Steven's dream to be part of a music festival in Country Music capital -- Nashville. This was his pasalubong June 2010 when he had to be on vacation one month post implemention of our new project hahaha! He really had to do this or else... FO! j/k ;-)

After a nice fancy dinner at Nobu in Malibu, we stopped at the nearest Starbucks store and I grabbed this. Still part of my Los Angeles Spring 2011 trip.

Funny how I got the Las Vegas mug (still) from Huntington Beach but on the same leg of the trip, I had a connecting flight to LV and I actually could have bought one there.

Flor's mom and sister are based in Texas. She asked her mom to get me this from Houston.

It was Holiday 2010 when Ligaya was back in California for her vacation. This was her pasalubong together with the nice Coach coin purse as Christmas present.

It was during the day tour to Boston (Spring 2011) when I totally left the tour group when I saw a Starbucks store near the old city hall. hahaha!

Last Set -- courtesy of my very good friend Jia (with the help of her dear friends in LA who have been jetsetting the past months).

Orange County, California

(There's a duplicate of this one actually from my good friend Joyce who lives in OC).

Washington D.C.

Jia was in Baltimore a day ahead of me. They had a extra day to go around Washington DC before I followed the day after.

Seattle, Washington

Denver, Colorado

Chicago, Illinois

Austin, Texas

My most wanted: STARBUCKS City Mugs (Part 3)

After a long time, I'm back to blogging! And here's a bonus treat especially to my fellow Starbucks city mug collectors -- here are the newest mugs in my collection. Enjoy!

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Shanghai, China
I was surprised when Hannah (colleague at work) learned about my collection and she initially asked me if I wanted to have a mug from Spain since she was visiting. You’d never guess what was my answer… She was going to Barcelona for a visit to her family as far as I can remember. She was not able to find one out there but luckily, in one of the trips of her partner, they were able to manage getting me a city mug from Shanghai! Up until now, I always update Hannah with my collection. She’s always thrilled to hear what new mugs I got.

Jakarta, Indonesia
There’s not much story here… just kidding! But come to think of it, yeah. This is in fact the second mug that Les (i.e. Singapore mug) gave me. By this time, it was just before he decided to move back to Manila for good. He was just on a summer vacation – we went to Boracay, when he got me the mug from Jakarta. I’m still hoping that Starbucks would open in Vietnam anytime soon! I just happen to have so many friends frequenting the country for cryin’ out loud!!!

Tagaytay, Philippines
Being true to form, Claire (who was very instrumental in my Amsterdam mug), texted me when she and her husband were in Tagaytay. I remember planning to drop by Starbucks Tagaytay the last time I was there since I heard some gossips that there’s a mug for the city too. Obviously I didn’t believe it that time… Thanks to Claire and her husband for squeezing a quick purchase of the mug on a husband-wifey date!

Macau, China
If there’s an award for the most number of city mugs contributions amongst all my friends, it will surely go to Tina! In one of her Asian trips, getting me my mug has always been a part of her itinerary! Thanks to Wlad too for tagging her along his trips. I’m also waiting for some European trips you know. I could use some addition to my mugs from there! Hint! Hint!

London, Great Britain
This one’s from Tina too! Wlad got this initially for her I think I couple of years ago. I’ve been making ligaw for this mug to be given to me as a gift but Tina won’t just budge until finally, at the eve of my birthday, he came to my station with the mug on her hand. It was a nice birthday present!

Australia
Marl who initially promised to get me the Jakarta and KL mugs, finally fulfilled his promise. It was a super hectic work schedule in India prior to going to Sydney when Marl got me the mug. He was actually able to save up on his birthday gift for me coz he got back to Manila a few days after my bday! Smart-ass! ;-)

Germany
CJ, my former boss had always known about my collection. The moment he learned about it, he sort of committed to put in his “contributions”. He was meeting up with his family in India during his almost-one-month vacation middle of this year. His brother was coming from Munich and I think he really pushed for the mug. Too bad, the mug wasn’t available yet in Starbucks India.

Sacramento, California
Karen (a colleague from work) and I were at the same work area for a time when I transferred to our office’s main building. I overheard her talking to some friends about her sister coming to the Philippines from California. Of course I didn’t hesitate asking her where she was coming from. The instant I heard Sacramento, I asked her if she could ask her sister to buy a mug for me. Being the sweet and kind Karen like what she has always been (since she was handling my teams as my QA analyst), she said yes. One more thing, she is in Florida right now and boy she is definitely going to look for a mug for me. Her location might not guarantee the merchandise but for sure she would try looking.

My most wanted: STARBUCKS City Mugs (Part 2)

Los Angeles, California
A good friend of mine, Polee sent me this sms one time telling me that he has this surprise -- a Starbucks city mug! My pangungulit finally paid off. He was supposed to go to SanFo and meet up with AD who was on vacation so he could hand over his gift for me. Too bad, I think he got too busy that he was not able to see him. The other plan was just to send it to me via courier but I said it would just be too expensive. A friend from the office flew in to LA for a few days and I graciously asked the favor of getting the mug for me. Unfortunately, Polee was not able to meet her. Finally, his mom paid him a visit and voila, the mug was on its way to the Philippines!

San Francisco, California
Porky had a good laugh when he bought this mug for me. He said why don't I just buy white mugs and have them printed with whatever city or country I want. Hahaha! Anyhow he was able to meet up with AD and handed him my mug as his pasalubong for me.



New York City, New York
Francis (see his blog link on my homepage) initially pledged an NY city mug to me. So I told him specifically what to look for -- the old design. The poor boy circled the entire borough of Manhattan (of course I'm exaggerating!) to look for the classic design but luck was tough. AD only stayed for a couple of days in New York and the mug was still yet to be bought. AD then decided to just buy me the NY mug with the new design.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

AD is one of my "more~than~a~decade" friends who happened to get a US vacation with his folks. His dad had this seminar thing there and of course he had to stay. After all, they checked in at Ritz! The city mug was AD's pasalubong to me. There were a lot of Starbucks stores near the hotel so he didn't have the chance to forget about me.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Dexter, an officemate and a good friend gave me the Toronto city mug. When he learned that one of his co-trainers, Vinnie was going on vacation, he told her to get me the mugs. Thanks to Vinnie, the Vegas mug is just one of the two city mugs she bought for me.

Nagoya, Japan

On his way to the US, AD got stuck in Nagoya airport. Silly him, he texted me and asked if I already have a mug from Japan only to find out that he already bought one for me without even getting my response. This was were he had a photo opp with Che-che Lazaro. hehehe. Connect?

Baguio, Philippines

It was 1999 when I last visited the summer capital of the Philippines. Just recently, we had to go to Baguio for a business trip. On one breezy night, me and my officemates were headed for some coffee. I approached the cashier and saw the mug! And your guess is just right - I immediately grabbed my wallet and paid for it! Another funny thing though, Jean (who gave me the Cebu mug), texted me and asked if I already have the Baguio mug. I read the sms 5 minutes too late boo-hoo. She wanted to give me the mug as a christmas present.

Hawaii, USA

One of my former reps from Cebu, Khaki was scheduled for a short trip to Hawaii for his stateboard exams of sorts. Of course I asked him to get me a mug from Hawaii.

Cancun, Mexico

This was the second mug from Vinnie.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

It was another friend of mine (Marlon) who pledged the KL and Jakarta city mugs to me since he always goes there practically every month! It had to be Dexter who bought me the KL mug when he had a vacation there.

My most wanted: STARBUCKS City Mugs

VIENNA, Austria
When I went to Austria during the winter of 2002, Starbucks was just put up then. Austrians were of course not as fond as Americans (and Pinoys at that) on the foreign brand. Of course it’s still different when you sip your coffee in your favorite coffee shops in Vienna or perhaps even in Paris !

I found myself in the counter getting myself a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin and a city mug! That’s when I started collecting these giant coffee mugs!
BANGKOK, Thailand
Later that year, I told a friend of mine that I wanted to start collecting these mugs. And guess what, she said she will bring me one from BKK. Rei went there for a short vacation.
MANILA, Philippines
I think I bought one for myself during the Christmas season of 2002. I got it from Starbucks 6750 (which happens to be the first-ever branch in the Philippines ). I remember spending a quiet “ME Time” there reading a good book (Sighs).

ERRATUM: The Manila mug was actually a birthday gift from a good friend, Mean Jean! It totally slipped my mind, sorry... :( No wonder I used the statement "I think" above, hehehe.

When my mom kept the mugs in the kitchen cupboard the idea of collecting totally slipped my mind for such a long time. And I really mean it! You’ll see later.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
My brother has been working in Dubai (Hilton Hotel) for over 2 years now. It was during his first month-long vacation when he brought me the city mug (May 2007). He said all the other items I was asking him to “buy” for me are too expensive. Not to mention he probably sensed that I somehow had this wicked plan of not paying him. Hehehe!

Oh by the way, I remember I was staring at the Starbucks store in Dubai Airport (which is really huge! And I mean huge big time!) but for some reason I didn’t buy it. Perhaps it was because I was too excited for my connecting flight to Munich then. Oh well bottom line is, I was still able to get one after a few years.
SINGAPORE
About a couple of weeks when my brother gave me the Dubai city mug when my former boss and good friend Lesley asked what I wanted for ‘pasalubong’ for his Manila vacation. He’s based in HCMC, Vietnam but has been touring around Southeast Asia for some work stuff. I remember he said I gave him a good idea that he’s just going to make the city mug a generic pasalubong to his other friends. Of course he ended up just getting one! I think he didn’t want to have too many items on his hand-carry. But hey thanks again Les!
CEBU, Philippines
I stayed in Cebu from October 2005 to April 2007 and during this time my initial reflex when I stepped into the first (then) two Starbucks shops was to get myself my favorite! But I said, hey I’m staying here for good anyway so I can buy anytime. Funny thing was I already relocated back to Manila (sometime holy week of this year) and yes, the Cebu mug wasn’t in my possession yet until Jai gave me city mug as an early birthday gift!

PARIS, France
Wlad is one of the few non-Pinoy people that I get to hang out with here in Manila . He’s a French businessman introduced by a good friend – Tina. I remember telling him stuff in Tagalog all the time and it’s amazing that he usually understands most of what I say or pretends he gets it then asks somebody later what the heck was it really. I think it was about a couple of months ago when he went to his home country for a visit to his family. And of course, he was kind enough to give me the city mug upon returning home. (Ayos ka talaga Wlad! Videoke na ulet tayo dali!).
HONGKONG
Tina and Wlad planned their HongKong trip a few months ago until finally they pushed through. Tina already promised that she will buy me my mug once she gets there. And she did. She actually texted me when she finally got me the HK city mug. On her last day (I think), I didn’t know that she was supposed to go to Macau as well. Guess what, when she got back she said, “Jeff, I was holding a Macau city mug and I texted you if you wanted me to buy it too but you didn’t reply…” And that was the same day my damn phone got busted! Aaaaarrrgggghhhh!
MADRID, Spain
It was Miguel’s first birthday party (July 2007) when I saw some of Lulay’s relatives from Spain . I think they were here on vacation or something. At that time I didn’t have the thick face to tell her to ask her cuzins to get me a mug. And besides, they just got to the country and even if they go back, it’ll probably take sometime before they go to the Philippines again.

I remember it was only after a few weeks when I finally get to talk to her again. She mentioned she wanted some ‘real-deal’ Spanish sardines from Madrid because they’re so delicious she said. I blurted “why don’t you ask your cuzin to get me a city mug for my collection? J ” We parted ways with a big smile on my face because another cuzin of hers was just going to Manila in 2 or 3 days time. The following week she gave me the mug as a gift! (Thanks again Lulu and cuz!)

COLORADO, USA
This has quite a funny story. Augee (officemate and Rascal Alumna) was scheduled for a client-sponsored visit to their Colorado office. Before she left I was so excited to make my ‘bilin’ about the mug of course. She ym’d me one time to confirm that she already got me my Starbucks but it was a tumbler that she got me… Hehehe. Too bad she was already in San Francisco when I got the message. But it’s okay, for this one it’s the thought that counts! J

The USA is yet a huge continent for me and my city mugs to conquer! Got two other officemates who went to the US (both for client-sponsored visits) and tried searching for my most wanted but funny thing was, there were no stocks at the stores they visited. And I think the client offices were kinda far from the Starbucks stores.
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands
A co-TM (in our office’s other building) heard about my fascination to the city mugs. I was paying her work area a visit one time when she told me if I want to get one from The Netherlands coz her husband was flying back to Manila the following week. Of course I said yes right away to Claire!

We talked about the other cities to get the mugs from since her husband is back to Europe again! Yahoo!
TORONTO, Canada
Dexter was supposed to leave for Canada (client visit) with a co-manager at the office. When the other manager had everything delayed I thought, hey what about my Starbucks? I realized later on that Dexter was already in Toronto . So I emailed and ym’d him a million times (not really, about a couple I guess) and he was like not replying! Until finally he told me on his last day in Toronto that he is getting me my mug! Yey!
LEBANON
A former officemate, Lovely now works as an FA for Qatar Airways. We used to be assigned in the Cebu office about a year ago. I courageously emailed her and asked her how she'd been and of course asked a little favor if she could get me some mugs. Obviously, she travels all over because of her line of work. She was excited to hear about my collection and she said she will squeeze in getting me my Starbucks mugs during her travel. She sent (through another FA friend of hers) the city mug from Lebanon! Thanks Lovely, aside from giving this as a gift! The next ones are of course on me.

I’ll surely have more to say about my future Starbucks city mugs since most of my friends and relatives are now so involved in my collection! How I wish each mug is equivalent to each country I visit. Well who knows maybe soon, my travel plans will be based on the mugs I have from countries and cities I haven’t visited.