It doesn't really, of course, and on most days my desire for a gingerbread latte is something akin to a dirty little secret.

But gingerbread lattes are seasonal and Starbucks in Woodbridge really did come close to stinking on Sunday.

There I was, a newly minted vegan-in-training, standing there already perplexed and needing help about what wonderful soy filled concoctions might await those who eschew milk.

The staff had others ideas.

They were apparently too "busy" to wait on me in any normal fashion, let alone be friendly enough to prompt me to ask about getting soy milk in coffee. Note to the staff there, however: I was the only one on line, at least inside the store and only one person was waiting at the pick up counter.

That little rant out of the way, my point is that I would have liked to take 10-30 seconds to ask a question about soy milk and coffee.

I had jumped right into the vegan tryout and - oh bad me - did not prepare properly for my coffee trip by reading the Starbucks Web site to see what they have to offer.

That's the real lesson for anyone who wants to be a vegan: come prepared.

Meanwhile, the oh-so-busy staff bustling about did plop a container of vanilla soy milk on the counter for me.

The bottom line?

The coffee with soy milk was good.