lucky #7
I am currently over half-way into #7, "Go one month without drinking coffee." Forgive any lack of creativity in these posts. I'll get it back in about two weeks.
I did not grow up drinking soda* because the bubbles went up my brother's nose when he tried it, so why would I want that. Looking back, how did he manage that?
I later learned to tolerate Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, literally with this rationale: "I'll drink beer for the effects, so why not soda for the same reason?" It didn't totally translate** but if I have to, I can drink soda. I don't like it though. I do like beer.
But one day during my junior year, Emily House was in the Pi Phi kitchen fixing up one of her concoctions. We only kept about 5 things out in the kitchen during off-peak hours... Milk, Coffee/Tea/Cocoa, Cereal***, Apples, and Honey. Emily could honestly make anything out of those items. I'd have, say, a bowl of cereal, but she'd somehow have a fully-cooked 4-course meal. Emily also knows how to turn a cake into bread by changing the ingredients. She's probably half witch.
In any case, we got to talking, and Emily convinced me that I could learn to like coffee. The Hell, I said. I had grown up without coffee, in fact with very anti-coffee parents, and I didn't see how I could possibly be interested in something so bitter. But Magic Emily made it all better. She, using cocoa, sugar, and witchcraft, made me what I have come to learn to identify as a Mocha. But then, it was just a mug of caffeiney goodness. And you could ICE this liquid gold and drink it QUICKLY. The possibilities. And so the love affair began.****
Most of law school is a blur, but I do remember the coffee. I had to have 2 huge mugs of coffee before my first class of the day. Usually, 10 or 11am. I miss law school. Unfortunately, in the middle of my 2L year, I was drinking so much coffee -- and no water -- that I became somewhat dehydrated. One day after finals, after having only coffee, Chinese food, beer, and a chocolate chip cookie, and being too tired to get off the couch to get the water I was actually craving, I fainted. I started drinking a lot more water, and that aspect of my life appears to be under control.
Incidentally, I went to see a physician who specialized in "Young Women Who Faint."***** Dr. Mounsey had a beautiful South African accent, and told me in his gilded tongue, after an hour of lackluster tests,****** that "There are two types of people in the world: Those who faint, and those who don't. You are a fainter. You'll faint again." He also advised me to avoid large amounts of pain. Check and check.
But, as I have a tendancy to do, I digress.
I had gotten to the point again where I couldn't live without coffee. Mornings at work without the sweet, sweet nectar physically hurt. I had people trained not to speak to me until after I had my morning coffee (I only drink it in the morning, and then, only one big cup). I realized that this was probably a bit ridiculous, and not sustainable, and it's not comfortable to have an addiction, so I had to at least break it and make coffee a pick-me-up, not a baseline. Alas, and alack, it went on the list. And I was not looking forward to accomplishing it.
I woke up the day after the Office Holiday Party this year at 2pm. It had been a long week. I had already missed Critical Coffee Window, and I had a headache. I decided it was a good time to start the month. I had only 3 days of work until I headed out to a relaxing vacation, and could make it through. Because the day already hurt, I went out to buy a bathing suit. No need to ruin another day...
I'd say it's been going well. I miss coffee, sure, but I don't think I'm more tired than I would be with it. I have one or two cups of tea per day, which have significantly less caffeine than coffee, and even less because I don't let the tea steep for that long, and that's going well. I am going to try to get to the gym this week and see if that perks me up too. Maybe I'll find some endorphins to help me out here.
We shall see! 13 days left!
* well, "pop" to be true to my Indiana roots
** there is very little peer pressure to drink soda, especially now that we're all old enough to actually worry about Nutra Sweet and Aspartame
*** i had a little problem with cocoa puffs my junior year. all is well now
**** with coffee. though emily is very attractive, and a ton of fun at parties
***** looking at his bio, i don't see this entire description there, but that was how it was sold to me, and i bought it. dr. mounsey was patient, had a great bedside manner, and explained my problem to me in layman's terms. nothing contained herein should be interpreted short of this
****** i passed them all. i'm just a fainter
I did not grow up drinking soda* because the bubbles went up my brother's nose when he tried it, so why would I want that. Looking back, how did he manage that?
I later learned to tolerate Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, literally with this rationale: "I'll drink beer for the effects, so why not soda for the same reason?" It didn't totally translate** but if I have to, I can drink soda. I don't like it though. I do like beer.
But one day during my junior year, Emily House was in the Pi Phi kitchen fixing up one of her concoctions. We only kept about 5 things out in the kitchen during off-peak hours... Milk, Coffee/Tea/Cocoa, Cereal***, Apples, and Honey. Emily could honestly make anything out of those items. I'd have, say, a bowl of cereal, but she'd somehow have a fully-cooked 4-course meal. Emily also knows how to turn a cake into bread by changing the ingredients. She's probably half witch.
In any case, we got to talking, and Emily convinced me that I could learn to like coffee. The Hell, I said. I had grown up without coffee, in fact with very anti-coffee parents, and I didn't see how I could possibly be interested in something so bitter. But Magic Emily made it all better. She, using cocoa, sugar, and witchcraft, made me what I have come to learn to identify as a Mocha. But then, it was just a mug of caffeiney goodness. And you could ICE this liquid gold and drink it QUICKLY. The possibilities. And so the love affair began.****
Most of law school is a blur, but I do remember the coffee. I had to have 2 huge mugs of coffee before my first class of the day. Usually, 10 or 11am. I miss law school. Unfortunately, in the middle of my 2L year, I was drinking so much coffee -- and no water -- that I became somewhat dehydrated. One day after finals, after having only coffee, Chinese food, beer, and a chocolate chip cookie, and being too tired to get off the couch to get the water I was actually craving, I fainted. I started drinking a lot more water, and that aspect of my life appears to be under control.
Incidentally, I went to see a physician who specialized in "Young Women Who Faint."***** Dr. Mounsey had a beautiful South African accent, and told me in his gilded tongue, after an hour of lackluster tests,****** that "There are two types of people in the world: Those who faint, and those who don't. You are a fainter. You'll faint again." He also advised me to avoid large amounts of pain. Check and check.
But, as I have a tendancy to do, I digress.
I had gotten to the point again where I couldn't live without coffee. Mornings at work without the sweet, sweet nectar physically hurt. I had people trained not to speak to me until after I had my morning coffee (I only drink it in the morning, and then, only one big cup). I realized that this was probably a bit ridiculous, and not sustainable, and it's not comfortable to have an addiction, so I had to at least break it and make coffee a pick-me-up, not a baseline. Alas, and alack, it went on the list. And I was not looking forward to accomplishing it.
I woke up the day after the Office Holiday Party this year at 2pm. It had been a long week. I had already missed Critical Coffee Window, and I had a headache. I decided it was a good time to start the month. I had only 3 days of work until I headed out to a relaxing vacation, and could make it through. Because the day already hurt, I went out to buy a bathing suit. No need to ruin another day...
I'd say it's been going well. I miss coffee, sure, but I don't think I'm more tired than I would be with it. I have one or two cups of tea per day, which have significantly less caffeine than coffee, and even less because I don't let the tea steep for that long, and that's going well. I am going to try to get to the gym this week and see if that perks me up too. Maybe I'll find some endorphins to help me out here.
We shall see! 13 days left!
* well, "pop" to be true to my Indiana roots
** there is very little peer pressure to drink soda, especially now that we're all old enough to actually worry about Nutra Sweet and Aspartame
*** i had a little problem with cocoa puffs my junior year. all is well now
**** with coffee. though emily is very attractive, and a ton of fun at parties
***** looking at his bio, i don't see this entire description there, but that was how it was sold to me, and i bought it. dr. mounsey was patient, had a great bedside manner, and explained my problem to me in layman's terms. nothing contained herein should be interpreted short of this
****** i passed them all. i'm just a fainter
posted by becky at
1.1.06
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