Seattle and Coffee: Who am I to resist?
I avoided coffee addiction for much of my life. I refused to drink it as an aid to staying awake during college (and subsequently fell asleep far too much during class). I stuck to tea while I worked at Harvey Mudd for two years after graduation. My coffee consumption was limited, for the most part, to weekend brunches, leisurely chats with friends and the occasional espresso with dessert after a fine dinner.
I am somewhat sorry to report that this independence ended with my time at NeonGecko and, specifically, in our office at the Smith Tower. Our boss initially supplied a loaded Starbucks card for the ubiquitous caffeine depository located at the base of said tower. Every morning, around 10:30, Dave and I (and Dana, before her departure) would hitch an elevator down for our morning fix. The coffee was free to me, accessible and woke me up for productivity. Why not? Oh, right, and cute baristas calling me “honey” and “sweetie” are not a bad thing. Joy.
Eventually, our NeonGecko office inherited a Jura Capresso Impressa Z5 from the TableAndHome offices. Decent espresso and Americano were now at my fingertips, still at no cost to me save a button push and regular water refills. My coffee consumption rose sharply (OH NO) and interaction with cute baristas fell precipitously (DOUBLE OH NO). Oh, right, and I was then free to eat far too much lunch because I could caffeineate (not a real word*) my way through afternoon food coma. Joy.
Now, I’ve had a persistent cough and nasal congestion for a week weeks. I could not think that coffee helped this condition and I, therefore, reduced my consumption to one cup per day. I substituted herbal tea as well as green tea, its mild caffeine a pleasant bump but not an addictive rocket boost. Some days, I even eschewed coffee completely. Victory. Joy.
Except I didn’t get any healthier. Still have not.
And this last Monday morning, and every morning since, I’ve willingly, happily, gone back to spending my own hard-earned dollar dollar bills on a daily fix. On what wind did change fly into my life?
The answers are bus routes and art. Still confused? I’ll explain more soon…
