The Healthiest Substance On Earth.

Seems like I write and think about coffee a lot. Not surprising, since I currently drink around 3-4 small cups of the stuff each weekday. I'd long ago accepted the fact that I'm addicted to it; last weekend while on a camping/float trip, I went without and felt kinda sluggish and had a slight headache in the mornings. (No, I wasn't hungover. At least I don't think I was.)

Being a caffeine fiend doesn't really alarm me at this point. I'd probably do well to drink less of it, but 10-hour days are taking a bit of a toll on me. Between working from 8 to 6:30 and then working out for another hour after I get home from the hospital, I'm fairly tired. It's a good kind of tired, but I've found myself dragging in the afternoons, especially after lunch. Inevitably I find myself pouring another cup. Long work days are a good excuse for downing a cup of joe, right?

unfortunately, this probably isn't true :(

In the spectrum of vices, coffee consumption is probably ranked pretty low. After all, it's been shown to have some health benefits. It's a low-calorie drink -- obviously, this will change depending on what you put in it. Personally I put a dash of fat-free creamer and a packet of zero-calorie sweetener in my cup (I do have the occasional lapse in judgment and buy a sugar bomb from Starbucks when the budget permits). It's also a minor appetite suppressant, which helps with the restricted diet I'm trying.

Sometimes it's just too hot for coffee though, so I'm looking for some non-soda alternatives. I've tried the 5-Hour Energy shots and they seem to work for road trips. I may have to buy a couple of bottles to take to work and see if they can sustain me throughout the day. But I know that I'll always come back to my one true love in the end.

To my fellow coffee drinkers/fiends, I raise my mug to you! Happy Friday.

Caffeine Therapy.

I can't seem to regulate my sleeping patterns. Wait. That's not quite right. Actually, I can't seem to bring myself to go to bed at a decent hour, even when my 8:00 class requires me to get up at 6:30 every other morning. I end up procrastinating and going to bed at ungodly hours -- which makes me a very sleepy boy indeed when early afternoon hits. Most of the time I resist the temptation to take naps during the day but sometimes, falling asleep anyway isn't unheard of for me. And then I'll wake up disoriented, groggy and occasionally not knowing whether it's AM or PM.

This probably needs to stop. I'd say I need an average of six hours of sleep nightly in order to function properly the next day, making midnight my target bedtime. Problem is, I don't remember the last time I wanted to go to sleep at that time. I consider myself a nocturnal creature like millions of other people, but this doesn't work well with my morning schedule. So I turn to coffee.

Currently I only drink an average of one cup a day, during breakfast. This boost gets me through my classes in the morning hours and a little bit after lunch. Inevitably, I crash around 2 or 3 pm and never fully recover (which is bad news for my afternoon classes). I drink the occasional second cup in the evening when I study after dinner, but for the most part I've been okay at going without. But I've been sorely tempted to up my regular caffeine intake so I can be more functional as the day goes by -- and believe me, this semester has been and will continue to be full of long busy days.

Scientific studies say too much caffeine is bad for me and I wholeheartedly agree, which is why I'm trying to cut down. But there's no doubt I study better in the evenings, so why not strive to be as sharp and productive as I can be with the help of a nice cup of coffee? It's hard to argue against that, and so I indulge in that second night-time drink.

Then again, it's even harder to argue against being more disciplined and consistently going to sleep at a reasonable time, isn't it?

Love & Coffee, Danish Style.

[via]

From some quick Googling, I'm guessing it's some sort of Danish holiday advertisement. I really like the style of this art though -- crisp, sharp and bold. It looks like a vintage travel poster! Plus I thought it would fit in nicely with the goings-on this week, with Snowpocalypse over on the East Coast keeping winter in the forefront of our collective consciousness, and Valentine's Day tomorrow. The art suggests warmth and companionship, complete with a lovely mug of your favorite caffeinated brew.

And I love the fact that they're both wearing hats. I actually have a lid similar to the one the man is wearing, right down to the color.

Soooo I definitely won't be celebrating this particular corporate holiday this year (for better or for worse), but for everyone else with Valentine plans, go forth and enjoy! Just remember to keep it down.

Throwback Week Part 04: Yes Joe 2.

Written on 10 October 2002, this particular entry resonates simply because I'm now trying to drink less coffee and more tea. And yes: I admit that I am addicted, not necessarily to coffee, but probably to caffeine in general.

It's a love-hate thing.

So I'm back on the coffee. After tentatively dipping my toes into the caffeine pool, I've surrendered once again and jumped in. Just now I downed a 16-ounce mug of the stuff and have turned my fan on in response to my increasing body temperature.

I dunno. Coffee-drinking is like pimping: I just can't stay away. Seriously, it's hard to say no to a freshly-brewed mug when one's eyelids are threatening to go on strike for the entire day. I just have to make sure I have something to eat with it.

Honestly I don't think I am "addicted" in the traditional sense. I don't crave coffee after waking up, nor do I pour myself endless refills. But I can't lie and say that it doesn't help. Or maybe it only appears to help and it's all in my head. After all, I've gone on months-long coffee-free periods before. I never touched it before college. My well-being is not dependent on a cup of java every morning.

Okay, fine. Just to prove it, I'll go next week without. Just to see. Personally I think the first hour at work will be the most trying. But being that I'm not addicted, it'll be no sweat.

Maybe.

Haiku Series 001: Meta.

Almost one o' clock
The house is quiet and still
I should be asleep

But no, I'm messing
Around on the computer
Thinking up haikus.

Fifteen more minutes!
I keep promising myself
Do I listen? LOL!

It's no wonder why
A mug of coffee and I
Have a love affair.

Tea With My Mother.

I felt under the weather yesterday. Maybe it was because I hadn't been out of the house in a couple of days and my body went into shock at being exposed to the wintry outdoor elements. Or maybe it was because I (uncharacteristically) didn't eat much all day and my blood sugar was low, resulting in drowsiness, severe headache and moderate, uh, intestinal distress. I'll save you by not elaborating on that last one.

At any rate, I'd passed out for most of the afternoon/evening, so at midnight I found myself half-stumbling upstairs to a dimly-lit kitchen. Surprisingly, my mom was wiping down the counter-tops. She usually goes to bed pretty early so I didn't expect to see her up and about. I was still feeling a little queasy, so I heated up some sinigang broth in a large mug and slid onto a stool, sipping slowly as she put away the wipes.

"You should try some green tea," she remarked, opening the pantry door. "It'll help settle your stomach. I'm going to have some myself." She emerged with a small box of tea bags and deftly brewed a small cup. After a few minutes, I finished my broth (so so good on a cold night), refilled my mug with hot water, and steeped my own.

[via]

It was a nice feeling to just sit, take in the aroma of the tea and hang out for a while as the rest of the house slept. Moments like these are few and fleeting, with two kids running around the majority of the day leaving happy chaos in their footprints. My mom seemed at ease despite the long day, holding her cup in both hands, elbows resting on the counter. In between sips, she extolled the virtues of tea-drinking, from its aforementioned ability to calm stomachs, to reducing eye puffiness, boosting the immune system, suppressing illness and even preventing cancer. I knew about all this; she'd been trying to convert me into a tea drinker for some time even though I'm a devout member of the Religion of Coffee. But it was soothing. Soothing to hear her talk about something as mundane as tea as I swirled the bag slowly around and around, steam rising from my mug.

It was probably a combination of the broth, tea and easy conversation -- I felt ten times better. We finished drinking, put our cups in the dishwasher and hugged each other goodnight. I went to bed with a calm stomach and a buoyant feeling in my soul.

So I've decided that one of my resolutions this year will be to drink more tea, at least one daily cup. At the very least, that might slow my coffee consumption. I doubt it'll get me to switch completely at this point; I love the taste of coffee too much. But no, I can't deny the health benefits of tea.

I'm pretty sure it's good for my spirit too.