Thursday, February 24, 2005

A Schedule and a Cuppa Joe

When I was younger, and would admonish my parents for drinking a yucky thing like coffee, my father would say "You'll start drinking coffee when you go to college." But I didn't. I didn't even start drinking Mountain Dew or Coke or anything. No Vivarin or No-Doz. Not the first time I went to college, and not the second time I went to college.

Perhaps the third time is the charm.

First, let me say, I still hate coffee. But I'm trying to like it. I'm really giving it my all. On Monday I decided to schedule every minute of my every day in order to see if I could fit in a lot of things I've been neglecting.
This is 6:30am until 10:30pm. The rest of the time is sleep.At this point I can either take up a caffeine addiction, a nicotine addiction, or an alcohol addiction, and I think a caffeine addiction sounds the best, since it doesn't lead to anything illegal, it's socially acceptable, it's not overtly self-destructive, and it's frequently free. However, I think it's a long way before I can appreciate the kind of coffee that's free.

I started by buying a small bag of ground coffee in a fun flavor, French Caramel Cream. Doesn't that sound lovely? I also purchased some cream; it seems that a lot of people need cream to choke down their coffee. It certainly makes it look more appealing. I brewed myself a few cups using the Jr. Mr. Coffee I got from a friend who was moving, and it didn't sell at her garage sale; I was doing her a favor taking it off her hands (and it's come in handy when The Folks come to visit; we don't have to go out for breakfast as long as I can give them some coffee). I added what I considered to be an excessive amount of cream and a few spoonfuls of sugar, and it was still yucky. Bitter. Gross. Where's the "french caramel"? I considered that perhaps the "french" referred to the roast, but further investigation at the grocery store proved me wrong; this was indeed the mildest roast available. Boo.

So I considered the advice of my knitty friend, Donna. She said she had to start with those instant International Coffees, and work her way up. So I visited the coffee aisle again, a few feet down from where I was before, and above the International Coffees was this:

I chose "Caramel Groove".

I love caramel, it has a lot of sugar in it, it was on sale; let's give it a go.

By Thursday, I'm rip-my-hair-out-screaming tired (see above schedule); today is Thursday, hence, I'm on my third cup. I don't know how effective it's been, and the first few sips are still pretty yucky. It's got 100 calories a cup, but it smells nice, and the nastiness is outpowered by the yumminess just enough that I can drink it.

It's nowhere near real coffee, but at least it's Folgers. My parents have been drinking Folgers for over 35 years, by my best estimation. They cut back sometime in the 90's I think, and I'm not sure Folgers has ever recovered from the drop in sales.

Dad will be so proud.

(My parents have started reading my blog...Hi Mom! Hi Dad! [waving])

8 comments:

Beth said...

Hi Beth - Beth here! All I can say is WOW!, what a schedule. But did I miss the time for knitting? *grins*

Good luck with the schedule and the coffee - personally, I love a good cuppa joe in the a.m. I put half a packet of hot chocolate mix, a spoon of sugar and some french vanilla or hazelnut creamer in mine - YUM!!

Anonymous said...

If coffee isn't doing it for you, consider a good strong tea. The black teas, which includes fruit and some spice teas, have a hearty dose of caffeine, too. (And then it's a cinch to switch to decaf tea if you're still thirsty or want something to sip.) but if it's just the caffeine you want, I'd recommend espresso. Only a coupla sips and you'll be good to go. Also good: chocolate-covered espresso beans. but they take a bit of time to take effect, so only eat a couple at a time lest they make you overjittery. (ask me how I know!)

Hopefully there's some solid rest time scheduled for you this weekend?
Ann
fidget.prettyposies.com

Anonymous said...

i find that my cherry vanilla dr. pepper addiction does wonders for caffeine intake, you know, if you can't get used to the coffee. :)

Gwen said...

I'm the same as you. I started with the Starbucks Cafe Mocha. Still can't drink straight coffee, but love that Starbucks Mocha.

Wow Beth, that's one busy schedule.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Beth. I'm trying to cut back, but when I need a rush, I take a packet of hot cocoa and fill it halfway with hot water and then the rest of the way with coffee. Otherwise, some of the black teas have just as much caffeine as coffee. Ask Ted for some recommendations. Good luck! I know it's tough going to school and working full time.

-Colleen

Teri said...

I'm a Starbucks Mocha woman myself. I love the smell of coffee. I just don't like drinking it.

Which color is for knitting?

Anonymous said...

"At this point I can either take up a caffeine addiction, a nicotine addiction, or an alcohol addiction"


My experience has shown that there's always time for beer.

Eric

Vicki said...

I love coffee, but I drink the girliest sweet coffee ever. I keep adding cream (vanilla cinnamon's my fave) and sugar until it's no longer bitter. Yum! Even when i go out and decide to buy a cappucino or latte or something I have to add sugar lol