2008 Woodie Awards
Jill takes it multiple ways, not afraid to fess up to it
Jill Reddish
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Opinion
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Last week, I freaked out when I realized the random headache I had in the afternoon was a result of my not having time for a morning cup of tea. I was faced once again with the evidence that I have a caffeine addiction. I have a problem.
However, this wouldn't be an issue if I were willing to go through a 12-step program to get rid of it. If I decided to kick the habit, then I would be forced to go through life purely on my own merit. I would need at least 10 hours of sleep every night, I would need to work out more often to produce endorphins and be in that happy cycle of wearing myself out and ably falling asleep at night. I might even need naps.
None of this is possible in college. Hence, the caffeine problem.
Now, caffeine comes in many different forms, and it seems to me that people have traditionally aligned themselves in one camp or the other and never crossed over. Sort of like Republicans and Democrats, cat people and dog people, we are all divided over coffee versus tea.
Both have their own set of stereotypes, but today it seems to be much more open who drinks what, although most people generally stick to one or the other and even have specific ways they take it. Black. One cream, two sugars. Half skim milk with six Splendas. People never vary from these preferences.
I, however, am a statistical anomaly. A freak of nature, if you will. I don't prefer coffee or tea, cream over sugar, black over adding forty more ingredients. I literally stand at the island in Java City and think to myself, 'Hmmm, how do I want my fill-in-the-blank beverage today?' It changes every time.
Seriously, how many people are there in the world of tea versus coffee like me?
I can't even decide what kind of sugar I like. The blue stuff, the pink stuff, the white stuff, the real stuff, the stuff so real it's in a brown paper wrapper… Not only do I not know their names, I don't know why they are different, why I want artificial ingredients instead of unrefined ingredients, or whether one will rot my teeth faster than my brain.
However, this wouldn't be an issue if I were willing to go through a 12-step program to get rid of it. If I decided to kick the habit, then I would be forced to go through life purely on my own merit. I would need at least 10 hours of sleep every night, I would need to work out more often to produce endorphins and be in that happy cycle of wearing myself out and ably falling asleep at night. I might even need naps.
None of this is possible in college. Hence, the caffeine problem.
Now, caffeine comes in many different forms, and it seems to me that people have traditionally aligned themselves in one camp or the other and never crossed over. Sort of like Republicans and Democrats, cat people and dog people, we are all divided over coffee versus tea.
Both have their own set of stereotypes, but today it seems to be much more open who drinks what, although most people generally stick to one or the other and even have specific ways they take it. Black. One cream, two sugars. Half skim milk with six Splendas. People never vary from these preferences.
I, however, am a statistical anomaly. A freak of nature, if you will. I don't prefer coffee or tea, cream over sugar, black over adding forty more ingredients. I literally stand at the island in Java City and think to myself, 'Hmmm, how do I want my fill-in-the-blank beverage today?' It changes every time.
Seriously, how many people are there in the world of tea versus coffee like me?
I can't even decide what kind of sugar I like. The blue stuff, the pink stuff, the white stuff, the real stuff, the stuff so real it's in a brown paper wrapper… Not only do I not know their names, I don't know why they are different, why I want artificial ingredients instead of unrefined ingredients, or whether one will rot my teeth faster than my brain.
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