Cursed Caffeine

The other day i had 2 large coffees in the morning… NOT A GOOD IDEA. Oh my dear lanta, why Steph? Why?!! Well, because three quarters of the way through a meeting, there were still 3 untouched coffees left at the center of the table.  It would be a shame to let those coffees go to waste, no?  Glug, glug, glug my second one.  For many others, drinking 2 coffees is part of a regular routine but for me it was a shock to the system.

I’ve always had this fear of consuming too much caffeine because of all the addiction stories i’ve heard.  Headaches, shakes, life-depleting dependence!  (some stories more extreme than others!)  I only started drinking coffee a couple years ago and still in moderation.  I might have a coffee a couple times a week and always a small size.  I purposefully keep it at a distance even as i enjoy it more over time. Heck, I went through my entire university degree having never drank a single cup of coffee.

But soon after our meeting ended, my head was spinning and felt heavy as an anvil.  I found a place to sit and put my head down.  I learned how uncomfortable an irregular heartbeat is.  I took for granted that I don’t usually have to actively think through breathing.  I was visualizing cartooned receptors in my brain going crazy.   My body was affected for the next 12 hours.

Okay- I’ve learned my lesson. Cursed caffeine, never again.

Reclaiming Someone’s Garbage

I’m in line at Second Cup and reach in for my wallet, search and scramble a little ’til the knowledge hits that I’ve forgotten it at home.  Gah!  I’m feeling like a dolt cos i just walked 15 minutes in -15 degree weather (that is very BRRRRR pour moi, okay?) specifically to come to this Second Cup to sit, chill and read.  I have no desire to walk back home and feel i need to somehow qualify the numbness in my extremities with a creative solution.  I turn around, walk out of line and into the mall section (it’s not a stand-alone coffee shop, i know, not nearly as cool but I’m working with what i got here) where i see a nearby clump of couches/chairs for shoppers.  Next to the couches i see someone’s abandoned, leftover, used, Second Cup cup… basically, it’s garbage (just not thrown into the garbage yet.. very important point).

Can you guess what I’m thinking…?

Yes, embarrassing but I’m getting desperate!  I stand there for about 30 seconds and debate in my head.  I do a 360 degree look around and proceed to confidently grab that Second Cup cup into my hands.  And then, walk straight back into Second Cup, plop myself down on a leather couch, place my garbage cup onto the coffee table, and spend the next 2 hours finishing Revolutionary Road (it’s good, btw).

Second Cup, I promise you my future business!