The Chronicles of Caffeine

[wavyarms]

Historically, I have always avoided coffee. I first tried it in college, but it always made my digestive system unhappy, so I learned to do without it and actually get sleep instead. I also never noticed significantly higher levels of consciousness when I drank it. I pretty much just became a non-coffee person, and drank hot chocolate instead, which I think made me a happier person.

However, tomorrow is going to be a doozy of a day, and I will only have 2 hours of sleep in which to tackle it, b/c tonight I am being young and irresponsible and hopelessly fannish and going to see the 12:05 am showing of Return of the King. insert whooping noises, bouncing up and down in one's chair, and a little bit of seated boogie-ing Therefore, it seems to me a fine time to once again make really and truly sure that coffee is not for me.

I was discussing my considered entrance into the coffee-game with H, my co-worker at Longy (who kicks serious ass, but that's for another entry.) She mentioned that people often have tummy troubles with coffee b/c of the acidity, but you can get low acidity coffee at some places, and that will help. Apparently using cream also cuts the acidity.

So, I just went and bought my first cup of coffee ever. (Previous experiments all took place in the Williams College dining halls.) It's a latte, and it's got lots of milk and sugar (they were out of cream) and it's doesn't taste too bad, although hot chocolate or steamed milk are infinitely superior. I know I'm not actually in need of caffeine yet, but I thought I should warn my system of what's coming tomorrow, and have a dry run today. The guy behind the counter had no idea if it was low acidity or not, but probably H will know what an Ethiopian/Indonesian blend is likely to be. (Indonesian/Ethiopian? Whatever.)

I don't really feel jittery or anything yet. We'll see how I feel in an hour. If I actually manage to stay awake during the staff meeting at 11, that'll be a pretty positive sign.

Did I mention that I'm seeing Return of the King tonight?

boogie boogie boogie

Update:
Oh, that's funny. If you put something in "<" marks, even if it's "boogie boogie boogie", LJ assumes it's a valid tag and doesn't print it.

Comments

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

I can't drink straight coffee, either (headaches) but am addicted to lattes. I tend to drink mine iced, because caffeine dehydrates people (it's a diuretic) and the ice helps replace the water. This might be an easier way to ease into the caffeine zone.

[wavyarms.livejournal.com]

Iced, eh? I think I picked the wrong time of year for this experiment!

For the record, although my mind wandered far, far afield during the staff meeting, I didn't yawn once. Maybe there's something to this coffee stuff after all.

[ex-a517dogg70.livejournal.com]

coffee makes my stomach burn as well. it's funny cuz both mom and dad are addicted to coffee but neither of their kids can stomach it.

[wavyarms.livejournal.com]

Well, I had a small latte today, w/ a lot of milk and sugar, and my digestive system still seems fine. I think one of the big factors on previous occasions is that I have tried caffeine when I was stressed out (such as when I had a paper due in college) and I always have had more stomach problems when I was stressed. But you're right, it is ironic. Maybe our intolerance has something to do with the fact that they consumed so much of it.

I also feel fairly jittery right now, but I don't know if that's b/c I'm about to go to the Longy holiday party for faculty and donors, or b/c I'm going to see RoTK so soon, or if it's actually consuming coffee. I guess today wasn't a very good "control" day for the experiment!