We’re off to NYC again! We’ve both spent ages packing; I don’t know why - it wasn’t this hard last year, but for some reason I just didn’t know what to pack and I was worried that I’d forgotten something. I’ve got the essentials, though - passport, money and underwear - so everything should be ok.
This morning M went to get his hair cut. He’s got a regular guy that he’s been going to for the last goodness-knows-how-long, which used to be local but now is considerably not local. I went with him because we had other stuff to do in preparation for the holiday, and while he was getting his hair cut I decided to get a coffee to alleviate my Caffeine Headache.
I never used to drink coffee until I was in year 11 (16 years old). My mum didn’t let me have coffee when I was growing up, only tea. I remember before I was of school-going age, she’d make herself a cup of coffee before watching Days of Our Lives, and I used to love the smell of the empty coffee cup, even though it was only instant coffee. I still love that smell today.
Going to an Anglican school, we had Religious Education classes right through primary school to the end of year 12, but we’d heard that years 11 and 12 were different, because instead of having the usual R.E. classes, you got to sit around and drink coffee and eat biscuits in the chaplain’s office, with not much education of a religious nature taking place at all.
Thus, I was quite disappointed when the school chaplain left the school before I got to year 11. By the time it was my turn for coffee and biscuits there was a new chaplain and, much to everyone’s dismay, our first R.E. class was held in a classroom and had decidedly religious content.
I really can’t remember how it happened, but in the end we did get to sit around in the chaplain’s office. I think at first it was because we said we’d talk about relevant material, but that soon stopped and was replaced with whatever entered our teenaged heads.
After I left school, I didn’t really drink much coffee until I started working, and that was just because it was something to do, a reason to get up from my desk and walk around. And now it appears I’m addicted. I have tried to cut back though - my routine now is one cup as soon as I get to work, another either straight after or mid-morning, and another straight after lunch.
I’ve tried to quit cold turkey but the headaches have meant I’ve always gone back to that one soothing cup… and then another… and possibly another after that. But now that I’ve started trying to make sure I drink more water thoughout the day, not having a coffee isn’t so bad. So, trying to replace coffee with water has not only been good for my health, but the ridiculously frequent trips to the bathroom have meant that I still have an excuse to get up from my desk.