Sunday, June 14, 2009

Coffee and TV

It's aroma wafts through the air molecules every single day while people in business attire line up to get their fixes, on the go, usually. Or some others wait sleepy eyed at the machines or coffee pots of their respective office pantries, unable to do anything until they got their daily dose of morning coffee.

Thankfully, I was never in any of the above categories. I just liked my coffee, either from the machine or from the cute three in one packets that so conveniently fit into my pocket. However, as time wore on, the need for coffee at least once a day became more and more apparent, to the point where coffee being absent from the daily routine caused the day to seem stretched out far longer than it should be.

All it took was a strange after effect of coffee one day about 3 weeks ago where I ended up sleeping for hours throughout the day (I suspect it was caused by the coffee, but I can't be too sure) and a sort of advice from someone I've been corresponding with about detoxing for 3 weeks after the after effects of that one particular coffee intake was casually mentioned (skipping coffee and taking lots of green tea was the advice that I decided to take up on and see where it would lead)

As of today, It's just one day short of my 3 week sabbatical from coffee... I haven't been taking green tea, though because of my uncanny ability to procrastinate wildly (I keep forgetting to get the green tea, actually as I have none at my disposal at the moment), and I can't help but think of it as a major success, although my sleeping patterns have not improved much. Maybe I'm just meant to be a daysleeper, or perhaps it will take a longer period for my body to get adjusted after over 11 years of coffee abuse. I do feel healthier in some way, although the past week has seen me nursing a migraine, which I suspect could be caused by the unnaturally hot weather instead of a caffeine withdrawal symptom. It is good to know that I'm not exactly addicted to it, nor do I miss it all that much, although my olfactory sense has been greeted by the wonderful aroma.

As for not missing coffee (Ring the alarm!!) I've been willing to decline it on several occasions just to go on with what I could only refer to as a challenge to myself. This leads to something I'm quite sad about, as I have bonded well with lots of people who were fans of the drink, and was identified as a person who loves coffee... Quitting or reducing intake means I'm sort of losing what I've always identified myself with all these years.

I was initially thinking of continuing my coffee intake, perhaps once or twice a week (after all, coffee is said to be good for the heart), but I've suddenly decided to prolong the absence of coffee for a little while more. Maybe if I remember, I might just be able to grab some green tea later in the day. Well, we'll see...

19 comments:

  1. Maybe I should just mention that the title of this post was borrowed of Blur.

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  2. I'm proud of you. I've tried to do this in the past but I have far too big of a reliance on caffiene to keep me going.

    If you do get green tea be sure to check its caffiene content since most of them have just as much as an average cup of coffee.

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  3. I quit coffee in the spring and summer, then take it back up in the fall and through the winter. For me it's not about the caffeine, but rather about a nice warm beverage at several points during a day.

    And as for caffeine detox, it really can take some time to get over the effects. And remember, some teas have more caffeine in them that coffee.

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  4. My name is Nick and I am a coffee addict!

    I'm a through and through monster until I get my first cup of coffee ... LOL!

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  5. Woozie: Worked on it for 11 years, LOL...

    Orhan: Aww... thanks for the pointer. I did do some research, online... but I will check the bags to make sure as well.

    Travis: Yeah, coffee does make a nice warm beverage indeed. Thanks for pointing out about the caffeine content...

    Nick: You must be like one of those people in the first paragraph, LOL..

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  6. When I was young - just hated the smell of coffee . But the minute I stepped into the working world - can't live without it - need to have at least a cup a day......=(


    MsUniCorn Girl

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  7. Caffeine is addictive but realised I can live without it. I am a true blue fan of the drink. Nothing to beat the Madras Filter Coffee! Rocks! :)

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  8. Wow, I've been thinking of writing about coffee myself. The thing is I've recently discovered the joys of staying energetic till late at night even after my son has slept ;-)

    Otherwise, I used to be all tired by 8 pm and all I wanted to do was stuff dinner and sleep.

    But then, I'm scared that what if this kick wanes away if I start drinking coffee everyday so I tried to control my urge (And I don't even like the taste of coffee that much, especially in this summer)...

    So these days it's a constant battle between me and coffee - Me trying to rationalise intake by drinking it once every 2 days and the coffee causing me to be totally lethargic on the nights that I haven't had coffee.

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  9. MsUnicorn Girl: I think a lot of people started embracing the coffee culture either while studying or working.

    popsie: Yup... it is addictive indeed, but perhaps not as bad as we think. I thought I'd be sleeping for at least 12 hours in a life without coffee... but it isn't so.

    rakesh: The situation you're in sure doesn't sound like fun... Anyway, do write up on coffee as well...

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  10. As you know I've been through my own caffeine battle. I let it slip back in recently because I ran out of decaf teabags and had a big pile of caffeinated ones left, but now I have to quit again because it's playing merry hell with my sleep pattern - or that could be the crazy light we have at this time of year. I think my worst offense is the diet coke, which I had a lot of on holidays and now its choke hold is back on me, and I have to do the painful separation again. sigh!

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  11. I'm still not sure how it all adds up yet... there are folks I know who drink coffee (and coke!!) by the gallons and yet sleep like proverbial babies. Good luck in getting separated from diet coke, though... :)

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  12. Err.... sleep like babies? Babies wake up crying every few hours, you know.

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  13. I know, hence the usage of the word 'proverbial' :) Anyway, the person responsible for coming up with such a faulty expression in the first place should be blamed for this...

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  14. Green tea has way more of jolt than coffee. At least that's what I read. You may take a permanent vacation from coffee and orbit the moon on green tea.

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  15. I decaffeinated myself before my surgery, and when I went back to drinking coffee, I made it just a cup (or two) of half-caf every morning. But those instant packets you litter your poclets with I don't think I could do - I don't like powedered creamer, just milk.

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  16. One cup of coffee a day doesn't sound like you're in the danger zone, but if I were you I'd probably have a shot at giving it up too. Just to know that I could.

    This happened to me with chocolate when I was 11(or so) - my granddad used to bring a bar of chocolate every week, and I felt I was growing addicted to that weekly bar of chocolate. Makes me roll my eyes at myself now, lol. But I vowed to give up chocolate for a year, and 10 months into that someone fed me chocolate because I was hungry and nothing else could be found nearby. When I realized I wasn't having an "Oh my God... I'm back to life!" reaction, I knew I was okay.

    Clearly, control-freakishness manifests early.

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