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Friday, January 17, 2014

Java Jive

I am cheating.  I was reading Robin, here, and I found out about a coffee blog hop.  I am so in.  Except, I'm re-running a blog post from 2009.  For those of you who read my coffee, oops, I mean my blog regularly, that's a lifetime ago for me. Or maybe it feels that way, because I haven't had ANY coffee today. Ugh!

 The blog hop participants are listed here.  Thank, Robin, and Michael, for inspiring an (old) post.

(2009)

Over the course of my oversleeping, spill the breakfast smoothie, forget to make the lunch, stub my toe morning yesterday, I never drank my coffee. I’m not a coffee addict per se. Not for me the multiple trips to Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, a back seat cluttered with crumpled dead soldiers.  I'm too cheap for one, and a cup a day does me fine.  On the occasions that I imbibe in more, my fingers vibrate. That cup though, has become my comfort, my hand warmer, my morning snack, my distraction, and yes, I suppose, my habit.

I’m not a “first thing in the morning” coffee girl. I don't require it to wake up.  The shower I stumble into at dawn accomplishes that feat well enough. The blend of coffee and orange juice churns like an acidic ocean in my belly, so caffeine isn’t a part of breakfast—unless that meal includes eggs over easy, corned beef hash, potatoes and someone named Thelma, scribbling on a pad while asking “Coffee to start you off, hon?” Then the answer is a plain and simple “Yes.” Sigh. Sans a paycheck, restaurant breakfasts have become few and far between.

My practice though, back in the day when life included an 8:30 – 5:00 obligation, involved a drive to work between 7:30 and 8:00. There I kicked-off each day with a winding walk to the corporate cafeteria for the complimentary, albeit bitter brew, offered as a company perk for my last eight years. Yup, spoiled rotten, lazy. For more mornings than I can remember, there was no requirement to make the coffee, clean the pot, dispose of the grounds, or absent all that, dig for spare change. Over that last year or so, I acquired an environmental conscience, abandoning the Styrofoam cups dispensed in the cafeteria and going green. This added a journey to the office kitchen to clean out my cup, a trip I forgot to make enough times that it necessitated a detour for a wash up before getting that routine mugful. That was the only effort though. Gosh, free coffee. Some days it tasted better then a comprehensive benefit package.

Now though, there’s no brewed beverage waiting for me. Many mornings, I sit down in front of this computer around the same time as “back when" and writing inhales me to the point that I fail to pour the water and flip the switch on Mr. Coffee— at times also neglecting lunch. On those days I lift my head blinking at 2:00, a few minutes before I need to pick up my daughter, realizing my stomach has been yowling louder then our temperamental cat--which is all good.

There is so much to be said for when the work you love sidetracks you from other err, attractions. In the corporate world, coffee, lunch, even an occasional mid-afternoon snack provided excuses to break away from employment that was simply “fine.” Now I’m so immersed in this “job,” I have to put the timer on to remind me to pick up my daughter or I risk a call from an annoyed teen: “Are you coming?” Oops.

Yesterday’s rough start may have distracted me from filling the pot, but it’s this blog, my practice, my teacher and my guide, the writing that engrosses me so that time loses its meaning—that's the real cause of this caffeine withdrawal. I’m not getting paid in cash for what I’m doing. Yet the rewards warm me like a cup of coffee between my palms on the coldest winter day.

Except when writing about it reminds me that it’s the second morning in a row that I haven’t tasted coffee, and two days with no java will not fly.

Excuse me while I go grind the beans.

10 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You've gone through many phases of coffee over the years.
I don't need it to wake up either. Oh wait, that's because I don't drink. Hey, more for you!

Shell Flower said...

Your work must have had better free coffee than mine. I used to drink it, until I realized that the red eye issue I was having was related to the coffee. I finally made the connection and have been fine ever since. If I so much as drink one cup of the free work brew, my eyes tear up and turn red within hours. Scary. I bring a thermos from home now.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

If I had a nickel for every time I realized it was time for the kiddos to come home and I was still in my jammies pecking away keys, I'd be able to afford take out coffee for the rest of my life. I usually feel guilty over it though...I need to adopt your attitude!

Excellent post :)

Michael Di Gesu said...

HI, Liza,

You've been blogging since 2009? So why haven't we crossed paths before this? I've been blogging since late 2010...

Glad to meet you now. Thanks for sharing your life with us. The strong coffee sentiment is still very present even though this is a past piece of writing.

Thanks for joining in on the HOP!

Have a great weekend!

Cathrina Constantine said...

I also stumble down the stairs with my pj's on and start writing. It's the best time for me, except at 3 am when I'm on a roll.

mshatch said...

Sadly I am a coffee addict, ie, if I don't get my daily dose I will get a killer headache. Thus the coffee comes first, right after I feed the cats, let the dog out, and give him his breakfast. Okay. I guess that means coffee comes second or third :)

D.G. Hudson said...

Coffee should never be ignored. How could you go two days? I wouldn't like that. But, when the writing muse calls, we need to answer. I get lost in writing, too.

The timer isn't a bad idea, better than post-its all over the place! That's what I do.

BTW - hope you have had a coffee by now. . .

Robin said...

I am thrilled you decided to pull this post out and rerun it. As always, it was entertaining and lovely writing. I so enjoy reading your posts.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Two days without coffee? I dontt think I could even miss a day anymore.

Deniz Bevan said...

True, it *is* nice when the writing is so absorbing we forget to eat or drink!
I like having coffee after breakfast, so I can enjoy it leisurely and not while eating :-)