Desert Island



What do Rick Warren, Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling have in common?

Drug of Choice

As much as I had hoped that I’d be able to untangle myself from the python-like grip that caffeine has had on me since college…alas I’ve failed. You see, a few weeks ago I was forced to take a sick day because I was, well, sick. The whole throwing up deal left me pretty dehydrated and with coffee being a diuretic and all, Katie made me promise that I’d drink Sprite, water and Gatorade in the place of the deep, dark goodness of my morning go-juice.

That day nearly killed me. I don’t mean to imply that I can empathize with people going through withdrawal related to real-deal addictions, but I think I might have the faintest of inklings. The little man inside my head going to work on my skull with a jackhammer and dynamite didn’t give up without a fight. But eventually, I emerged victorious and managed to curb the need for my hourly refill for a few weeks. And I noticed a lot of changes.

I tend to be less jittery and distracted when I’m not having three cups a day. I even started drinking lightly caffeinated tea as a substitute. I was enjoying it, too, until the British lady in my office started making fun of what I called “tea” and what she called “hot water.” I tried switching to decaf, but I learned that no one else in my office drank it. When I asked the supply lady on my floor about ordering some, she blinked twice and said, “Never heard of it.”

So, in true self-restraining fashion, when the going go tough, I got tired. And when I got tired, I hooked back up to the I.V. Simple as that.

On a side note, this experience has reminded me greatly of my college roommate Jeff, who’s call I need to return. I think we discovered the greatness of coffee at the same time. Towards the end of our first semester in college, with both of us looking down the barrel of a 2.0 GPA or something, we decided to invest in a coffee pot and stay up for a week straight studying for finals. It’s due to my good friend Jeff that I don’t drink anything except straight black java…’cause everything else just gets in the way of the caffeine.