Triticum Turgidum

Lying Dormant and Waiting to Bloom Since 2005

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Location: The Prairie, Illinois, United States

I am a beauty-loving ambidextrous higher-order primate who learned transcendental meditation at 7, statistical analysis at 23, tap dancing at 30, and piano at 35. I tolerate gluten, lactose, and differences of opinion, but not abuse. Or beets.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Decaf Achiever

Do you remember that 1980s ad campaign that pressured TV viewers to "Be a Coffee Achiever?" It seems like each decade has its signature excesses, and the pendulum swings from stimulants to sedatives and back. To wit: the postwar nicotine and amphetamine craze of the 50s, followed by the giant pot party that was the 60s and 70s, followed by the caffeine/cocaine frenzy of the 80s, followed by "heroin chic" in the 90s, and so on.

Aside: these drug trends seem to map onto U.S. political trends, with stimulants being popular during conservative/Republican times and sedatives being popular during progressive/Democratic times. Gives new meaning to the signature colors of the Republican and Democratic parties, no? From the blues to the mean reds and back again.

Anyway, back to drugs: It seems meth, cocaine, and even caffeine have made a mass comeback in the 00s. Being a user of neither sedatives nor stimulants (unless you count thyroid hormone), I live a boringly mid-range life. It's not that I think drugs are evil, it's that my bandwidth of acceptable excitatory levels is frustratingly narrow. Marijuana makes me wish I were simply asleep, yet stimulants of any kind drive me frantic. A can of Red Bull will keep me up all night. I can't even handle the caffeine in a cup of coffee, which my husband, a devoted drinker of fully-leaded java, thinks is really pathetic. Hence, this commentary etched on the cap of my weekly carafe of decaf:


This shouldn't have surprised me. People who abuse stimulants frequently have behavioral problems.

7 Comments:

Blogger PFG said...

I am slowly drinking less coffee. As I've aged, I've found I can't have any in the afternoon unless I want to be a jittery high strung mess in the evening. This is something which has caused me to recall with wonder how only 10 years ago, I would drink POTS of coffee during a day visiting with my friend. I mean we'd go through like two pots in a visit, then hit the Fleetwood diner and have MORE coffee late in the evening. Slept like a baby. Amazing what your physiology does as you age.

But I miss coffee. To the point where I have occasionally had a decaf in the afternoon. It never feels like it tastes as good.

9:58 PM, March 25, 2007  
Blogger WinterWheat said...

You're right, it DOESN'T taste as good. There's a zing to regular coffee that decaf doesn't have.

Speaking of missing things, the Fleetwood!! OMG, the best fries in the world, especially at 2:00am.

7:58 AM, March 26, 2007  
Blogger Urban Chick said...

*sniggers*

i used to be a little snobbish about decaf but like pfg, i just can't handle caffeine like i used to so i restrict myself to one full-caf coffee a day

oh, and alcohol? same thing - my heart races if i have more than one glass of wine without drinking seven gallons of water

the upside? i am a *very* cheap date, these days

3:29 PM, March 26, 2007  
Blogger Parisjasmal said...

I am so amazed by your observations about the highs and lows of the drugs of choice throughout the years. That is wild and so interesting.
I personally loathe all (illegal) drugs. They are rarely accompanied by anything good.

I drink coffee..but to be honest, I think it is the little girl in me who saw all the adults drinking coffe and being adults and that is what I equate it to. It is like drinking wine....not that I do not love wine--but it is such a grown up thing to do. Does that make any sense?

My DH swears all intended meds work totally opposite on me. Benadryl winds me up like a clock.

UGH.

Lovely day to you and the fam.

my word verification is honkyy. George Jefferson would be proud.

8:13 AM, March 27, 2007  
Blogger WinterWheat said...

J -- honkyy!!! ROFLMAO -- seriously. You get the best verification words. :-)

10:59 AM, March 27, 2007  
Blogger violetnoir said...

PJ's word verfication was "honkyy"? Oh, that's priceless!

Anyway, regular coffee sometimes puts me to sleep. Yes, to sleep! Isn't caffeine used in Ritalin? Well there you go, K: I'm really still a hyperactive child at heart!

Hugs!

11:23 AM, March 27, 2007  
Blogger Urban Chick said...

[ww: i'm trying to find an email address for you but can't find one on your profile - will you drop me an email sometime at urbanchickadee AT gmail DOT com? no big hurry]

sorry - i've forgotten my MUA login, else i could have tracked you down there, i guess...

1:00 PM, March 27, 2007  

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