Ritual de lo Habitual - Part One

I have a lot of addictions, let's just start off with that. Hence, this is the first part in a series of those wonderful random things that dominate my life. Some you will relate to, some you'll laugh at, and others you'll find downright strange.

Like Kevin Spacey making a latte with me from his own personal, gold, Italian espresso machine. Yes, a combination of two obsessions. But I digress.

Caffeine. Sweet, sweet, java. How many cups a day?  Right now at 7:23 pm I'm sipping on my eighth cup of the day, not including the venti salted caramel mocha (shown above).  I justify it this way - there are worse things I could do.

After all, my venti salted caramel mocha costs $5.30.  Do the math.  That's equal to two and half wine bottles of Two Buck Upchuck at Trader Joe's.  Can I stand in front of my middle schoolers drinking the blessed vino?  No.  Can I teach Spanish while slamming down the almighty bean?  You betcha.

The wine will make me goofy and silly and sad and moody, all within a five minute time frame.  Just ask anyone who knows me.  Caffeine will send me to the moon and above - zero to sixty and stop on a dime.  This is a no-brainer as to what my beverage of choice should be.  Forget the booze.  Pass the carafe and cream.  Hold the sugar.

I even went as far as working for Starbucks, originally applying on a lark.  I put on the application that my nickname was the "JavaMom."  The bonus of the job was all the coffee I could drink while I was there and a free pound of coffee a week, plus a company discount.  Heaven!  My only reason for leaving was to go back into teaching.  I met my future sister-in-law at SBUX.  I'm still in touch with a few of my fellow baristas.  Gosh, I love that place.  My collection of Starbucks mugs at one point spanned the globe.  I've kept special ones, like this one from Delta Gamma sis Lola when she lived in Okinawa:

Confession - someone gave me a collectible Starbucks green apron from a financial conference, and I wear it all the time when I bake.  I feel like a barista again, so super cool.  Yup - I even have the obligatory Ecco clogs on at the same time.  Man, do I look rockin'.

Of course, when I do this I've already had about six or seven cups of coffee, and all is right with the world.  So, baking three batches of cookies at eight thirty at night may seem a bit manic to some, to me it's just the wash of energy from an ordinary day.  Up at 4:00 am, to bed by 10:00 pm.  All by the grace of the bean.

I'll sneak Dunkin's at lunch to go for a drive from The Building Known as School, and sip on Vermont's Green Mountain Coffee Keurig K-Cups all day long.  If I'm in a bind, I will even take the free cup from Market Basket, the local supermarket.  I am not picky at times.  If I need the jolt, I'll find it.

And yes, I do chew on chocolate covered espresso beans when the situation warrants.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

We're a select group, we caffeine addicts.  Understood between us is that need to run to the coffee machine to get that last drop when we only have two minutes in our schedule.  The coffee shop being closed is a crisis.  Running out of half and half in a storm may warrant a nervous breakdown.  Diet coke DOES NOT just cut it.  There is no comparison.

Raise your mug high, and salute a toast.  Who cares if it's past 10 am?  Any time is good for coffee.  Iced, hot, who cares?  Bring it!