Thursday, January 22, 2015

Resolution Resolution

I have decided to write more regularly. I don't intend to write huge posts but focus on just writing more.

I don't like reading instructions. Most of the time, I foolishly waste an hour trying to randomly fit things into slots and then begrudgingly admit my lack of expertise before resorting to the manual.

We as a family also think that we are immune to things that affect other people. My mother, for example, believes all the diseases can be cured by not being a sissy. I once sprained my ankle and yowled about it at home. Since I used to be the kind of kid who self-diagnosed a lot of diseases, my mother told me that I can cure the sprain by not being lazy and asked me to climb the stairs a dozen times. After three weeks of limping we finally qualified this as an injury worthy enough of a medical professional's help.

Anyway, when people tell us not to do things, we assume it doesn't apply to us. So when I read about caffeine keeping people awake, I always assumed otherwise for I trusted in my super powers.

When I came to America, I had atleast five cups of coffee a day. This combined with eating the first meal of the day at about 3 PM caused my stomach to whine like a petulant dog an effect that I observed only in America. In a place with hungry grad students, I have heard many a growl especially in the morning classes. I suspect that this is because the buildings here are very quiet with no fans and magnifies even small sounds - like the incessant clicking of ball-point pens in classes which drives me nuts.

I then realized that I had to get off coffee and started doing two cups a day which is my way of saying that I had "gotten-off" coffee. I have started noticing that having coffee after 11 PM pushes me off the Eastern Time work schedule and I start my days at times that would be considered late by the Pacific Time.

The other way work too. I can list out the things I have done on mornings I have not had coffee:

1) I have tried to walk through glass doors in the Dubai Airport. They felt really clean against my nose when I crashed into them.

2) I have fit myself with another person in a one person revolving door causing much anxiety to the person who was crammed with me in the door.

3) I have hunted for my glasses for a good ten minutes before comprehending that they were perched on my nose

So when I hear the sound of my coffee maker's whirr, I feel a Pavlovian response to become jittery.

Now I know that coffee has an effect and it is not really a myth by my family standards.


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