Temporary Switch

I have lately been drinking coffee again after having nothing but tea for a while. The thing was that I had a big canister of coffee in the freezer, and I was getting tired of that. I thought that I should just drink it finally instead of buying box after box of tea and skipping something that was already at home. Making space in the freezer is also obviously a draw. I am now nearly done with the coffee,  for which I am glad.

My tastes have changed some. I either don't like the taste of coffee any more, or I can't stand the taste of the cheapest coffee on the market anymore. Buying a slightly better than the worst brand could be a way of finding out for sure, but I'm not really into committing myself even to a single coffee at a shop somewhere to get answers like that. It may happen sooner or later, but I'm not going to rush it. These things must happen organically, and I don't mean they must involve organic coffee.

Mugging For The Written Page

I fall easily into routines. In fact, I depend on routines for success. The more often I do something, the more I am able to iron out the mistakes that I make and accrue momentum. Routine makes momentum and momentum makes success, for me at least. One of the areas where I most look for more and more efficient routine is in my morning process. A key part of it is the intertwined processes of making breakfast and completing my toiletries.

Never mind the toiletries for today. The important thing is my breakfast, and specifically my coffee. I had a routine going. I would have one cup of coffee in a mug and move on with my day. First I had my standard-size red, gray and blue flag mug, and I stuck with that for a long time. I switched to my larger "Community"-themed mug, and went with that for a while. I then started switching back and forth for a bit.

Be Square

I've written about my affection for coffee, but I must say that there is no affection unless the coffee is nearly a confection. That is to say that it has got to be fairly sweet. I usually have plenty of cream and plenty of sugar in there. I suppose that the latter is somewhat out of fashion, but unlike some I don't consider denying a truth to change it any. I'll just admit that I put a good amount of sugar into my coffee, all right?

It's surprising the options you have, especially now. I mostly have used good, refined cane sugar from Hawaii. Sometimes I have used artificial stuff, and sometimes that peculiar stuff which I understand is made from sugar cane but is somehow not the same. Brown sugar and powdered sugar do not work especially well. Sweetened, condensed milk is interesting. The thing that I am using presently is sugar cubes.

Drop It And Run

I'm a man of habits. Some things become habitual as a means of ensuring that they get done, and other things have a reasoning behind them that is far more nebulous. I just slip into autopilot, and I'm in the middle of something before I realize that it's started. On the whole, it's a positive thing, and nowhere is this more so than during my morning routine. A small part of it is the making of my coffee. I clean the carafe, fill it up to four cups, empty that into the machine, then scoop in a corresponding amount of the grinds. A few minutes later, I pour a cup and spoon in the creamer and sugar.

That last part is deceptively involved. I have a way of doing things that may not have any logical basis. I use three spoons for the cream and sugar. I use two plastic spoons to deposit the cream and sugar in. I fear stirring the hot coffee with plastic, lest chemicals leach into the beverage and make it more lethal than it already is according to my formulation. That being the case, I employ a third spoon of metal merely for the stirring.

Flight Of The Mug

I am by turns sloppy and fastidious- sometimes Oscar, occasionally Felix. In my best moments, always in my intent, I'm the latter. I want to eat only in the 'dining room' where there's tiled floor, but am unable to stick to my discipline, and so I eat many meals before my computer or the tv set. That being the case, there is constant risk of a pervasive and constant nature akin to the boiler on some old wooden sailing vessel. It is one of the worrying things that ages me.

An excellent example is my coffee. I make enough for two cups most mornings, and usually have one to spare- supposing there's the need to share with roommates or unexpected visitors? In movies, they always say something like "Can I get you a cup of coffee? Just made some fresh". Who doesn't wish they were that larger-than-life figure on the silver screen? In any case, this digression has gone far enough. The coffee is an invigorating start to the day, but it is also my enemy.

Coffee Service

In my experience, it's exceptionally difficult to get people to commit on a regular basis to any sort of informal activity. I spearheaded a 'movie night' with as much energy and enthusiasm as I could muster, and after months, could do no better than struggling to scrape up three or four a week. It was rather demoralizing, and I gave it up to spare myself the needless aging. Another thing was when an effort was put forward to field a softball league team. It went on and on, with the whole thing eventually falling through for lack of enough people. No, people I know manage only to stick to the things they must do, and those are so numerous and draining that there seems to be little left for frivolities.

Perhaps this is a question of maturity. We are all relatively young in the circles I with which I associate, few of us being far beyond thirty. I have recently mingled with some of those in my father's number while visiting for the holidays. Going back for what seems like quite some time, they have gathered once a week for coffee before work on Fridays. There's no binding commitment of any kind, and yet they are are as regular as if it were mandatory. I was obviously an interloper who all knew would not be seen again for some time, if at all, but was treated with great tolerance nonetheless.

Morning Beverage

I've mentioned that I drink coffee in passing many times during basically unrelated posts. It's reasonable to infer that it's my beverage of choice, but you would be mistaken in thinking that I drink it exclusively, and might also be mistaken in other assumptions based on those references. As much as I drink, it might seem like I would be very knowledgeable about the beverage. I faintly understand about different machines and coffee styles, but generally stick to my cheap machine and cheap bulk-purchase coffee. In some respects I guess I just have very average tastes- I often loudly avow that things of mine are those of "The Common Man". So it is with my morning beverages.

Occasionally though, I do get a little adventurous by at least my own standards. It all depends on what is easily available. When something else is available, I tend to take advantage of the opportunity to have it. At restaurants, I often get orange juice rather than coffee. Sometimes in other peoples' homes, I request tea. I always have liked orange juice, and don't often get it now. If it were the only option for forestalling scurvy, I'd be more likely to, but I have Vitamin C pills. If I do get orange juice, I prefer the good stuff. I never have been a fan of the cheap, sugary stuff- it's so sickly sweet, I get queasy at the mere thought. I like premium orange juice, and an inclined towards pulp. That's kind of a psychological thing- it just seems like if I'm getting pulp, I'm getting more value somehow. That might not be a rational line of thought.