Confessions of a coffee addict

“Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all.”

~ David Lynch

Coffee is a reporter’s best friend. Freshly-brewed coffee, hot out of the pot and steaming from the mug is best. Nearly day-old coffee that’s been heated up in the microwave will suffice in a pinch. I’ve recently noticed that stores are beginning to sell edible coffee cubes for people too busy to make coffee. I don’t think I’m that far just yet and if I am, someone please tell me. Now that I mention it, though, I am curious as to what it tastes like. Any chance it’s similar to M&Ms Coffee Nut?

The first thing I do upon coming into the office is get the coffee going. While it’s brewing I will check emails, look over my social media feeds and begin working on whatever needs done for that day. If it’s a Monday, it’s often writing up a meeting or an article on high school sports. If it’s Tuesday, it’s reading the paper with a red pen in hand. I’m a creature of habit and that habit includes coffee.

On days when I feel like I can afford it, I go down to Sweet Marie’s and order a “cup of happiness”—a dirty chai tea latte with two shots of espresso. I blame Jessica Lane for turning me onto this, as her “cup of happiness” is the same thing, except with three shots of espresso instead of two. With the surge of caffeine in my veins, I often feel like I can take on the world—or at least the rest of the day.

“The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”

~ Sir James Mackintosh

The life of a reporter is hardly dull and often busy from the beginning to the end of the month. Even at a weekly paper, reporters are going one way or another to cover one thing or another. The first Wednesday of every month, my evening is spent sitting in either Encampment or Saratoga for the monthly meeting of the Upper North Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District. The second Tuesday is spent covering Saratoga Planning Commission. In fact, the first two weeks of every month are filled with meetings.

Depending on the meeting and what was discussed, taking the time to listen to and transcribe the recording is just the first step in getting it ready for the upcoming paper. Calls have to be made, emails sent, research done. A cup of coffee is often by my side the entire time and, unfortunately, there are times that when I go to take a drink I discover it has gone cold. Coffee that has gone cold is worse than beer that has been warmed.

My consumption of coffee continues to increase as time goes on and, more often than not, it doesn’t always seem to fully wake me or energize me. Instead my stomach grumbles at me and my body vibrates. Sometimes I even begin to see into another dimension. Could it be possible that no amount of coffee in the world could make up for the sleep debt that I have accrued over the last several years?

“Never underestimate the power of a good cup of coffee.”

~ Ursula Vernon

I am pondering all of this, of course, on a Wednesday afternoon following my third or fourth cup of coffee. My stomach isn’t too upset, because I just ate lunch, and my body is just on the border of vibrating into an alternate timeline. My foot is tapping, the desk is shaking and my fingers are striking the keyboard at what seems a million words per minute.

I think the coffee is working.