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3.3.09

Cold Caffeine Turkey


It is that time of year again - early spring demands physical exertion and healthy living. As in previous years I have vowed to abstain - amongst other pleasantries - from all caffeine for six weeks. Mind you, not because of a religious background whatsoever, just out of the conviction that twelve espressos per day cannot be wholesome in the long run - and that there is nothing wrong in downsizing Western lifestyle amenities from time to time to renew your appreciation for them.
So, with full moral conviction and plenty of determination I braced myself - for I know from experience what things were to come... The immediate impact of complete caffeine abstinence was a severe headache that slowly evolved over five days from a mind-splitting pain pulsing in the frontal and temporal lobes to a deep numbing throb of the brain stem. Then it was over. Thankfully, I had a complete week of winter holidays, so I did the best thing possible under the circumstances - sleep till the whole thing blows over (the concept of hibernation is one I'd strongly advocate for various challenges of existence - winter,in FSG for instance).
Now, I am slowly beginning to feel the positive effects of caffeine-abstinence: a heightened level of awareness and higher productivity - which of course is extremely helpful considering the challenges lying ahead in the five weeks to come: Cape Windjammers e.V. Foundation Act, Project Days for new students, the BIG A, and of course more and more intense work on the musical (take a listen).

If only the darn stuff didn't taste so good.

2 comments:

Lieschen said...

Also man hat es dir doch angesehen...zumindest am Sonntag... aber es scheint dir ja wirklich wieder super zu gehen...zumindest hast du heute den Anschein erweckt... wird sich wohl noch zeigen =)

sammy said...

I'm glad to know you are aware of the bad side of coffeine! Nice to see you are up to the challenge of withdrawal too.

Have fun in the next few weeks - you know it will be probably the last time you do that at the LGH. And enjoy exactly this fact too, as it won't be your most favourite pastime ;-)

And answer my mail, finally!