Lately, I've seen a number of my friends have given up caffeine.

At age 19 I had to give up caffeine.

Why?

Because after living on Cokes and coffee to save money all through high school and my first two years afterward, I started having an adverse reaction to caffeine.

I was getting heartburn so bad that I thought I might be developing heart problems.

On the advice of a friend, I stopped drinking coffee & Cokes. The problem disappeared.

I will say that once every few years I would try one of the two to see if my body changes might now accept them.

Nope. Withing half a cup or half a Coke, the pain would return.

So I have learned to live vicariously by drinking Decaf coffee and caffeine free Coke.

One thing I have learned in these past few years:

I can drink all the tea I want and not suffer like I did with coffee and Coke.

BUT

Tea contains more caffeine than coffee.

I have come to the conclusion that there's something else in those two former favorites that cause my adverse reaction.

Maybe I'll dig into this oddity sometime in the near future.

Until then I will maintain the status quo.

~

Before you judge:

There is a gray area between black and white.

Don't judge a book by its' cover.

There are two sides to every story.

~

Being unattached on valentine's Day, I like to go around and say to people "Happy VD!"

Boy, the looks I get from some of them.

Anyway, I hope yours is a good one and to quote the Stephen Stills old song:

"If you can't be with the one you love, honey,

Love the one you're with."

~

Taxes filed... in 35 minutes, online.

Oh, happy day!

Car insurance paid.

Good!

Time to grocery shop for dinner before watching the Stuper Bowl this evening.

Nice!

Bills paid and getting ready to relax -

Priceless!

Snow, thaw, repeat.

~

I've been there:


And sometimes you never get over it.

I read an article yesterday about how many writers, artist and musicians didn't start their crafts seriously until they were age 45 or later.

Another thing to look forward to when I retire.

I have layers:

I can be thoughtful, caring and even insightful.

I can be moody and spiteful.

I can be sarcastic.

I can be goofy.

I can have a childlike innocence and wonder.

I can be cold and distant.

I can be loving and warm.

But mostly, in a world that has grown to be hateful & judgemental,

I strive to maintain the virtues I learned as a child and a youth -

and that is to live my life as we did in the 1960s,

with peace, love and respect for my fellow human beings.

Quite the nutshell, eh?

~

Another day of rising out of bed when I don't want to.

Another day of showering and shaving, which I don't mind.

Another day of preparing my lunch to take to work while I wait on my coffee to be ready. Kind of a mixed bag there.

Another day of yoga stretches, which feels good.

Another day of visiting the internet, to answer email messages and check the weather. It's good to stay in touch and to know what to wear when I leave the house for work later.

Another weekday of not wanting to go to work but, having thought of my bank account, deciding it's time (once again) to suck it up and soldier on.

Another day of wistfully thinking of that day when I can say that I'm retired and can do whatever I want to do every day from then on.

Until then it's just...

Another day.

~

So I'm out shoveling snow on Sunday.

An old friend pulls up in his luxury SUV and chats for a few minutes.

He finally asked me if I really got stuck three times coming home from work Thursday night while we were in the middle of receiving 10 1/2 inches of snow.

I said yes, to which he smilingly said:

"You should get yourself an SUV."

My first thought (from the gut) was to tell him that he used to be so thin... how about dropping about 30 or 40 pounds?

My second thought was to tell him that not everyone had a money making business handed to him by his mom and can't afford a luxury SUV like he has.

I just smiled and told him I'm not an SUV kinda guy.

When he started to go, he made a point of turning around in a bunch of snow... and almost got stuck.

I held in a laugh and waved as he pulled away.

Seeing my friend wipe the smug smile off of his own face was just a bonus.

~