Buzzed

Moving in with my roommate has changed a lot of my living habits. Things like, now instead of having a single beer every five days, I have five beers every single day. (Kidding! Sort of!) The summer I lived alone in college, I survived on salad and strawberry shortcake. I was sort of headed back in that direction out here, but I always assume that my roommate is judging my eating habits ("You didn't have dinner. Strawberry shortcake is dessert."). It's okay, though, because even with all the beer I now drink, I have managed to lose enough weight to fit into the clothes I wore that strawberry shortcake summer, so let that be a lesson to you: if you are in need of an effective diet, live with someone who you think scrutinizes everything you eat!

(To be fair [and perhaps this is something I will expand upon in the future], as a male my roommate did not have to experience the soul-crushing body image issues that most teenage girls have to endure, and therefore never learned about the dangers of high caloric intake. I'm pretty sure he never even thought about those things called calories until, oh, about a year ago when his metabolism finally slowed down. I think because these adventures in healthy eating are so new to him, he feels the need to make sure that I also know how bad sugar is for you. Or that Coors LIGHT has fewer calories than regular Coors. Or that vegetables? So beneficial. Mind blowing, I know.)

But, I digress. The biggest change I've made is that I now drink about 300% more caffeine everyday. It was about 150% more when we first moved out here because my roommate and I share a love for Diet Cherry Coke. I am embarrassed to admit how many cans we go through in a week, but it is a lot more than you might think two people could drink. But then.

Then I started drinking coffee. My roommate used to work at Starbucks and coffee is one of his most favorite things, so his enthusiasm led me to believe that I was missing out on something. And I totally was. I like the way it is hot, and how it smells, and that when I drink it I am actually productive for the first two hours of work.

When I was visiting Ohio over the weekend, I tried to not drink any caffeine the entire time I was home. I got in late Thursday and by Friday night I had a splitting headache. I went to bed early to stave it off, but by Saturday afternoon it was back with a vengeance and I had to give up and have a sweet, sweet Diet Coke with my dinner.

I know it's unhealthy, but I can't help it. If only my roommate knew how bad for you caffeine is, I'm sure I'd be peer pressured to lay off it for a while. I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy every single sip of delicious energy-boosting liquid heaven I can get my hands on.

Now pardon me while I go figure out how to get rid of these shakes.