I am moving day 25 post to day 30 and adding to it. There is a lot to say but I feel like putting it back 5 days will make the final post a lot better. There will also be a recap post mid october, so two more to go but only 5 more of drinking coffee.

This was a good experiment and I am looking forward to the next one, so if anyone has some ideas for November get them ready to post later in the week.

I've noticed many positives and negatives, I think writing every 5 days was a lot of writing for this coffee, depending on the next one it may go to 7 days.

Also many of my first years may be coming on this blog a lot this week, so if anyone has anything (no matter who you are) economic to ask me then throw it in the comments.

I never watch movies, I seem to never have time or interest in order to sit down and watch something for a few hours. However, this week at school I've been so busy and just watching movies on a portage dvd player, or trying to deal without cable at my friends houses... It turns out I've seen more movies in the past 7 days then I have in the past years.

My Movie List (no order)
-Half Baked
-Revolver
-The Ringer
-Last Samurai
-The Break Up
-The New Guy
-Clerks 2
-Grandma's Boy
-Dave Chapelle Block Party
-Weeds Season 2 (Not a movie but still is as long as one)
-Wildboyz Season 3 & 4

It hit me last night, at around 2:30 when I got home from playing a show. In 7 months I'm done... done university, I'm a grown up... time to get a real girlfriend, real job, make a real life. Growing up has always scared me, more then anything else.

I've got an appointment with a guidance assistant on Oct. 5th, they are suppose to help me find a job or find more education.

I am really trying to decide if I want to go for a masters degree, and if so a masters in what? And what school will I go to?

Fuck, the more I think about it the more I just don't want to. I watch the first year students I mentor complaining about small stupid things, and you just want them to realize that this is an amazing time in their lives, and in 3 years they will feel like first year never happened.

Theres no point to this blog post, it started on what my feelings about gum were.

Sitting in the doctor’s office I knew what the problem was and the solution. Defeated the purpose of seeing a doctor, but I figured I should go get a second opinion. My stomach has had a terrible pain over the past 3 days; I’ve had a history of heartburn and acid indigestion so it wasn’t a shock.

I walked into the doctors office and told him that I had a history of stomach problems and for the past 20 days I’ve been drinking high amounts of coffee. He said that coffee is a stimulant which creates excess acid in the body causing it to be upset to fight it.

He asked me how many days were left and I said ten, he suggested that I start making my own coffee more often because the store brand is worse for me. Also I shouldn’t really drink it on an empty stomach, with a meal it is much better for you since it isn’t the only thing in my stomach.

I will take the doctors advice for the next ten days and stay on course… Tums in hand.

By The Numbers

Over the past few days I’ve started to take note of how many people were drinking coffees in each one of my classes. I found that almost one quarter of everyone in my class had a drink on there desk… what was in it was questionable but I assume most of them are coffee.

Coffee is a good way for a student to kill time in class. I play with my phone or read the paper, but a lot of people drink coffee. Most people in my class told me that they like coffee but are not addicted to it. Which was strange for me, because it seems like someone who buys it almost every morning is addicted.

One girl told me that it wasn’t like cigarettes; you can stop at any time. I tend to disagree with her that is it possible to go cold turkey; it is however much better the cigarettes. I told her the next day not to buy a coffee and talked to her at the end of class. Her response was a weird one saying that “It was the longest and most uncomfortable class she’s had”.

The biggest thing I’ve learned and try to get across with all these blog posts to coffee drinkers and non coffee drinkers, is that coffee is much more then a normal drink. It has become a comfort drink which creates this false sense of what it is. Many people wouldn’t 2 Red Bull a day, or have 3 Cokes, yet they convince themselves coffee is different.

It is not bad for you, and it isn’t an addiction, it is actually something which makes people happy in the morning. But don’t kid yourself, it’s a stimulant just like Energy Drinks.

The Statistics:
Days Completed: 20
Cups Of Coffee Consumed: 24
Amount Of Money Spent: $32.48
Times I've Bought More Then A Coffee: 13
Money Spent On Coffee + Misc: $47.30
Longest Time Waited For A Coffee: 13 min
Favorite Kind: Espresso
Least Favorite Kind: Iced Coffee

For an explaination for what the current 30 day experiment is please refer to the sidebar under "addicted to coffee"

Half way done, I am very excited to be able to say that. Its amazing how fast time passes, yet it feels like I’ve been doing this stupid challenge forever now. Many people in my program and around here are beginning to get into this as much as I am, and giving some support. I’ve had a lot of people invite me over to try different blends of coffee and experience new things. So this post is more of a review of all the different types I’ve gotten to try these past 5 days.

9 In 5

First off many people might look at the statistics and realize that I’ve had 4 to many drinks in the past 5 days. This is not because of a growing addiction or a growing interest in coffee. It has mainly stemmed from the fact that I’ve been experimenting with more flavors and I drank the whole cup so I could give a good review. Also I’ve kept with my ‘normal’ store bought coffee each morning because I didn’t know when I would have access to more.

The price of the homemade coffee was calculated by taking the total for the dry beans and dividing it by the suggested cups it can make. It only added a few dollars to the total but I wanted to keep everything tabulated.

Home Brewed

After walking to a Tim Hortons, Starbucks and Timothy’s everyday I was very interested in how different it was from home made coffee… the answer being it is not different at all. I could not really tell a difference one way or the other, corporation coffee was a bit smoother but not drastically different. I began to think, then why do people spend a $1.25 a day when it costs close to 10 cents to make it. I think the conclusion was it’s just so much easier to walk into a store rather then make it.

Decaf Home Brewed

There is a difference between Coke and Diet Coke, it isn’t big but most people when they drink it can tell. I assumed this would be the case with decaf coffee, I would finally know the reason why no one really drank it. The truth ended up being that it tastes just like coffee, maybe a bit mild.

But as I drank it I realized that this was like drinking non alcoholic beer. Yes it tastes the same, but really defeats the purpose of drinking coffee. Many people from my last post assumed that I was very much against the caffeine in coffee. While the truth is it might be the only reason I enjoy it, that post was more about awareness. It does give you a kick when you need it, and drinking decaf just doesn’t feel the same. Doesn’t have much of a purpose.

Instant Coffee

I didn’t want to try instant coffee at first, nothing instant is ever really good. I was dreading it, even said I wouldn’t do it because it would taste like shit. Turns out like decaf and home brewed coffee, I was far off my first predictions. Instant coffee is actually very close to normal Tim Hortons coffee. It is a lot more grainy then usual, but you get over that until you reach the bottom where there is a noticeable difference. It just wasn't good. but it wasn't bad... I think that under normal conditions it would taste like shit, but when you are expecting it to be horrible and its not its a bit of a shock.

Is coffee something you really need an instant version of though? It is so widely available and so easy to make I didn’t really see a purpose in drinking something a bit sub par to save maybe 5 minutes.

Espresso

This might be my poison, I really like espresso. The weird part is I don’t really know why. It tastes like a stronger version of coffee which I don’t already enjoy, it really bogged my mind why I preferred it to anything else. I think it came down to the fact that there wasn’t a lot there, it was like a shot of coffee with twice the caffeine. Two thumbs up for espresso that’s for sure.

The Statistics:
Days Completed: 15
Cups Of Coffee Consumed: 19
Amount Of Money Spent: $25.86
Times I've Bought More Then A Coffee: 9
Money Spent On Coffee + Misc: $35.07
Longest Time Waited For A Coffee: 11 min
Favorite Kind: Espresso
Least Favorite Kind: Iced Coffee

Just wanted to thank anyone who came to read day 15 today, I know I've been giving out the blog address because a lot of people are interested. I am writing the day 15 post as we speak, however due to time constraints I will not have it proof read with pictures and the last section done till late Friday, early Saturday... It still will be titled Day 15 and just follow the weeks events till that point. Economics right now has just made me more pressed for time then I thought.

The post will contain:
-9 drinks in 5 days
-instant coffee
-decaf coffee
-espresso
-home brewed
-discussion about my progress

How can there be a God
If kids get cancer
They don’t know how to sin
Only smile and play
Struck with cancer
They sit on hospital beds
As I read children’s books to them
It’s hard to see them as lives
As the grim reaper has clamed them
With machines pumping their lungs
I just turn the pages of the book
Trying not to believe
These sweet kids I read to
May not make it next week
I look at the window at the world outside
And see all the people
Who deserve this fate
Then I sit by myself when the books done
And think
How can there be a God
If kids get cancer

Support Cancer Research

-the man who stole the world

content for 30 days

For an explaination for what the current 30 day experiment is please refer to the sidebar under "addicted to coffee"
Caffeine: A bitter white alkaloid derived from coffee (or tea) and used in medicine for a mild stimulant or to treat certain kinds of headache. The drug contained in coffee, which alerts the mind and reduces fatigue or sleepiness.

I’ve found that my sleep patterns are changing, mainly depended by when I have my daily coffee. If I have a ‘morning coffee’ with breakfest or walking to school, usually by 3 in the afternoon I’m dead tired and tend to say up much later in the night. If I have an afternoon cup, I eat much less dinner and get tired around 10. However, if I drink one at night I go to bed perfectly but wake up a few times in the night randomly... Above is a picture I took a few nights back when I was sitting up in my bed, isn't amazing quality, but it at 5:54 I didn't really go for the artisitic approach.

This change in sleeping reminded me of past exam times where I’d been drinking Red Bull regularly, to keep alert or awake. I was very curious about the caffeine contents in coffee as compared to other drinks, and I decided to do my own research on caffeine.

Major Corporations

The first place I decided to venture online for some caffeine research was the companies whose coffee I was drinking... Both Starbucks and Tim Hortons. It amazed me when after some time searching I couldn’t find the caffeine intake in a coffee anywhere on there respective webpage’s.

So, I decided I would just check in store whenever I went to get my next cup. The next day I spent a good deal of time looking around the stores to find a nutritional guide for coffee somewhere in the store… I thought, hell... even Mc Donald’s as one, Starbucks and Tim Hortons have to... But just like the internet after some time in the store and a few dirty looks by people I couldn’t find anything related to the amount of caffeine I was being served.

I finally broke down and asked the girl behind the counter, how much caffeine was in a large coffee. Her response was a weird one, saying that “There isn’t that much, just more in the extra large”.

I thought... well no shit.

Google

So when I got home I ventured onto Google, it has become my new expert to anything I need to know.

Bam... first website I opened was titled Coffee and Caffeine FAQ. And there was the answer I spent the last 5 days looking for... The amount of caffeine on average in a normal store drip coffee is a shocking 130-150 milligrams (can be as low as 90-100 for certain blends). That was for an ounce and a half serving size. I can tell you right now that a large Tim Horton’s coffee is more then an ounce and a half, and I couldn't image what an extra large would consist of. To put this in some sort of perspective most energy drinks have between 70-80 milligrams and pop almost half that. With this knowledge I've decided to cut everything else which would contain caffeine, in hopes that it will cut down my caffeine.

This means I will ingest 4,500 milligrams of caffeine in 30 days (if a large is considered an ounce and a half drink). That is the equivalent 56.25 red bulls, 90 cups of tea or 132 Coca-Cola drinks.

No wonder I can’t sleep.

The Statistics:
Days Completed: 10
Cups Of Coffee Consumed: 10
Amount Of Money Spent: $17.11
Times I've Bought More Then A Coffee: 5
Money Spent On Coffee + Misc: $26.34
Longest Time Waited For A Coffee: 11 min
Favorite Kind: Tim Horton's Original Coffee
Least Favorite Kind: Iced Coffee

http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm
http://coffeefaq.com/site/

Today I meet all my students which I will spend the next 8 months shaping into economists, and teaching life skills... Oh yeah.

I had them all over for dinner where we made 4 pounds of tacos. I ended up dropping a taco on the ground and swearing, one of the students looked at me and said I have a good made up word for you... I turned to him and said "I've got almost 200 for you".

I showed them The Fictionary... and laughter was made.

Here are my top 10 words: (look them up at the Fictionary if you want the meaning)

10. familalack
09. burgonias
08. robobot
07. thubin
06. wideways
05. areaspace
04. ninjealous
03. chizwilderment
02. homility
01. malfallicious

These past few days have been quite interesting, I've had a chance to sit down and try many different types of coffee. I've had Starbucks and Tim Hortons normal and special blends... I have to admit I still do not enjoy it at all. The taste just doesn't seem to sit well with me. However, I expect it to be like wine, you hate it at first but after a while you will like it for the rest of your life.

The interesting part for me has been the fact that I don't think I can taste the difference between Starbucks and Tim Hortons 'normal' coffee. It seems to be the exact same to me, just Starbucks is much more expensive.

I am also really starting to figure out that it takes a lot of invested time to be a coffee drinker. I've waited in lines for 10 to 15 minutes just for a drink, which to me seems really stupid. But people do that every day.

Money, Money, Money
Coffee is big business, and for the longest time I could never figure out why. They would sell you a 2 dollar drink and at the end of the day make millions of dollars worth of profit.

I've spent a little over 8 dollars in 5 days, which would average out to be about 40 dollars a month. Considering most things I spend my money on this does not seem like a lot of money. Yet, it feels like way to much considering I am paying for hot water rubbed against some beans.

I think the real money isn't in the coffee, it is in all the other things lining the counter. I've started to keep track of how many times when I buy a coffee I add something else like a bagel or other product to the mix. Now if I were to add those to the total costs I would expect it to almost double from the 40... Interesting to think where your money goes sometimes without even realizing it.

Iced Coffee Fiasco

I love Iced Cappuccinos from Tim Hortons, I have no idea why but ever since they came out I enjoy them when it’s really hot out. One thing I’ve hated doing is buying this hot coffee when the weather is hot, so when I walked into Starbucks to see Iced Black Coffee I was excited. I went to the counter and ordered one, the girl asked me if I wanted it sweetened and I said no. She looks up from the counter and says politely “I don’t think anyone’s ordered that before… that would be the downfall of this drink.

I could see them making the Iced Coffee in the back; it was a mixture of cold coffee and ice cubes. She places it on the counter, I picked the drink up and was happy to feel the cold impression it made on my hand. I threw in the straw and tasted it.

Imagine leaving a coffee in the fridge for a week... then adding ice cubes. It was just terrible. However due to the nature of this 30 days challenge I felt the need to finish it. Sip after sip it just got worse, the only good thing about the drink was seeing it empty with all the ice cubes half melted around the side.

The Statistics:
Days Completed: 5
Cups Of Coffee Consumed: 5
Amount Of Money Spent: $8.35
Times I've Bought More Then A Coffee: 3
Money Spent On Coffee + Misc: $15.24
Longest Time Waited For A Coffee: 10 min
Favorite Kind: Tim Horton's Original Coffee
Least Favorite Kind: Iced Coffee

Bars always pay performances in cash, its the fastest and best way to have those transactions. Some nights we play for booze and shit money, but last night we were lucky enough to get a nice big pay day. I agreed to wait for the money so I wouldn't have to put the amps away that night. The manager handed me this envelope full of different types of dollar bills. I was sitting down splitting up the money and I started to wonder, would you rather be on a low denomination of money or a high one.

With lower ones like a 5 dollar bill you are always going to be in many peoples pockets.

However, with a higher bill you have more prestige.

I have to say it is a tough choice...

Well it is September 1st and today is the day I start my first of many 30 day challenges. Anyone who has discussed this with me recently knows that I’ve decided to undertake the challenge of drinking a coffee everyday for 30 days.

This may not seem like anything to some people, however I’ve never had a cup of coffee, and what I’ve tried I’ve really hated. The purpose is to see how the ‘coffee lifestyle’ is and how coffee does affect a student. It isn’t to hard to accomplish but it will also give me a clear idea of the time commitment for a project like this and how far I can take it in the future.

It is day one and I’ve yet to have my first coffee, it is actually sitting on this desk, quite cold because I’ve been putting it off. I got a double double because when she asked me what I wanted I couldn’t think of anything else. I would have a picture of this occasion however my computer still does not have internet so I am chained to the schools laptops. I will update it with some pictures I have been taking of my first trip.

Ok first sip…

I won’t lie it wasn’t as terrible as I was making out to be, but there is a lot of sugar and it will be a struggle to get through a large. I don’t know how people could drink more then one of these a day, it seems very strong and bitter to me. I think it will take me a day nursing this, I guess that’s what you get on day 1.

I will also lay out the rules I have set for myself so I stick to the plan and get the full coffee drinkers experience:

-I must have one cup of coffee everyday for the next 30 days
-A cup of coffee is defined as a ‘large’, so wherever I order from I must ask for a large
-I have to drink from 3 different chains of stores and make my own coffee at one point

Those seem pretty good and reasonable for the next 30 days. Also I will post in intervals of 5 days so I will actually have something to write about, and the posts will not have the date just the day which I am currently on. Any posts with the typical date will not be related to this challenge.

I will also be keeping statistics at the bottom of each post, if you wish to add anything to the list just leave it in the comments.

Statistics:
Days Completed: 0
Cups Of Coffee Consumed: 0
Amount Of Money Spent: 0
Favorite Kind:
Least Favorite Kind: