Mistake

A couple of weeks ago I came down with a mild cold. The symptoms were pretty typical: sore throat, sinus issues, upper lung congestion. The one symptom that was unusual was a sour stomach. There was some acid reflux. Also, when I drank a cup of coffee it seemed to further the acid reflux and build a nasty warming sensation that was unpleasant. I did the logical thing and gave up the coffee. At the same time I decided not to take in tea either as the caffeine would keep me awake and I definitely needed to sleep more in order to recover.

I didn't go back to the coffee or the tea. In fact, I was generally feeling quite fine without either. For a couple of days I felt as if I was dragging a little, but that was to be expected from a cold. After which I recovered nicely and my energy picked up and became more constant.

Yesterday, for some silly spur of the moment reason, I decided to buy a cup of coffee while I was shopping in Safeway. The new Starbucks stand called my name. Even worse, I placed my old, typical order out of habit: a Venti (large - 20 ounce) drip coffee with no room for cream. Maximum caffeine. As I walked away from the stand I thought about how silly that was. By the time I got to work I had drank half the cup. An hour after arriving, and without having drank anymore, I was wired. Completely and totally wired. I had one more sip about 3 hours later and tossed the rest of the cup.

The downside: Despite a double shot of brandy when I got home, my sleep pattern was light last night. My muscles were tense and I'm still feeling the effects this morning.

The upside: With the tensing of my muscles, my sinuses cleared up completely. Nice as it's been a week and a half (part cold and part, I'm sure, due to allergies). Also, I recall dreaming of a parade - a cross between winter solstice and Independence day. Marching bands, cheerleaders, floats - all in shades of white and cream. Some people who marched wore Halloween-type masks (at least, I thought they were masks) which were also pale white, though with ghoulish faces. The last float and highlight of the parade was pulled by a truck. On the flat bed was what appeared to be an armored structure. Doors were open on the sides and in the armored structure were 2 enormous cylinders spinning around at high speeds. The doors to the vehicle closed, the crowd began to get further excited and cheered, and out of the top of the structure, where the centers of the cylinders would be shot giant sparks into the air. The sparks went up 40 or 50 feet. As they fell to the ground, the sparks became large, illuminated snow flakes. When they landed on our hands, heads, clothes, ground, the sparkle flakes were slightly warm to cool to touch. Children played and tried to toss them at each other, but they quickly dissipated. People fell in and danced behind the float for the remainder of the parade route.