Coffee, Coffee, Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink

You know when the fates whisper to you in some quiet way about it being time to change your life...

a fortune cookie reads exactly what you've been thinking

or someone sends you a posting for a new job out of the blue, one that is perfect for you

or you run into someone by accident that you haven't seen in twenty years and it reminds you of something you've lost along the way...

You know, Hallmark stuff.

And then there is the rock being dropped on your head.

I got the rock this morning.

Two weeks ago, I broke the coffeemaker. The carafe slipped out of my hands, smashed, and the display had been broken for months making it almost impossible to set.

Let's get a new one, Jeanine said.

She brought home a nightmare of a machine. I could not figure out how to make it work. It required grinding two different times. You had to press three buttons in a certain succession in order for it to work.

It's fine, Jeanine kept saying.

I refused to make coffee. I do not have a PhD in electronics. I don't want a coffeemaker that requires one.

Finally, one morning as Jeanine shuffled over the the machine and pushed one of the many buttons, she sent a spark into it (from shuffling) and zap. The machine was dead.

I smiled. Now we need a new one.

Buying gear, electronics, computers, anything with a switch and no real design options, are all Jeanine's domain. I don't want it to cost a lot. That's all I care about.

And how many buttons are on it.

This time, she required several days to accomplish the task. In the meantime, we were drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee, which I love but is NOT strong enough for 6:00AM. Not even remotely.

Not to mention you have to go out to get it.

You go, I begged.

No you go.

Oh, please...

Fine, I'll just have tea, Jeanine said, covers over her head.

Yuh, like you're going to drink herbal tea in the morning.

Which brings me to this morning and the rock. After purchasing yet another new coffee maker, I came downstairs this morning to find coffee so light I could see the bottom of the cup after pouring it.

The grinder feature- oh you know gadget girl needed to have an auto grinder- didn't work properly.

Finally, I got it.

Perhaps it's time to wean myself off my coffee habit. Twenty years ago, I quit smoking. I quit because I realized I would walk barefoot in a blinding snowstorm to get a pack of cigarettes.

Without even thinking there was anything wrong with it.

Maybe the fates tossed me a gentle nudge and seeing my oblivion, dropped a rock on my head.