Today I had my very first espresso. Perhaps it seems odd that I’ve made it this far without having ever tried it. I’m over 30 years old, I’ve lived in and visited other countries, one of my BFF’s is super Italian…still, never tried it. In fact, I don’t even like coffee. It’s been over 7 years since I last drank the stuff and even then I usually drowned it with sugar and milk until it was no longer identifiable as java. I love the smell but the caffeine makes me a little crazy: I get jittery, I can’t sleep at night, I can’t stop my foot from shaking, my eyes start shifting left to right, I get hungry…oh wait, I might be recalling a different experience. Anyway, the point is caffeine does weird things to me and I can never seem to drink enough to make myself get used to it.
So, I bet you’re wondering what possessed me to have an espresso today? Well, ultimately I was just being polite. Earlier today I was in the home of an elderly Italian couple (most of the events preceding this moment have been omitted; different story for a different day). Right, so, old Italian couple…I don’t speak Italian, they don’t speak English. I was offered espresso and cake and I couldn’t figure out how to decline the espresso without breaking some social custom or hurting their feelings. The couple’s daughter was there to translate but I just didn’t feel comfortable declining. So, I drank up; thankfully it was a tiny cup and the visit didn’t last too long. Oh, and the cake was delicious. Between sips and bites I smiled a lot and nodded to a bunch of loud words I didn’t understand. Lovely visit. Really, it was fun…or funny…or that might be the espresso talking.
Driving home from my espresso encounter I found myself listening to pop radio, yes, I said pop radio. Normally KC 101 makes me want to gag but not today. Today I sang my heart out to the songs I knew and made up words to the ones I didn’t. Is this caffeine and if so no wonder the youngins love coffee, red bull and bad music.
