alas, no more java.

Several weeks ago, I came to the unfortunate realization that one of my most favorite things ever happened to be making me rather sick. Every morning I would get these stomach-turning pangs of nausea, and while they would go away by 10 am, they were still terrible. I tried changing around a lot of things: what I was eating, how much I was eating, and when. But no matter what I did with breakfast food, I still got sick. Then I realized I would probably have to eliminate the lowest common denominator: coffee.

Now tell any regular, caffeine-laced grad student that they will have to part with their coffee (or other form of caffeine), and they will probably throw a heavy textbook full of theory at you. The last morning I had coffee, and knew that it would be my last cup of any kind of caffeine for awhile, I felt like Hamlet saying goodbye to Yorick. I questioned how I would make it through life without caffeinated tea, diet coke, and most importantly, soy lattes, but the results have been surprisingly pleasant.

Me, with a new found appreciation for all things pepperminty and tea-y.

Now, I worked in a tea shop in high school, and went back to my roots for my new morning drink go-to: tisane. It has strong flavors like tea, but no actual tea leaves, just herbs, roots, flowers, and whatnot. After trying a few, I've gotten hooked on any green or white tea, or tisane, that has strong peppermint flavors, which I really need to wake up in the morning. Fortunately, I've felt much better since this little switch. I don't know when, or if, I will go back to caffeine, but right now I'm enjoying my life without java.