july 24 in twenty-eight

For a month or two, I have been attempting to drink less Diet Coke. I'm not doing it because of the caffeine; I have such a minimal reaction to caffeine, and I don't suffer much in the way of withdrawal, but I don't think that diet soda is healthy. I think it tastes good, which is why I allow myself a can a day at work and a 20-ounce a day on the weekends, but I'm sure it's just one more thing that's slowly killing me.

So far it's been a success. I've been drinking loads of water with lemon and I don't keep soda in the house anymore, which makes it much easier to decide to drink water for dinner, or at night before bed.

However, lately I haven't been able to make myself go to bed at a reasonable time. It's 10:30 before I get into bed and closer to eleven before I actually fall asleep. And with a 20-minute communite to work from my front door to my office chair, I need to wake up no later than 6:15 if I want to shower, dry my hair, etc etc. So that is about seven hours of sleep. It's a lot for most people, but I am not most people. I barely function on that. My doctor has advised I get closer to nine or ten, but who has time for that? So, getting up is a challenge. Staying up is also a challenge. And while caffeine doesn't do much for me, it at least keeps me from falling asleep standing up, so I bought a Keurig last week and I've been drinking a cup of coffee on my way to work every morning.

It's actually a very nice routine. I leave the house at 7:10 with my travel mug in hand, sipping it all along 315 and finishing just before I pull into the garage.

My concern is that I'm just trading in one bad habit for another. I know that coffee doesn't have all the awful chemicals and whatnots that soda has, but it would be a real drag to get hooked on caffeine and not even get any of the benefits of it.

As I am writing this, it is almost 9:30, which means I'm a quarter of the way through my day, and I could easily drop my head into my hands and snooze for an hour at my desk.

In non beverage news, it's a beautiful day. My plans for today are to work only as long as I have to, followed by a trip to the grocery store. I discovered Lucky's Market yesterday and I like. It's just a few blocks from where I live and while it definitely has that pretentious vibe (along the lines of Whole Foods), it also seems to have quality food and so many local choices, too. I know they are a chain but I don't think they are as widespread as W.F.

And then I'm going to bed no later than nine. I need a good night's sleep or there is no way I'll be able to function Friday night, the best night of all.