Commenting on Papers and Americanos.

You can read the history of the Americano here, though the explanation is not very good. Coffee lore tells that the Americano, shots of espresso watered down with hot water thus resulting in something similar to drip coffee, was so named after European baristas, or coffeehouse employees, who thought American soldiers were strange for desiring brewed coffee over their preferred espresso began calling watered down espresso Americanos. Essentially, I think my favorite coffee drink is named after men like my grandfather who were perceived as wusses by Europeans. I can drink shots of espresso, but why would you want to when you can prolong the enjoyment with a little hot water, a splash of soy milk, and a dab of honey or raw sugar.

I enjoy the decaf variety, so I don’t get heart palpitations, which have only begun since I started running, not drinking beer, and cutting out caffeine and soda. I shudder when I think about what I did to my body before I began caring about what I was doing to my body. Apparently, I have to experience a clean body before I can really begin to appreciate how good it is to be healthy. I don’t like it when my heart races, I can’t imagine what it was like with 40 more pounds, and I much appreciate the lack of animal products in my veins. I feel good. At 35, I feel better than I have for most of my life.

I am sitting here at Starbucks, commenting on papers from last semester, so I can give them back to my students on Monday. I feel bad because they have been waiting for them for two weeks now, and I should have had them finished when break was over. I procrastinated, though, and I am just now finishing them up. It is challenging to force myself to comment on papers that I have already graded. I made a note to myself not to do that again. I think I really won’t, too.

On a totally unrelated note, I have been eating several things in the past few days that are advertised as raw food. I love it. I can say that if I didn’t love a nice hot piece of pizza or a nice hot plate of pasta, I could easily be a raw foodist. Since that diet is inherently vegan, it would be excellent for me. I just feel better when I don’t eat things that come from animals, and I can see the benefit of not cooking all the goodness out of food. I saw a good quote the other day that said, “If you aren’t vegan, you aren’t vegetarian.” I hadn’t thought of it that way. Interesting, but not entirely convincing.

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I am thankful for Abbie, Ed, and Iz. On an unrelated note, I am also thankful for reconciliation.

Exercise: walked the dogs twice, ran 3 miles

Food: banana, juice, Pure bar, soy milk, decaf chai tea, sloppy jane with cheese on a wheat bun, salad with strawberries and honey mustard, decaf americano, green tea, Two Moms in the Raw granola, pasta with veggies and edamame, ice cream