You know that guy that you can't stand, but everybody else seems to like? You know the one...he's everywhere you go, with people flocking around him as if he were the only light bulb in a room full of moths. But you just can't see the appeal, and the fact that everyone else raves about the guy just makes you disdain him even more. I know that feeling... that's how I felt until recently about one of my absolute best friends: coffee. I honestly didn't understand coffee for the longest time. Its bitter and it stains your teeth. I didn't see the attraction at all.

Then, a few years ago, I gave up soda. I was downing a quantity of Code Red each day that was most efficiently expressed in liters instead of fluid ounces just to get through the day, and it had to stop. I struggled for a while, then, realizing that I needed some kind of caffeine intake to be able to function, I turned to coffee. It was sheer desperation--I figured I could choke down a bit of coffee in the morning to get started, then switch to my drink of choice, water, to carry me through the day.

The thing is, that morning cup turned into a large travel mug and started tagging along to work with me. Soon the mug invited its friend Thermos along, and my morning kickstart became an all-day habit. Now I'm at the point where I feel the need to cut back on coffee, and that isn't easy. Much harder than going cold-turkey on soda, actually, and it's because I finally GET coffee, understand why people treat it like their best and sometimes only friend.

From the time I begin my average day (5am. yuck.), it seems like everything in the world is trying to beat me down. Gravity, fatigue, the endless pile of work waiting for me, the senseless viciousness of other commuters, all of it feels designed to crush me. The ONE thing that's on my side is my friend coffee. While everything else is trying to beat me down, coffee is trying to prop me up, give me strength. That's why I've unintentioanlly joined the legions of those that sit each morning grimacing against unwelcome consciousness, coffee mug clutched under my nose, close to my heart. Coffee is selfless--it gives and gives until its gone. It gives you warmth, it gives off a pleasant, calming aroma, and each sip gives you strength. It'll even give you the trots sometimes, but hey... nobody's perfect, right?

I don't want to be the overly needy friend that sets eyes to rolling, though, so I'm going to try to cut down on my intake. I'm going through a pot a day now, and riding a roller-coaster of energy--jittery ups followed by crashing downs throughout the day. I need to go back to a cup to get me going in the morning and one to keep me from falling into a digestion-fuelled nap after lunch. That means that I'll have to give up my midmorning, pre-lunch, mid-afternoon, and drive-home helpings, but it's for the best. But now that I get it, I don't think I could ever give coffee up completely. That's just no way to treat a friend.

Oh, and that guy that everybody likes except you... yeah, it turns out they might be onto something after all.