24 July 06
The Brown Stuff Challenge
For a while now, Hanane has thought perhaps I drink too much coffee, and recently she’s been reminding me of it more and more. She may be right, I may indeed be drinking too much coffee, but I like coffee and I don’t have any desire to give it up, especially since it’s about the only vice I have left anymore (I’m looking for new vices, by the way, so if anyone has suggestions, let me know). Nevertheless, I do know that too much coffee is bad for a person in many respects, and that says nothing of the many terrible chemicals that saturate every cup. (Always buy organic coffee whenever you can, it at least helps, and it’s good for the farmers).
At any rate, something has been on my mind for a while now too, relating with the over-abundance of chocolate products in our household. The cookie cupboard (yes, we actually have a cookie cupboard, not just a cookie jar) is always brimming with a wide variety. The fridge is often plenty stocked with chocolate creams and pudding snacks. Chocolate ice cream in the freezer. Oh, and there’s generally an abundant supply of chocolate candy of every variety due to my wife’s affiliation with one of the world leading suppliers of the stuff. Before coming to France I never bought any of it as I don’t really have a fondness for sweets (ice cream yes, but not chocolate-flavored), but since I’ve been in France I have eaten more of it that I would like to admit; it’s hard not to being that it’s everywhere I look. Nevertheless, I eat only a fraction of what we have.
I suppose, being that I was getting pressure on the coffee end of things, I did what any man would mistakingly do, I challenged the chocolate to a dual. The challenge was relatively simple in terms: “I’ll stop drinking coffee, when you stop eating chocolate.”
I thought it would all end right there and I would continue to happily sip coffee until the cows come home, because though she dislikes my coffee over-indulgence, she likes a lot less the idea of being chocolate-free…or so I thought. My lovely wife countered a surprise of her own—she agreed to meet my challenge. Yipes! However, she wanted some grace time before we began…I suppose so she can work on those chocolate stockpiles and widdle them down to obsolescence. I was quite relieved by this delay as it at least gave me a few more mornings with a strong cup of joe. I agreed, and gallantly offered one thing more (thereby giving me a good foot up on the position of commitment, while still working the delay factor); that she could in fact decide when the challenge is to officially begin, whether one week, two months, next year, whenever.
So far we are about 2 or 3 days into the grace period and there’s been no word about it. Secretly that’s fine with me because I think we can do our coffee and chocolate thing sensibly without the nagging or the need to give either up; nevertheless, I’m ready for arms when the call is made.
As for what should be the consequences? Ideally speaking, I suppose I would never touch coffee again and she would never eat chocolate, and we would both reap the healthy rewards that such abstinence would respectively provide. This would go on until I croaked—because I certainly will first—at which point my wife can resume stuffing herself with all the chocolate she wants to. On the other hand, if one of us falters and dips into the forbidden fruit before I’m slackin’ in Paradise, then, well, the deal is off and neither of us can ever say a word about the other’s intake of coffee or chocolate again, and of course the victor has huge bragging rights for a long time afterwards.
isabelle :: 25 July 06 :: #
Ha, ha, ha ….. whenever it starts, i can’t see it lasting much in the winter … before Christmas, you’re likely to be inundated with whole boxes of chocolates given to your family as seasonnal gifts … now, what’s your position about re-gifting ? Will your wife cope with giving AWAY the boxes (she HAS quite a few sisters so that’s a possibility, unless they are ALL OF THEM watching their weight !.
Good luck to you for giving up coffee, I can never sustain the effort for too long … and by the way, isn’t the Starbuck coffee shop chain originating from your home town ? How does the coffee you drink in France compare with what you had in Seattle ?
And by the way, Nathalie and her family arrived safely in New York … just the hottest week of the year AND as the local electrical company had the longest blackout in history (100 000 people affected for more than 5 days and some few thousands without fridge, air conditioning, washing machine etc ….
isabelle :: 25 July 06 :: #
well, am only half way through my first cup of the morning so the end of my last sentence is rather disjointed … I meant still a few thousand customers out of electricity for the 8th day running !
Nathalie and her family always had light and only had to have COLD showers on Wednesday but no washing machine available for 6 days when most of the place in the suitcase was taken up with presents rather than clothes, that’s hard … at first they couldn’t go running because of the end of the tropical storm Beryl that moved so slowly away .. . but then by Sunday mor ning they did go out and work out a good sweat ….now, that calls for urgent laundry making !!!!
have a nice day !