My Experiments with Coffee!

Veritably, Great Souls can afford to Experiment with Truth. But lesser mortals like me have to settle for more mundane things such as experimenting with coffee. I cannot access the philosophical realms of my mind, wherein lies the key to greater pursuits of human life. So, I have resigned myself to talk about a more trivial matter i.e. of my mad-scientist-like experiments with coffee. You might be a tad bit curious to know why coffee? The answer to this lies in the climatic conditions prevailing in my immediate neighborhood and the constant stream of 'You always look tired' comments.

Having heard and had enough of these lamentations about my perennial somniacal countenance, I decided to research on ways to keep myself alert and active. And guess what? The first thing I stumbled upon in my literature review - Coffee. Before going any further into my description of the problem statement, I should give you a background of my caffeine habits. As with everything else, there is a long history.

I don't quite remember when I had my first cup of coffee. What I do know is that there were two sparring groups in my house, the Caffeine Democrats and the Lactose Republicans. The former favored passing the law to introduce coffee into my system while the latter opposed such a move vehemently. Both sides had valid points to merit their case. For instance, the Caffeine Democrats argued saying, "Only cats drink milk". The Republicans were not left far behind, they countered with a reply, "Cats don't drink chocolate milk". The strength of the Republican's prevailed for a long time. Then came the mantra, "Change" and "Yes, we can". I wanted a change too. So I started favoring the Democrats and thus the law for "Caffeine in Sumanth's veins" came into existence. By then I was in junior college and the Republicans deemed me fit for coffee anyway !

Suffice to say, coffee was not by any means a significant contributor to my body's activity quotient. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was just coincidence that even then I was commented upon for having a lethargic and droopy appearance. Anyway, coming back to the description of the present malaise, the effect of a hill station climate coupled with my usual lazy, easy going attitude were earning me more accolades than the amount deemed decent. So I decided to do something to boost my activity levels. Having read a great deal about the merits of coffee for doing exactly this, I hit upon a plan to experiment with coffee. Instead of the occasional coffee, I started having 4 cups each day. Here is the gist of the results obtained so far:

Effect on Circadian Rhythm: For the uninitiated ones, circadian (circa-cycle; diem-day) refers to the daily biological cycle of the human body. There is a marked difference in my routine. Caffeine's effect seems to linger on for about 3 hours post intake time. I don't feel drowsy and there is clarity in my understanding. A few hours after my last cup, I feel extremely sleepy and drop dead asleep. My sleep is marked by more intense and deep sleep. I have little recall of my movements in sleep (something i remembered earlier)

Effect on reaction time: My reaction time shows improvement as measured in my TT games after a coffee. I can anticipate the ball path quicker although i still suck at TT in general :). During the post coffee period, I feel alert and experience higher levels of awareness of the surrounding environment. Concentration is higher in the usual office tasks.

There are a host of secondary effects as well which i shall reserve for another time. In the overall sense coffee seems to be showing positive effects. The next steps would be to study the "Reaction kinetics and post withdrawal symptoms pertaining to caffeine inhibition" :)

My half-gone shoe!

Ever since the time I set my eyes on you,
I made you mine without further ado,
you were fresh n bright and sprightly new,
I totally adored you, my precious Woodland's shoe

you protected me from dust and rain,
and stood by me through joy and pain,
I really trusted you, for you were totally true,
I'd have done anything for you, my darling shoe

on tough days, i was harsh with you,
and then sometimes, I was hurtful too,
but you never did mind my outbursts few,
I was blessed to have you, my committed shoe

and the passage of time took its toll,
slowly you lost all your body and sole,
I desperately tried to mend and fix you,
I was worried about you, my favorite shoe

now I see you lying here, faded and dying,
I am filled with sorrow and half-crying,
wishing I could do something to revive you,
without you I am incomplete, my dearest shoe

The cat on the front porch

My eyes caught a furry ball darting across the entrance of the flat I was moving into. The sight of a cat crossing my path on the very first day made me wonder if it was an ominous sign of misfortunes to come. The feeling was probably on account of having experienced an eccentric grandmother uttering scary happening's and then following it up with remedies for various maladies caused by strokes of bad luck. I quickly dismissed those thoughts as remnants of superstitions repeated by granny in those days of folklore and mythology.

All of this reminded me of my tryst with sinister creatures, which henceforth I shall refer to as Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind. The reptilian species, arachnids and feline races have crossed my path at different stages in my life. I hold the record for stamping a snake as a small kid, the ignominy of getting scratched by kittens during school days, and the embarrassment of suffering from a painful bite by an unknown creature in my final semester at college. Rest assured, I feel that my fellow species on this planet and I are irrevocably bound and intertwined in this journey of life. Therefore, the presence of this four legged critter was subconsciously accepted.

The cat at the front door had an eerily shiny fur coat. Its body was velvety black, with eyes resembling reflecting glass beads. The feline eyes wore the look of ultimate deception, like a femme fatale enticing her lover into a bond of irresistible desire. The black beauty had an alert pose, ready to make an instantaneous dart, like a cobra with its hood raised, waiting to strike down its enemy in a split second.

I was very much impressed by this creature of nine-lives. And after our initial acquaintance, I believe, she was equally awed by my presence :). Over the next few days, we treated each other like wary adversaries. At first, she would carefully watch me coming towards her, readily waiting to streak across while I would be readying myself for a feline pounce and attack. And then over time she got used to my approaching footsteps and stopped preparing for the final sprint of her first life :) . For my part, I slowly got over the fear of being scratched by yet another feline. I did not want a parable like 'Once scratched, twice shy' coming into use due to me.

Slowly, the cold in our relationship thawed. She became more friendly and I started to relax. On my arrival back from work, she would lead the flight of steps to my third floor abode. At each landing, she would stop and turn around to see if I was still behind her. And finally, she would drop me off at my door and head back to her ground floor resting spot. Once in a while, I would feed her tidbits of edible items. She would inspect the food items with great dignity and consume them only if it was deemed good.

Ever since the time I first met her, she has always remained a regal black feline, unlike her lazy counterparts. She has a way of her own. Going around the neighborhood, like a queen inspecting her subjects. I don't see her very often these days. Once in a while, I spot those shiny green eyes in the dark alley leading to my home and I know she is out there, bewitching yet another admirer.

This part fact-fiction short story, for whatever it is worth, is dedicated to Ruskin Bond, whose works I am presently reading.