Caffeine Withdrawal

I have to admit it-I love caffeine. But that doesn't mean I am a coffee drinker. Just ask my boss. He'd rather make his own coffee than have me make it. But give me some Coca-Cola, or anything that fizzles when you open it, with bubbles popping as they reach the surface, I drink it every morning, bright and early at 9 a.m. My bottle is done by 9:30, and for a couple hours, I am bright and alert, whizzing around the office like a happy tornado.

"Watch out, she's on a caffeine-high," he says out loud, to no one in particular, each morning after watching me zip around the office. I think he approves, though. After all, it makes me work faster and harder, be more alert, and sound extra happy on the phone.

Then the high descends and I become listless, distracted, and not the best employee. Of course, I don't mean to be that way. It is just the energy going away. So, what do I do? I approach the vending machine, stuffing in my quarters, always losing at least one. Pleading at first, frustrated soon after, I sigh, kick at the machine, and fill in the lost-change form that we give to the vendor.

If I am lucky and happen to have another quarter, I put it in; if not, I plead with my boss, He says my pleading makes him think of his daughter. In fact, he told me one day, "You beg for money like my daughter."