I have always been a big coffee fan...
My first job was at Cafe Monet, a combination of cafe and florist. In acutality, it was a flower shop that happened to serve coffee and have sandwiches in the refrigerated case (incidentially the owners were Persian and this was where I first tasted Falafel). A later job was at the short-lived Cafe Mayhem...an attempt at a cool coffee house by a business man who didn't understand the concept. Then Micah's, which was essentially the same. Then La Tazza in college, which carries so many fond memories for me.
On the weekends in High school the girls from PHS and I would spend hours over coffee at Denny's shooting the breeze. I spent many hours during college at the E Bar in Pasadena. First in a dark alley of old town and then on green street. Wood floors, simple wood chairs and tables, the white walls, stained yellowish by the cigarette smoke, were mostly bare, except for random pieces of artwork that were dark and unfriendly. You could count on the staff being indifferent at best, but rude most likely. After Zha Zha started working there I probably spent at least part of every day sipping an americano and visiting with the regulars...Doug, Scott (not mine), Erin and the others. The ban on smoking in bars and restaurants was the downfall of the e-bar. Actually, it was the man that reported their non-compliance of the law, but that's another story.
I don't drink a lot of coffee...usually no more than a half a cup a couple times a day, but I love it. I went through a period where I couldn't sleep at night after having coffee or a soft drink, but I just convinced myself that it was mental and now, once again, I have no trouble.
I have known for a while that a cup of coffee in the late afternoon does wonders for me at night. I come home from work and I have the energy to do laundry or any other chore that I normally would not even want to think about. I was reminded of that yesterday when I had a late afternoon cup.
And here is my confession, I think coffee makes me a better person.
