Fall, coffee and tights

Hello everyone! Sorry for having fallen of the earth. I am going through some changes in my life here and somehow the urge and time to blog just disappeared. But I am back! I have decided that I want to have more frequent shorter posts. They are easier to make and easier to read, so I guess it is a win-win (assuming somebody is actually reading my ‘blabbings’.

So, what has been on my mind?

First of all: I have a new job! Somehow, over the course of a week the head of the department I have my desk at (I work there but I am not employed there) told me he was going to suggest my name to another professor looking for a post-doc if I wanted him to do so. Of course I did! After receiving some additional information I found out that the job was actually pretty cool: doing research on an awesome topic AND being kind of an important factor in the whole thing (making decisions etc haha) ! So, I went for a getting-acquainted-talk kind of interview and after 30 min was told that I had the job. The only thing is that I am starting this week already and I still have my PhD to finish as well. This means that I am seriously a busy bee now. To keep my cool a bit (and stay awake during the whole process) I got this:

This would be a Nespresso-cup. You know, the George Clooney kind (dear Google, how many hits will this get me? haha). I was literally getting sick of the disgusting liquid that is supposed to be coffee from our coffee machine that I finally took the time to go downtown to the special Nespresso store (sure, it is totally logical and it makes sense to not sell these things in the supermarket) to get some cups for the Nespresso machine that someone put there. I guess it is a smart idea to just bring your coffee machine to work since some of us practically live there. It’s of better use there. So I am one happy and awake camper now!

Next thing on my mind:

Yes, my friends, Fall has arrived! I am starting to like fall. Since I started working out more, I am not so freaking cold anymore anytime the temperature drops below 15C. Now I really enjoy the colors, the crisp air (goodbye hay fever, see you next season!) and dark cozy evenings curled up on the couch with a blanket. But there are still things I don’t like of course. Rain, first-day-your-car-is-frozen-in-the-morning, anyone? And I notice that my body really reacts to whole seasonal changes. Tiresome. But we went for a walk in the woods the other day and it was lovely!

And a last thing:

Yes, I finally gave in and bought myself some running tights. I like them a lot! They are warm (even a little bit too warm for a sunny 8C) and they are tight so nothing is moving when you are running.

Okay, gonna go now and enjoy a cup of tea and a book before I am off to bed.

Chronicles of a PhD candidate: part III

Another week passed. Wow, did that go fast! Unfortunately I didn’t have such a good week as last week, but that was ok. I could afford to take it a little easier even though I would have liked to get some more stuff done.

I felt sleep deprived and demotivated all week. So, on Friday I bought myself this:

That’s right, a Havenly Hazel! It is a capuccino with some kind of syrup in it, topped with lots of whipped cream and sprinkled with hazelnut pieces. De-li-ci-ous. It’s like giving myself a little present and always makes me feel better. It’s good to be nice to yourself every once in a while. And the fact that it has caffeine AND lots of sugar helps too. Good thing I don’t do calorie counting because this thing would probably get me worried haha.

The week ended like it should: going out dancing with a friend. We went to a 70’s, 80’s, 90’s party and danced our asses off! Had a blast.

Daisy Do No Coffee Recap

Hello! Here I am again. Had a very busy month. At times it even was exhausting, so the no coffee challenge turned out to be a tough challenge at times..

The first two weeks I did really well. It felt a little bit weird at first, but after my 2 coffees I just grabbed water instead. My stomach certainly appreciated that! After the first week I could not treat myself to a ‘nice’ coffee because I had several appointments that day. The second week I went to a congress on Friday, so I decided to treat myself on a hazelnut latte on Thursday. I deserved it by then…. Overall I drank 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day, except for weekends.

But the second half of the month is when it got hard! Valentine’s day was not as romantic as it was supposed to be, because we got some bad news. I was quite upset and got really little sleep that night, so on Monday I felt like a zombie all day. I had 4 (!!!) coffee…so much for my challenge haha. But I did quite well the rest of the week. However, no special treat for me!

The last week was even worse… I was totally stressed out because work was messy. Monday I had 3 coffee, Tuesday I don’t remember but probably too many. Thursday I was exhausted (but less stressed :P) and had too much coffee as well…

So, in conclusion…I am perfectly capable of living on small amounts of coffee on regular days. The first two weeks I thought the challenge was way too easy, I could have gone without coffee! But as soon as I am too stressed out or tired I can’t resist the urge to drink sweet strong bad tasting coffee that gives me a kick so I can handle things better.

All in all I will try to keep up with drinking less coffee. I feel better when I don’t and I like drinking more water. I also plan on getting myself treats more often, especially when I finish something important without overloading on caffeine in the process.

Stay tuned…I have started a new Daisy Do challenge this month. Details will follow. But now I just want to get home.  I am on the road now, having dinner at McDonalds all by my lonesome after a late work thing.

Daisy Do No Coffee

Hi guys! When I got my I-don’t-know-how-manyth cup of coffee from the machine at work this week, I knew what my next focus of the month should be. I really have to cut back on coffee intake on work days. First of all, because too much coffee is just not good for you and second because that coffee is just plain groce. It’s only doable because I drink it with milk powder and artificial sweeter (I know, that’s even worse for me).

My problem is that I just seem to need the caffeine kick it gives me, because I just find myself in a dip somewhere during the morning and again in the afternoon. Another problem is that once I start on the coffee I don’t switch back to tea or water. This easily results in over 5 cups a day..and in an upset stomach.

Now, I do not want to cut coffee out of my life entirely, but it should be reduced. But I would be happy if I manage to drink only 2 cups a day and maybe even reduce to 1.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you the new focus of the month:

Daisy Do No Coffee!

 

Image edited from the original found here

The rule is: max 2 cups of coffee a day, but preferably only 1.

Here is how I am trying to make this work:

- Go to bed in time. No being sleep deprived should help a lot. Try to get 7.5 hours a night and take powernaps after work if needed.
- Have good alternatives available: put a bottle of water on my desk, have my favorite tea flavors available
- Tell my roommates of the challenge
- If I stick to the rule, I can buy one of those delicious coffees from the coffee bar downstairs on Friday afternoon.

In other news, I went partying with a bunch of girls Friday night and am still very tired. I am really getting old…not because I am still tired because I have always had that since I started going out to bars, but because everyone in those bars is so young!
Anyway, to start of the focus of the month well…and not fail the first day already…I am going to bed now!

Good night everybody!

How much coffee do you drink each day? Do you consider that too much?