And just like that, I've turned into a morning coffee guy

Just a few short years ago, I really prided myself in not being dependant on coffee. I felt that I was doing my part to achieve a healthy lifestyle, and while all my friends' teeth would be losing their luster, mine would remain sparkly white. Over time I turned to an occasional latte as a bit of a treat, pretty much treating it like a dessert.

But time goes by and one gets into a career, sacrificing sleep for some extra quality time with his new best friend. I think to myself, 6 hours ought to be enough, right? At times, I'm not even sure it matters. Whether I had 8 hours or not, come 3:00pm, I was still yawning up a storm- usually during my bi-weekly 1:1 with my manager.

I would try to mask my fatigue by covering my mouth, scratching my nose, pretending to be a ventriloquist. I'd even start chewing some gum just to keep moving- almost like a little stairmaster for my mouth.

I think she started to notice.

Shortly thereafter, I started the afternoon coffee break. Just a quick cup around 3:00 really made a difference in those last 4 hours in the office. My productivity was going up, I would have two 5 minute conversations in less than a minute - life was grand!

Yesterday I returned from a holiday trip to the east coast. Usually a 3 hour time difference wouldn't be affecting me this much, but for some reason it was. I thought to myself, "just drink some more water, that's all you need." No chance that would save me. I had my first pre-8:00am coffee today, and it felt a little too good.

If you see me buying Whitestrips, you'll know my descent was swift, and irreversible.