Yesterday, I had to go to a training so I can be a poll worker again this election. On the way, I stopped at Starbucks to redeem my any-drink-you-want-free birthday coupon. Because it was FREE, I got a venti decaf latte instead of my occasional tall decaf latte.
For three boring hours, we talked about how to work the election. About an hour in, some dumbass in my breakout group made a stupid joke to an Asian lady. He asked her if her cousin worked at CVS (I guess because there is an Asian woman working at CVS?). We all gave him the fish eye and the Asian lady acted irritated, but she let it go. A little bit later, the dude made the SAME stupid joke again and the Asian lady gave him the smackdown he deserved.
I contemplated saying something too, but I immediately started feeling like I was having a panic attack. My heart started racing, my chest felt tight, my hands shook. I am not usually one to avoid yelling at random strangers (ahem), so this was more than a little weird.
For the next two hours, I sat there shaking and feeling incredibly anxious. I am normally not a particularly anxious person so I couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on. After the class, I had to pick up my mom and I found myself just yammering and yammering away. It was like I was being compelled to talk by an unknown force, and yet I still felt anxious.
Finally, when I got home, I decided this was just not normal. I suspected the coffee, so I dug the cup out of the trash. Sure enough, my drink was a regular, not decaf. I happen to be extremely sensitive to caffeine, which is why I don’t drink it any more. Even decaf coffee can keep me up at night if I drink it after 10:00 a.m.
After a venti full caffeine latte, I am surprised I didn’t keel over from a heart attack. I was still extremely chatty and a little anxious by the time Mr. A got home at 6:00. I ended up taking a melatonin around 11:00 because I had never felt more awake in my life than I felt then.
A venti. Jeesh. That will teach me to try to make the most out of my free coupon.
sorry, but that made me laugh! I have a 2 Tall per day habit (1 home made, 1 Starbucks at work at 10) – the other day, I was super run down and had a long day so i went to get a 3 pm jolt, which I never do. By 4:30, I was like a crack addict, yammering to myself and figeting! I know your pain!
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I drink soda – not coffee. I can drink 24 oz of soda a day, but 1 coffee and I get the shakes…nothing worse than that heart racing, hands shaking feeling…glad you actually got to sleep!
Eva seems to be sensitive to caffeine, too. She’s only ever had it in chocolate, but if she eats it too close to bedtime she falls asleep fine but is up and FREAKING OUT from 3 am until morning. Last time it happened it was my fault– didn’t see the massive chocolate chunks hiding in the Ben & Jerry’s she was eating– and she kept coming in our room saying “Something is VERY WRONG!” Poor thing.