Hi my name is Jessica, and I am a Tea-aholic.

Today, April 18th 2010, marks the day when I stopped caring about my daily level of caffeine consumption. Last semester I diligently went cold-turkey, a mean feat for this coffee-addict. Well, at least I switched to decaf. After a few days of killer headaches, the shakes, mild narcolepsy, and general grumpiness, my friend Starbucks and I crossed the barrier into the next dimension of healthier living. However, my resolve was shaken up quite a bit, when 'normal' tea re-entered my life in Cape Town.

I don't ever remember a time in my childhood when 'hot tea' wasn't part of the picture. It should be noted that the concept of non-iced-English-breakfast-mixed-with-milk was and is near-heresy in the minds of most Arkansans, but for the child of a quasi-Zimbabwean, it was a staple in the diet. Some children go from the breast to the bottle, but I went for the breast to the bear-(that is to say, the recycled bear-shaped honey container that became the vessel for my beveragal comfort). (Side-note: I'm pretty sure that 10 out of 10 pediatricians would recommend NOT giving your child caffeinated drinks at infancy, but Mark and Angie Schleiff were still youngsters then and thus, shall not be blamed for my current self-destructive habits.)

After a few years of mere acquaintanceship, I am proud(?) to inform you that Hot Tea and I are going steady once again. Just to put our relationship in perspective for you...on a typical Sunday (like today), I wake up in the mornin, and I'm drinkin tea. I go to church, and I'm drinkin tea while I wait for worship to start. Church ends, and I'm chattin with friends with a nice warm cup in hand. What better way to follow lunch than with a cup o' tea? I am homeworking in the afternoon, and check my watch only to discover that it is 4:00. What time is it? High Tea time!! 6 o'clock church, and..well you get the picture. Like the pringles people say, once you pop you just can't stop. It is a slippery slope my friends, a slippery slope indeed.

'Why is she writing this ode to a beverage?', you might ask. Whelp, apparently 6-plus cups of tea in one day isn't conducive to sleeping. Imagine that. So, here I am, jittering through this message--too jazzed to rest but too intelectuallazy to hang out with William Faulkner. Such is the life of a tea-aholic.