Frozen Inside and Out

I am an addict, but I do not have a problem.  Admitting that I have a problem would entail lableing my frequent trips to Starbucks as detrimental, and we all know they are not.  There can be absolutely nothing adverse about the happiness waiting right inside the entryway for me.  I can also quit whenever I want to.  I just don't want to.

This past week I began my second year as a full-time college student, complete with a night class located 45 minutes from my home.  Getting there was not an issue.  It is a relatively easy drive and I had my own personal mix of Owl City to accompany me.  Staying awake through the class, however, was the issue.  It was a chilly 26 degrees outside, not taking into effect the biting wind.  So naturally, those in charge of the thermostat felt the need to overcompensate for the frigidness outside by roasting us alive inside.  In less than two minutes my coat and scarf had come off, and I was bemoaning my winter clothing.  For the next two and a half hours I vainly struggled to stay awake and focused on Governmental and Non-Profit Accounting.  Yes, is it exactly as stimulating as it sounds.

By the time the class was over I did not know what I was going to do.  I was hot, tired, and my brain hurt.  How would I ever make that late night drive home through the now dark and deer-infested roads?  With a smile on my weary face I exited the oven and walked out into the freezer,got into my car and headed to the Target; for the Target alone held my only hope:  a Starbucks!

Shivering, I walked up to the counter and placed my order.  "I realize that it is less than 30 degrees outside, but I NEED a Grande Java Chip Frappuccino, please" I said through chattering teeth to the barista.  Amazingly, she didn't laugh out loud at me like I thought she would.  And in less than five minutes later I was returning to the bitter cold with my frozen coffee drink clenched in my bare hands.  No, I do not have a problem.

Now I know that one is supposed to have a hot drink when it is so cold outside.  The heat from a hot coffee  or a hot chocolate warms a person from the inside out.  But that was not what I wanted.  "Besides," I said to my dear friend the Frapp, "if I had something hot inside it would make me confused on the outside.  Better to be cold both without and within, as it requires much less thought."  I needed the concentration to drive myself home.

I slowly enjoyed my Frapp all the way home that night, and thankfully saw no deer waiting to attack me.  I credit the Java Chips with scaring them off.  Java Chips usually terrify any living creature at night, except me.  Yes, I can quit whenever I want to.  I just don't want to.