I'm feeling the caffeine urges this week. We started a four-day work week, with 10-hours days. It costs me $8 to drive to work, and several other persons live as far away as I do (or farther). So it'll be nice saving on gas one day of the week.

Our day now starts at 7 a.m., and ends at 5:30 (instead of 8-4:30). It goes fairly fast, and I find myself getting a lot done. I have big chunks of time, which is good for the type of stuff I do (graphic and writing projects).

But at the beginning of the day, I really really want coffee. We have a very nice new coffeemaker, and they've taken to brewing flavored coffees, so this waft-prone extra-rich aroma tempts me. And as I plunge into reading stuff, which is how I typically start my days--emails and RSS feeds--it would sure be nice to hold a cup of Joe in my hands. Coffee and reading-in-the-morning belong together.

But caffeine constricts blood vessels, which exacerbates my Meniere's Disease, causing vertigo. I could drink coffee all week and be okay, but it builds, and there would be, as Doc Holiday said in Tombstone, a Reckoning.

So instead, I'm sitting here with some mango herb tea. As a longtime hardcore coffee drinker, do you have any idea how hard it is to learn to like herb tea? But it's something.