Recently our social club organised a coffee machine so people in the building could buy cheaper coffee than the cafeteria supplied. While I applaud their reasoning for doing so (the cafeteria jacked up their prices), I can’t believe how much attention the thing has picked up.

I find myself forming strong opinions on things that aren’t really that important to me. For instance, since selling my car and riding to work more often I am in disbelief when I hear about people driving 8 minutes to work rather than riding or walking. I end up labelling them all sheep and just disregarding their opinions from then onwards. Ok so maybe it’s not that bad, but I guess you could say that it “fuels the fire”, the fire being my hatred for lazy car drivers. People that could be walking, riding, jogging, and catching public transport and usually have no good reason not to do so.

Coffee is fast becoming my newest and biggest gripe. I’ve always been in tune with my hydration. Right now as I’m typing this I know that I need more water, even though I’ve had a good 5 pints of water already today. It’s only recently that I have realised the affects that different foods and drinks have on my hydration, and how important it is for myself to be hydrated.

Up until about a month ago I used to have the occasional black coffee. I actually like the taste of it, but recently my “stand” is more important than my need to drink coffee. I’ve quit (until I go to Italy next year). There are a huge number of people in my office, and obviously worldwide that start their day with a coffee, have another coffee for morning tea, then have a coke with lunch, and later have another coffee for afternoon tea. If their body is lucky it will finally get some water with dinner! Living like this is terrible for your body, but it’s so accepted that I’m the freak for not having a coffee in the morning, and for going to the toilet every hour.

Anyway, this is my gripe and I’m sticking with it. Now do yourself a favor and drink a glass of water!

Post from: r0dman.com

The Coffee Machine

Now granted public transport isn’t much of a step up from driving. It just makes me a sheep that is either too broke to drive, or cares about the environment a bit more than the next sheep. Ideally I ride my bike, but I’ve been lazy lately. When I used to work in the city it was a 35 minute ride to and from work, and I literally rode every day of the year. It’s not so easy when your commute is an hour and a half. It probably doesn’t help that I ride a single speed though.

This morning my connecting bus left before mine got to the interchange. At first I was a bit annoyed but I realised that if I caught the train I’d only get to work 5 minutes later. No biggie. I waited for the train while it was raining lightly and it was actually enjoyable. A few minutes to myself, in the rain. Nice! When I arrived at work though, people think I’m crazy. “An hour and 15 minutes to get to work? And you’re jacket’s wet! As if you don’t just drive!”

What I can’t get over is just how people are unable to think for themselves. The majority of people that I know just follow what the TV tells them to do, or what the sheep next to them is doing. I knew if they asked them why they drove a car they wouldn’t know. You get answers like “Because that’s what you do, you drive to work in your car. Everybody does it.”

I got started with a dude the other day that was telling me how bad alcohol is, and how awesome he was because he didn’t drink alcohol. Pity he drinks three or four cups of coffee every morning, and is one of those “I can’t function without my coffee” people. So I told him…

Caffeine is the most widespread drug on the planet. It is more addictive than alcohol. Served to children at all ages, and has huge range of negative effects.

Granted, alcohol is not good for you, however, think about when caffeine is taken. Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Every day?

Think about when alcohol is taken? Once a week? Once a month?

Obviously the amounts vary per person, but caffeine is a socially accepted drug. You can chug it all morning at work and no one bats an eyelid. If anything, you’re the odd one out when you don’t drink it. Try having a scotch at 9am. I doubt it would go down well with your boss/wife/etc.

So you can be addicted, and be on a drug during work, or while living your “normal” life.

This guy is happy to be told by the newspaper (and I use the term loosely) that alcohol is so insanely bad for everyone (and don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating how good it is for you), but he’s in a little dream world that tells him that his excessive coffee drinking is fine. The same guy drinks a few litres Pepsi Max every day and refuses to believe that people can be “in shape”, and eat a diet with more than 8 carbs per week in it.

Why do people need the latest fad? You only have to read your local paper to know what I’m talking about. New diet, the latest phone, new cars, etc. They don’t know what else to need. How often are people told that they should go for a walk outside and enjoy life? Told to look up at the sky and be amazed by the clouds? Told to go for a ride on their bike with the kids? No one benefits financially from those activities (except for the Government, but they are too blind to plan for long term benefits of people being fit and healthy and are happier for the short term benefits of claiming tax from TV sales and other crap), and after all, a newspaper is just an advertising medium. The paper is just doing what they do to make money. Same with the TV station.

All I’d like to see is people thinking for themselves. Believing in what they TRUELY believe in, not what they are being told to believe in. Fat chance though. In this last year I’ve learned what it feels like to be in a minority group. Only thing is my group isn’t due to my race or hobbies or orientation, it’s because I’m happy to think for myself.

Do you think for yourself? Or do you just follow the other sheep? Once you open your mind up to the possibilities, it’s hard to become an ignorant sheep again.

Post from: r0dman.com

Do you think for yourself?