By Chris at June 8th, 2004 19:15:00

The problem with my newly re-found love of coffee is that it's not good for me. I don't mean the "oh-my-god"-and-fall-over-and-die type of "not good for me", but more the "oh-my-god"-kill-everyone not good for me. I've taken to having a nice hot cup of the extra strong brew that I'm particularly fond of as soon as I've woken up in the mornings. Enter life. Ahh yes. I feel ready to face the day. Then I drive to work. This is where things start to go downhill.

By the time I'm at the office, the inadequacies of other peoples driving abilities leave me feeling what could best be described as "agitated". Then, exposure to stupid students (you know, the ones that ask us stuff), and irrational staff ("There's something wrong with your system", etc) who should know better, and by lunch time my temperament could be described as "boiling, seething, furious".

The journey between these two states of mind can sometimes be quite fun. You develop a finely honed sarcastic wit, quick to wound, etc. It really is quite a cathartic experience to vent about all those little things that you would otherwise keep to yourself. If only that state of mind would last.

There's two possibilities: 1) deflate completely, and enter a state not too dissimilar to depression; or 2) eventually explode in a roar of fury and strike out at everything and, possibly, yourself. Neither is very appealing.

So I've decided to lay off the coffee for a bit. I suspect that some of it is just because it's still a shock to the system (having been coffee deprived for so long until just recently), but also that having that much coffee that strong in the mornings is not a good thing in general anyway. So once I'm over it, I'll try experimenting with coffee later in the day, after the stressful periods of the day are over.

I will not give up coffee, I will endure.

By Chris at June 6th, 2004 00:34:00

Billy has done exceptionally well. His belated birthday present (or half of, so he tells me) is none other than the DVD of The work of Director Chris Cunningham. You may not know the name, but if you watch music videos or the tv, you'll know his work. Check out this brief bio of his work, which includes some links to detailed descriptions of his work, some of which you can even download. This guy, whether working in short clips, movies, or even adverts, produces some truly stunning and thought provoking work.

Way to go, Billy! Truly an awesome gift! Thanks dude!