decaf cafe

After nearly 20 years of drinking on average 8 cups of coffee a day I am (as of now) been 'clean' for a week.

I was the only kid in primary school who was drinking coffee at lunchtime. I was the only kid in high school who had a near indestructible flak you could savagely beat a bear with. To my knowledge I'm the only person that I know who at university drank a 'triple latte'.

This isn't the first time that I've attempted to stop drinking coffee. After trawling through the archives of an old blog I did at least find the 'fail' post:

November 11th 2004

[if you imagine sepia tone here it helps]

mission...failed.

subject was unsuccessful in keeping his paws off coffee for a week

It's true, half an hour into my lecture I was hit with yet another splitting headache and walked out (I returned soon after with a cup in my hand) Sorry, seems I've failed you guys...




[imagine full colour now]

I think that was my second day into the drought as well.


This is also where all these pictures are coming from as they were used in the original post all that time ago (recycling!)

So, how did I manage it this time? Bearing in mind that I had at work 3 different types of ground coffee beans and a large jar of instant coffee available. I'm hoping some of this information might help other people wanting to give up the cup.

If you drink a lot of coffee then I recommend just cutting down for a few days. I started with 1 cup first thing in the morning, one about 2pm (when the headaches start) and then maybe another after work and a fourth late night (because lets face it, if you drink as much as I did coffee has no effect on your sleep)

I eventually wound this down to 3 cups, then 2, then 1. If/when you finally switch to 0 cups (cold turkey) then you will likely get withdrawals. This can be a myriad of things but for me I had splitting headaches, loss of concentration and lack of any motivation. Taking painkillers is a good idea, especially aspirin but if you're not too bothered you could just have a cup of coffee as this would do the same.



You can also switch to tea, it also contains caffeine which is the addictive substance but in smaller amounts. Or you can switch to caffeine free teas which are usually advertised as such in supermarkets.

The benefits? I'm not quite sure, as I've only been free for just over a week but what I have noticed is the following. Less rambling thought (though I could just be crazy anyway), because I had sugar in my coffee (or perhaps of some odd affect caffeine had on my body) I've lost a fair bit of weight (over 5 pound) which is something I'll keep an eye on. It's also nice to not have a dependency on something.

Anyway, I said there was only 'less rambling thought' not a total absence of it :p but this was something that wasn't really planned but thanks for the guys at work helping me along with not drinking coffee even if perhaps you were actually doing it to watch me suffer....needless to say I had the last laugh ;)

Lapsang Souchong

I'll start with an unusual to begin with.

Lapsang Souchong is described as being an aromoatic and quite strong. It's unique taste is down to the tea leaves being smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This gives it the smokey taste it is renowned for. At work this tea is reffered to as "that stinky tea" as it does smell of a bonfire and the first few times you drink it it tastes like a bonfire as well. This is what puts a lot of people off including myself but it is a grower. You can add some milk to take the edge off it but I drink it black.

I found myself drinking Lapsang Souchong more when under a busy time at work as its strong taste let's you concentrate on the tasks as hand. Due to it having such a strong taste (and distinctive at that) it is usually loved or hated (a bit like marmite) To this day no one in work wants to taste it.

Cafe Neko's Current Menu

I have some Tea at work. Although it's not completely true to just say that. What would be more accurate would be I have *loads* of tea. Kept locked away in what started as a nice deviation from coffee (which I still drink in pharmaceutical amounts) it has now evolved into a full cupboard.

As of today the current menu is:

Tea
Palaquinn Spiced Tea
Pomegranate & Plum
Cranberry & Pomegranate
Cranberry
Ginger & Lime
Green Tea & Ginger
Green Tea
Peppermint
Peppermint & Eucalyptus
Cherry & Cinnamon
Camomile & Spiced Apple
Camomile, Honey & Vanilla
Darjeeling
Ceylon
Lapsang Souchong
Assam
Earl Gray & Vanilla
Yorkshire Tea
PG Tips

Coffee
Douwe Egberts Pure Gold
Nescafe Parisien
Kenco Rappor

It's still growing week by week, but I think I've drank enough to perhaps write a small mini review for the teas and of course put in some anime reviews and I think I might have myself a little project.

goodbye 2008

It's the end of 2008 and once again I look back on what was quite a good year for me. I managed to shed 2 stone (28lbs) in weight something that I will continue to improve upon as the new year progresses. I got two very awesome tattoos and even now they make me smile when I look over my shoulder in the morning. My job which I had spent nearly 3 years on a temporary contract of a few months each time was made permanent which was a huge relief to me. I joined a gym and shook the belief that gyms are only full of incredibly buff guys lifting huge triangular weights with 2 tonne written on then whilst wearing leopardskin leotards and bicycle mustaches.

There are other things I'm pleased about but those are the highlights.

For the new year there are lots more I want to do but I don't want to have them written down in case I don't meet them.

Happy New Year Everyone....I hope it's a good one :)

The Gripes Of A Goalkeeper

So I play in goal, a *lot* I would say more that more often than anyone else in our group.

The problem is I hate it.

Being a goalkeeper requires excellent reactions, the ability to spot a weakness in your own teams formation and nerves of steel because when you mess up it *will* result in failure for your team. Don't get me wrong when things go well as a keeper its a great feeling but unfortunately for me those times are few and far between. Instead I have extended periods of being stood around with nothing to do and then quickly having jump back into the game because its now 1 on 1 with an opposing forward.

I end up goal nearly every game because...well no one else will do it and out of the people who do play I have the most experience of being a keeper, which is a bit depressing to think I've had more experience at failure as a keeper than any other position I would rather be playing. Other people are worse at me in the position but only because they have never ever stepped into my shoes/boots/gloves for more than a short time. Instead have to suffer until we're so far behind that it wouldn't make a difference what position I played. This is all because when I'm in goal there is no defense because that is where I would rather be playing, in defense doing something I'm much better at but also have the added bonus of *enjoying* it.

I'm no footballer, I've never even watched a full football game and I don't support a team either. So for me I play football pretty much for the sole reason of added exercise. Unfortunately like I said earlier there are 3 things that I end up doing:

1) Stand still for incredibly long periods of time and in the rain its even more depressing.

2) Have to run a-l-l the way back to pick up the ball because no one can shoot straight

3) Someone scores and I have to listen to keeper advice from people who would never and have never been in net for more than 10 minutes at a time.

I actually worked out that if I stood at the end of my garden and occasionally ran down to the bottom and finish off by calling myself a "tit" and walk back inside feeling cold and cheesed off. I could perfectly simulate football on a Sunday (but save on petrol).

We have finished for the year now but I dread having to start up again next year with their "are you going to go in net if not we're not going to pick you" attitude.

Bleached Death Notes

Recently I've been reading two mangas during my breaks and lunch at work alternating between the two.

Bleach & Death Note

I'm late to both (up to book 14 in Bleach and book 6 in Death Note) as I've known about their existence for years but I'm put off by popular mainstream anime and manga usually. (things like Dragonball and Naruto neither of which I've watched/read)

It's been a good balance, while Bleach concentrates on a more action orientated storyline Death Note balances by having a sort of strange detective/crime novel going on with more twists than there are pages in the book (none of which seem cheap)

A tale of 2 tattoos

Well I kept this a secret for quite some time. But now that they have fully healed and have photos so...here goes.

For years I've wanted a tattoo of some sort and have played with a few ideas in my head. Most ideas that did seem good at the time I thankfully never took any further because I decided that if I was to get a tattoo it had to be something that I wouldn't regret and thus why I didn't bother whilst I was 'maturing'

SO, unsurprisingly I finally decided on the Dirty Pair an anime series that I fell in love with back when I was fifteen (feels like a lifetime ago) because its one of the few things I had a passion for then and still do now.

Once I had decided on the picture I thought about what would be the best time for me to get a tattoo and decided on my 25th birthday. That fell through when I found out id have to book appointments and have to wait for a few visits. I decided to get it done ASAP.

Kei (on the right) was done first and yeah it hurt but oddly enough not as much as Yuri (on the left.) I guess its because Yuri's hair has more lines in her hair that have to be done in one go rather than Kei's which being a wolf cut allowed more of a break in between lines.

The second picture there is after my first visit 2 hours of sitting there while the tattoo artist (Hazel at Design4Life tattoos in Quiggins Liverpool) had to shave my back and put the outlines on. As a last minute reccomendation she suggested I switch Kei to the right and Yuri to the left so that they're facing outwards (originally they were going to face inwards)


After Yuri was finished because she is so fair skinned my seeping blood ended up making Yuri look like she was severly sunburnt but that subsided after a few days as you can see above.

As for why I decided to have them on my shoulder blades that lies subtley with the Dirty Pair themselves. Their official codename is 'Lovely Angels' angels having wings and wings being generally where the tattoos are. It would also explain why my life ends as the Dirty Pair's assingments with loads of collateral damage and hundreds of civilians killed....Okay maybe not as accurate though but it'd explain why my life has been rather chaotic and ending in extrodinary bad luck.

But really I didn't think that deep into the tattoo symbolism. I like the Dirty Pair a lot. I liked them when I was 15 and chances are I will feel the same when I'm 115! Perhaps in time I shall get another tattoo probably on my arms. As to whether it'll be Dirty Pair or even anime based is undecided.

I'd like to thank a few people, Hazel at Design4Life for doing such an amazing job and my friends for being aces about the whole thing even the ones who hate anime with a passion.

It's too hot!

You can always tell if summer has arrived in my house because It becomes unlivable upstairs, which is unfortunately where my room is. It's partly my fault for having my computer on most times but even still its stifling.

I've also noticed my manga books have all got faded spines on the ones closest to the window now thanks to years of sun :'( Still summer evenings are the best! So long as stuff like moths and daddy-long-legs stay out of my room and the hell away from me!

Other good things about summer:

-Bright mornings
-Bright evenings
-Summer showers are super-refreshing.
-Cold coffee
-Ice cream
-Drinking sake with the sliding door open whilst watching Urusei Yatsura
-Brighter clothes


Bad stuff about summer

-Not being able to enter my room without a Varia suit
-Ants...everywhere! Take that you bastards!
-Wasps and other non-productive members of the community suddenly coming out of the woodwork
-Having to be in work on nice days
-Feeling incredibly guilty for watching tv or playing games on nice summer days
-Not being able to drink hot coffee without feeling foolish
-Hot cars