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Coffee chain

I'm not actually endorsing this Etsy seller, but they do make this coffee keychain, which is nominally related to what I'm talking about today. Also, I like pewter, so you might as well check out their stuff.

I’m not actually endorsing this Etsy seller, but they do make this coffee keychain, which is nominally related to what I’m talking about today. Also, I like pewter, so you might as well check out their stuff.

So, apparently this happened recently.  A Tim Hortons customer decided to pay for the drink of the patron behind him and this paying-for-the-person-behind-you chain lasted for hours and hundreds of customers technically got a free coffee.  It’s a nice story, but what I found most interesting about the article was this line:

“It isn’t uncommon for Tim Hortons customers to pay for the next person in line, but this was a real gift,” Michelle Robichaud, a spokeswoman for the company, told the Winnipeg Free Press.

What?  This kind of thing happens all the time?  Ok, she didn’t say that.  She just said that it wasn’t uncommon, which doesn’t mean “all the time.”  But it does mean that it isn’t surprising when it happens.  And this is interesting to me.  I never hear of this happening in a coffeehouse in the US.  Granted, most of our coffeehouses here are Starbuckseseses.  Apparently, we do have Tim Hortonseseseses in the US, but they’re all on the East Coast or Midwest.

Anyway, this got me wondering, why don’t I hear of things like this in coffeehouses here?  Are Tim Hortons customers nicer than Starbucks customers?  Perhaps yes, judging by some of the patrons of Starbucks I’ve met.  Lots of them are really pretentious and rude (and lots of them aren’t).  Maybe we have more pretentious, rude coffee drinkers here in the US, or at least here in SoCal.  I wouldn’t really be surprised.  Especially since I’m so close to Hollywood and live in the land of shallowness (which seems to breed pretentiousness and rudeness).

AND! this Tim Hortons location was in Canada.  Canadians are reputed to be so much nicer than anyone else in the world.  Canadian niceness and politeness is legendary.  Seriously, the stuff of legend (which is also the name of a really good comic, you should check it out).  Maybe that’s why they could have a free coffee chain for hours on end.

Welp…I didn’t really have anywhere I wanted to go with this.  I guess I could try starting a free coffee chain myself, but I’m not much for coffeehouses (read: Starbucks; I’m actually a huge fan of Peet’s).  They are not an efficient and cost-effective means to obtain good coffee.  I normally just brew my own.  Yip.

Side effects may include the condition known as “hot dog fingers”

Today, I would like to talk about prednisone.  Or rather, how much I dislike prednisone.

You see, recently I caught a cold, which really isn’t a big deal.  But the thing with me getting sick is that it inevitably settles in my lungs.  It’s not as bad as it sounds…anymore.  As a child, I would end up with bronchitis for the next half year.  Generally, it would clear up in time for the next wave of illness to go through the school and then I’d catch whatever illness was fashionable right then and get bronchitis again for the next six months.  Huzzah.

Bronchitis hasn’t really bothered me recently.  Actually, I don’t think it’s really been a problem since childhood.  But bronchitis did leave me with asthma.  Or made it worse.  Or something.  So now, when I get sick and it inevitably settles in my lungs, it really just makes my asthma super sensitive to everything for a while and my lungs get pretty congested.  I normally just ride this on through, try not to do too much physical exertion, etc etc.

This time though, it happened that I had doctor’s appointment previously scheduled because I had drained all my inhalers.  This isn’t really a bad thing except that my doctor likes to put me on prednisone when my lungs are even slightly congested.  Prednisone is supposed to help clear up your lungs.  And it does for me…to varying degrees of success.  I don’t think it works well enough for me to also put up with the side-effects, even though I only go through a one-week course.

Here is a list of side-effects with commentary:

  • Increased blood sugar for diabetics (I didn’t test my blood sugar during this time, so I don’t know if I was affected, but also I am not diabetic.)
  • Difficulty controlling emotion (I don’t really have any anyway, so this isn’t a big deal.)
  • Difficulty in maintaining train of thought (I may have been affected but I probably never made the connection, since I couldn’t maintain my train of thought.)
  • Weight gain (Also, zombie stomach, which I think I was zombie-sitting again.)
  • Facial swelling (I wasn’t on it long enough.)
  • Depression, mania, psychosis, or other psychiatric symptoms (Um…I lack emotion?)
  • Unusual fatigue or weakness (Yes, I was sleeping too much again.)
  • Mental confusion / indecisiveness (Maybe?)
  • Blurred vision (Yes, I noticed it this time when I was driving at night.  The safest of times to notice such things.)
  • Abdominal pain (Not really.)
  • Peptic ulcer (Nope.)
  • Infections (I didn’t manage to get infected with anything.  I don’t think the zombie stomach counts, because it isn’t mine anyway.)
  • Painful hips or shoulders (My shoulder is kind of messed up right now because of a muscle spasm.)
  • Steroid-induced osteoporosis (I wasn’t on it long enough.)
  • Stretch marks (Um…what’s stretching anyway?)
  • Osteonecrosis (I would have to be on it longer.)
  • Insomnia (I had the problem of sleeping too much because I was tired.)
  • Severe joint pain (My carpal tunnely wrist is pretty bad right now, but also…I had jammed it.)
  • Cataracts or glaucoma (Not yet…)
  • Anxiety (Am I…?)
  • Black stool (BABY POOP GREEN!!)
  • Stomach pain or bloating (Not really.)
  • Severe swelling (Or this either.)
  • Mouth sores or dry mouth (Dry mouth.  It’s really annoying.)
  • Avascular necrosis (Not that I know of.)
  • Hepatic steatosis (Or that.)
  • Nervousness (Am I…?  Do you think…?)
  • Acne (Nope.)
  • Skin rash (Always.  Annoying.)
  • Appetite gain (ZOMBIE STOMACH GO AWAY!)
  • Hyperactivity (No, more fatigue this time.)
  • Increased thirst (Yes.)
  • Frequent urination (See above.)
  • Diarrhea (No, I hadn’t realized this was one of the side-effects before compiling this list.)
  • Reduced intestinal flora (No idea, I didn’t take a flora/fauna tour of my intestines.)
  • Leg pain/cramps (Yes, and it was frequent this time.  And it is SO. ANNOYING.)
  • Sensitive teeth (Yes, this is also SO. ANNOYING.)
  • Head of a golden retriever (Ok, not really.  This is a side-effect of Nozulla.)

I am thinking I will just politely refuse going on prednisone next time.

Obtw, that e-trade commercial was one of my favorites in college.  That and the Gore/Bush election Snickers commercial.