To Each Their Own.

I'm an admininstrative assistant at a research lab (one that I have to leave unnamed so it doesn't become 'public' information.) Like any job there are days I like it and days I don't. Usually I like it. What I love though is the people. Because it is a UW Research Lab there are people from all walks of life. Undergrads from Seattle, Visiting Scientists from China, and Principal Investigators from Russia. You should see our lunch room fridge. There are some interesting things in there. Or go to a lab party (which we have as often as possible. We just celebrated the founding of Boeing so we could have an excuse for a party.) There is always something 'new and authentic' to try.

There are crazy days and mellow days. Days when there are people sleeping in their offices because they were up all night with an experiment and days when everyone is super hyped up because someone just got a 2.4 million dollar grant from the NSA (National Science Association).

There is one thing that is constant and steady though. One thing that happens every day, twice a day. At 11am and 3:30pm if you walk into our lab on the fourth floor in Benjamin Hall, you will hear the familiar whirring of the espresso machine.

Because a lot of researchers are European and have instated their classiness in the lab there are ALWAYS two coffee breaks. Of course, being an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and observing the Word of Wisdom I don't drink coffee/espresso/cafe/java (and whatever other names their are for it.) When I first began working at the lab I would just stay in my office during these breaks and not go out even into the hallway or copy room. I wanted to avoid all contact and eliminate any chance of getting asked if I wanted any. I've now been working at the lab for a year and a half and this is no longer the case.

What's my trick I use now to avoid having to explain myself? I don't use one. Everyone at the lab now knows I'm LDS and "it feels so right yeah." You can only reject somebody's offerings so many times before they begin to think that you're a narcissistic dolt. After about the thousandth time I decided I should just let out. Now, I don't have to look like a jerk or try to come up with an excuse. I used to find myself apologizing. "Sorry" I'd say, "Thanks for offering though." No. No apologizing for my beliefs. I shouldn't have to try to make up an excuse, "I'm actually just on my way over to Chemical Engineering."

I don't have to hide in my office twice a day anymore either. Now I take an orange or other piece of fruit down with me to eat while they sip their caffeine and we all chat. I'm always complimented on my ability to function without caffeine. Some say they can't get up in the morning unless they know their home coffee machines with the fancy timers have their hot cup all ready for them. I silently think, 'That's the point.' Why would I partake in something that is a known stimulant that you can legitimately get addicted to. I don't want to be dependent on a beverage. How sad would that be? "Sorry guys, I can't meet you for breakfast, my coffee hasn't kicked in yet."

It's funny how our mind works when it comes to things like this. They need the coffee to be able to function during the day. As much as I believe in the very real effects of caffeine on the body, I also have to nod my head at the mental effects. Chemistry of the caffeine in the brain aside, I think Ferdinand de Saussure would argue that coffee or espresso in this case may be equivalent to a signifier. It's not what the coffee is, it is what the coffee represents. It signifies that it is time to wake up. It signifies that it is time to be at work and time to do those things that we must do while we are at work. What makes me argue this point? I now seem to get a boost of energy whenever I eat an orange. Yes it may partly be the natural sugars in it but I honestly think that an orange is to me what coffee is to my co-workers.

To this I say, to each their own.