Intimidation By Coffee

As I've grown up, I've found that I don't get intimidated by things like I did when I was younger. Doing things alone or doing the unknown isn't that scary to me anymore. But, there are some things that do get to me and intimidate me so much. Things as simple as buying coffee....

One day last week (well, okay almost every day last week) I was so tired. I decided that I needed something more than my water and whatever snacks I had on hand to get me going for the day. I needed something strong. Something to give me energy. Something that was the real deal. Yes, I decided I needed coffee.

Luckily for me, my work has a small coffee shop just outside of the cafeteria. To get my liquid energy, all I had to do was walk downstairs, place my order, and wait for the caffeine to slowly course through my veins giving me the boost of energy I so desperately needed. It should have been that simple, but for me who is not a coffee drinker at all (and let's face it, the McDonald's Frappes that I do so much enjoy on a regular basis are really all about the sugar and not the coffee), this was a very intimidating task. Here's just a few of my thoughts on the matter:

• What kind of a drink would I order?
• Would I know what anything on the menu was?
• What is the difference between a latte and a cappuchino?
• Do I order one or two shots of espresso?
• Do I order a tall, small, grande, medium, etc.?
• Would I sound like I had no clue what I was talking about?
• Would others around me listening to me stumble through my order know that I was an imposer and wasn't really "one of them?"

My need for energy greatly outweighed my intimidation and I walked to the coffee shop. I was happy to see the barista had her back to the counter and didn't know I was there. This gave me time to peruse the menu (which was quite small and made my job a little easier), choose what I wanted, and practice saying my order in my head. Practicing, of course, so I would sound halfway intelligent about my coffee and it might not show that I wasn't the avid coffee drinker that most of their customers are.

I'm happy to say the ordering process went very well. I didn't stumble over my words. I didn't ask any dumb questions. I just gave her my order and a few minutes later I was back at my desk enjoying a caramel mocha latte....or at least I think that's how it's said. :)