The Cost of Fuel
On weekday mornings, I’ve got a routine: take train to work, walk through the underground maze that is Rockefeller Center, go to coffee shop, get large coffee with soy milk. The baristas know me there. In the winter, they see me and give me coffee. In summer, when I walk in, they simply ask, “iced or hot?” They know the size I want, and that i want soy milk in it. They’re great, the coffee is good, and I don’t know what anyone could possibly do to make me get coffee from anyplace else. It’s not the most convenient coffee shop, but it’s not exactly out of the way either. large (20oz) hot coffee costs $1.75, iced is $2.25.
And then there’s the weekends, where all is not so simple.
I know that I have a psychological addiction to coffee, and I’m okay with that. I used to think that I was physically, chemically dependent on the caffeine, but not so. I don’t get “lack of coffee” headaches. I’d rather have decaf coffee than caffeinated soda. I just like coffee in the mornings. It’s like five minutes of me-time where I put my thoughts in order and plan out what I’m going to accomplish for the day.
I have a coffee maker, but I no longer make my own coffee. I’ve got nothing against black coffee and I’ll drink it from time to time (usually not in the United States), but I prefer to cut it with soy. I do not have a refrigerator, so I can’t exactly keep soy milk around the house. And if I want iced coffee, forget it. I’ve got no ice, and no way to get the coffee cold. I also live without air conditioning, so the last thing I want in the middle of the summer is hot coffee in my apartment. Plus, even if I had a fridge (which yes, once upon a time I did have—it just crapped out last year and I didn’t replace it), I like getting out of the house in the morning to go get the coffee. It forces me to get up and dressed and ready for the day.
There are two coffee shops in the neighborhood. At one, the large iced coffee costs $3.75, plus an extra $.50 for soy, and it’s only 16oz, and the coffee isn’t great. The other coffee shop has iced coffee in one size only, 12oz, and it costs $3.25. I think that this is insane. To defray the cost of coffee, I’ve been attempting to go to the bodega to satisfy my coffee addiction. The closest bodega does not have soy milk. Fine. The second closest bodega has soy milk, but yesterday was out of coffee and today was out of ice. I got my coffee yesterday from the farthest bodega, but it had grounds in it. Total yuck. And it cost $2.50! Today, I went again to the farthest bodega, and they were out of soy milk. And so, I went to the fancy grocery store in the neighborhood to get my iced coffee. Dude, it cost $3.25 for 16oz of iced coffee that I prepped myself. What the hell? I know that the neighborhood is on the up-and-up, but this is insane.
Last year, iced coffee in the largest size at the bodega was only $1.25.
