Hello, my name is Neela and I'm a soda-aholic

On September 15, 2010 I had my last taste of soda. It was an exciting day for me because it meant that I got to buy the Rosetta Stone Korean version to learn (what else?) Korean. I'm really glad I gave up pop to have something so much better.

But that said, I really miss Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke. And by miss them, I mean that I long for them at least once a week. Sometimes more often. And by long for them I mean I can almost taste them and feel them in my mouth, providing me with a fake jolt of carbonated bliss.

There are many places where I feel this longing - when I go out to eat, if I am in the grocery store, when I get up in the morning, if I feel tired during the day, when I watch TV, when I read a book, if I eat something sweet, if I eat something salty, and if I go to the movies.  It's the very worst at a movie. What is salty, buttery popcorn with without cold, sweet, fizzy pop? Sometimes water just doesn't cut it.

I see a pop machine and I am immediately in crave mode. It is completely evil that in order to get water at many eating establishments you have to get it from a pop machine. Come on! It is a mental challenge for me to choose the right and not "accidentally" get some pop by mistake.

And then there are all the people in my life who drink pop on a regular basis. Dude-Man used to buy it by the case and has mercifully stopped. But he gets cranky when I drink his Perrier. Grrr. The Boy goes off with his friends and buys many 2 liter bottles when they hang out at our place. If it's Mountain Dew it's OK because the color alone is enough to make me want to retch. But then he has the audacity to buy Dr. Pepper. The nerve of that guy! But the worst one of the bunch is my sister.

In the beginning she was very supportive of me and would refrain from drinking pop in my presence. After a few weeks she started using again. It's not like pop is illegal and I could stop her. I would grit my teeth, think positive thoughts about water, and smile sweetly at her, pretending like it didn't matter.

For awhile I was going along OK. I wasn't craving pop so much as just wanting it. But then my sister just had to kick it up a notch. She started asking me to get her pop for her. And not diet, caffeine-free stuff either. No! It's always Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke. Full of sugar and full of caffeine. I used to change that girl's diapers and this is how she repays me!!!

Well, for the last month she has been taking a boot camp class to get fit. And part of getting fit is to eat healthy food. Now, she has developed complex mathematical algorithms to determine the healthiest food choices to be had. Hallelujah! Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke do not make the cut. The only problem is that today was the last day of class.

I foresee trouble in the next week. Will her algorithms have enough sway over her to pull her from the clutches of my nemesis? Will she go back to her pre-boot camp soda swilling ways and tempt me with her seductive sips of soda? Or will my will-power hold out and I will finally be free of the siren call of soda? Only time will tell.