I think teaching will be much better when I have a reliable source of appetizing caffeine.

I am up at five in the lovely Moody towers of the University of Houston. I shower, shave, dress, and head downstairs for a toasted bagel with cream cheese, hard boiled eggs, and perhaps some fresh fruit. It is usually a fine morning, because I can't wait to see my students at West Briar Middle School. But, I need a little coffee.

The university cafe provides the worst coffee in the entire world. It is served in three huge brown receptacles that are crosses between gatorade dispensers for football teams, and trashcans. Using the spigot, I flush myself a serving into a styrofoam cup. This process is repeated three times until I find the receptacle that contains the least cold coffee in it. It is sort of like the lottery, because they switch least crappy coffee receptacle everyday.

And the taste! It is something between the outside of automobile tires and stale cough medicine. I have always taken my coffee black, even in 7-11s, but I have started adding two packets of cream and sugar to neutralize the horror.

The thing is, I need the caffeine. So before I get on the bus, I force the liquid down. I stand next to the trashcan gulping, waiting to throw it away where it belongs.