Diet Soda

Over the weekend I was typing up a blog post about trying to give up soda. I eventually stopped writing it thinking maybe I would finish it later. It sucked and needed a lot of work. The very odd thing about it was that it started with me telling the story about how I gave up soda the first time when my mother had taken me to see George Carlin at The Sahara. After learning that Carlin passed away I went back and looked at it. The time date stamp indicates that I was in the middle of writing it when he was admitted to the hospital. Hope it wasn’t something I said.

The only thing besides that odd fact above (which, jokes aside, I hope was a coincidence) from the post that is worth salvaging is the torture my ex-girl friends have heaped on me over the years with diet soda.

First there was Melissa who would constantly try to convince me that diet soda tasted just as good as regular soda. At least that was her excuse at the time. Her particular poison was Diet Dr. Pepper. She would constantly switch drinks with me thinking I wouldn’t notice. Then she would do things like not actually switch drinks with me but would act mildly suspicious. I would think she did and take her drink thinking it was actually mine. Then she would switch and act mildly suspicious so I would think she was faking being suspicious and drink the wrong one AGAIN! She even got her friend Angel in on this game. The two of them were way too entertained with the idea of getting me to drink that disgusting swill.

That is nothing to what Kia would do. I told her the story about Melissa and Angel and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world. She tried to do the switch thing but by this time I was drinking iced-tea and I could easily see which drink was carbonated. Then she figured out her own trick. We would sit down in a restaurant and order. The drinks would come and she would take a drink of hers and make a face. Then she would push the drink toward me and say, “Does this taste like diet to you?” I don’t know what it was but I swear I fell for it EVERY TIME!

Now, I don’t know if you’re aware, but about three years ago I found out I have Type 1 Diabetes. I didn’t feel good one morning at work, passed out, rushed to the hospital and have the doctor say, “What do you mean you didn’t know you had Diabetes?”

Long story even longer, I start drinking diet soda. Just switched the next day and didn’t even notice it. Not that I’ve done any sort of scientific taste test but I don’t even really notice the difference between Diet Coke, Coke Zero*, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max. This includes Caffeine Free Diet Coke & Pepsi both of which I can rarely find for sale. A few months after being diagnosed while still trying to adjust to the blood sugar management thing I was low, so I had small drink of regular soda. It was HORRIBLE!