Kristine Cuer

I finally ditched my couch potato habit at least for a couple of hours yesterday. There’s no special occasion or reason except that I ran out of TV shows to watch so yeah, I had to go out in the city and buy new set of DVDs. Uh-huh. Me the TV slacker. Yowza.

But I am after all a creature of habit. That means I am inclined to be drawn to do things that are familiar. Or make that I’d always be drawn to the comfort of the familiar.

And so when I happened to pass by a coffee shop, I remembered that familiar smell, that coffee aroma that’s just soothing and promises a cup of relaxation. I realized I haven’t been to one for such a long time now and so I took a seat and ordered a cup of NJC Cappuccino.

While I was sitting, observing people that passes by (it’s an open coffee shop) and while sipping through my cup of coffee, I can’t help but remember that coffee shop scene between Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin’s characters from Secret Garden. Ha! Here I go with my TV shows again.

But it never fails to make me smile whenever I remember that part. It’s one of my favorite scenes from the series for the obvious reason that it involves a cup of coffee. Ha Ji Won (Gil Raim) was in a coffee shop then Hyun Bin (Kim Joo won) with-out asking permission took a seat across her. They quarreled as usual then comes that part when Gil Raim took a sip from her coffee and ended up with a foam on her upper lip.

Being Kim Joo Won of course, he calls that move as one of those typical coy maneuvers made by a girl whenever a boy she likes is around. When she tried to wipe it off, he reached for her hand to stop her, got up on his seat and then planted a soft kiss to get rid of the foam off of her lips. Yay!
<inserting dreamy look/silly smile >.

Just romanticism at its best.

And then there I was thinking of that scene, holding my own cup of cappuccino in a coffee shop, then taking a sip and deliberately putting a foam in my upper lip — except I realized there’s nobody across my table. What a silly thought. I just shook my head, snapping back to reality and used a table napkin to wipe off that coffee cream instead.

Haha. Silly me. I guess I’m starting to go over board with all this TV reruns, am I?

I know that I don’t qualify as an expert in terms of experience. But being a self-proclaimed coffee-lover, I can say I know a thing or two about coffee. And though I am still single, I can also say that I’ve been in love once so I too know a thing or two about love.

What do I know?

If I am a cup of coffee, I’d probably be a tall size hot Cappuccino with extra skimmed milk. I am not as strong as an espresso but still strong and because of that extra milk, I’m still kind of sweet . My guy. He’d definitely be a Grande White Chocolate Mocha with extra espresso shot: Extra strong, very aromatic, intense, smooth and sweetened to taste.

I think finding love is much like finding the right cup of coffee for you. What sooths your taste, may it be hot or cold, bitter or sweet, small or tall, caffeinated  or decaffeinated.

Much like brewing or percolating an aromatic cup of coffee, love needs perfect timing and the right amount of care to ensure it is brewed to perfection. When the coffee is served too hot, chances are, you’ll get yourself seared and so you’re left with nothing but to wait for it to cool down, taking a sip from time to time, warming it up in between your hands and enjoying its aroma until such time it’s warm enough for you just enjoy drinking it with out the fear of getting burned.

Lesson on love? It’s OK to wait. Pretty much like waiting for your hot cup of coffee to be just warm enough for you to drink. But you have to know when to stop waiting. Cause you know what happens when you waited too much for it to cool down? You’re left with nothing but a cold, stale and an awful drink. The coffee that’s meant to make you happy and to sooth your mood tastes so bad it depresses you this time. So what will you do? Re-heat the coffee? Place it in the microwave for a minute perhaps? Ahhhh. Believe me. Tried that once and though the coffee was still “potable”, it doesn’t taste as good as the original cup.

But just in case you indeed waited too much, don’t be afraid to empty your cup and rinse it well till all traces of stains are washed away. Then pour another cup of coffee cause this time, you know what to do.

Love is like drinking coffee. So wonderful. So rich. So perfect you can almost taste it before it touches your lips.

I for one, definitely won’t mind falling in love at a coffee shop. ^_^