Fact: Coffee saves lives

I'll not go as far as saying my working week revolves around coffee however will say that, quite probably, the safety of my colleagues does.

You see, the at work G-dog without coffee is rather unpredictable, much like a junkyard dog let off the chain, an earthquake or volcano...Just about anything is possible. It's funny though, people think I drink coffee at work for my own benefit, but little do they know, I drink it for their safety and wellbeing. I know, I'm caring and generous.

It's well-documented that the coffee at my office is a sub-standard. I call it instant disappointment because on taking a sip of that heinous granulated stuff, [I sometimes call devil crumbs], one is instantly disappointed; instant coffee is the juice of the devil after all. It is known.

The issue is, I don't have the time in the morning to stop and get a decent coffee from any number of cafés on the way to work...and before anyone points out the obvious solution to that problem, no I'm not going to leave home earlier to get to one of those cafes - I like my sleep too much. If you think I'm grumpy without coffee, you should see me without sleep! There is an alternative to having to drink instant disappointment though and one that doesn't require much effort at all. No, it's not a McDonalds drive through, that shit is as bad as instant disappointment.

There's a young lady who owns a coffee van which she sets up along the roadside in a parking bay early each day. From here she provides proper coffee to those legit people who spurn devil juice and wish to avoid instant disappointment by drinking instant disappointment. It's a nifty set up and whilst I've had better coffee, I've also had far worse - hers is safely in the middle - neither devilish or heavenly, just drinkable, and so much better than the instant disappointment I'm sometimes fated to drink at work.

I don't always stop there because sometimes there's six or seven vehicles lined up and I'm not inclined to wait; it's on those days my work colleagues are in mortal danger as I need to resort to the barely-passable instant disappointment coffee at work. But, on the days when destiny plays its hand and there's only a couple of cars in the line my work colleagues can rejoice because I get to drink proper coffee and it's like nectar of the gods. Well, coffee-girl nectar anyway. (Ok, that probably sounds wrong; It sounded way better in my head. I'm not drinking her nectar, but the coffee she makes is like nectar...Ah fuck it, you know what I meant. Or not.)

I've never said much to her as she's always so busy making coffee but she's always smiling, and we swap a few pleasantries through the open car window. She hands the coffee over, I tap my card, and I'm on my way. It's as simple as that. Colleagues lives are saved, for a day at least.

I admire her getting out there and making something happen. Buying a van and setting it up as a mobile coffee-maker isn't a cheap exercise and I think it's great to see someone so young taking the risk and trying to make something happen for herself.

On one occasion I asked if she takes the van elsewhere and she told me how she attends various workplaces over the course of the day on a regular run plus works over the weekend at sporting and community events, attends real estate auctions, local parks and venues and pretty-much anywhere people gather, and she can (legally) set up. It's a seven day a week job and she only has a day off when her friend takes over the van twice a month for her. I respect that effort.

I've been making more of an effort to drop in for a morning coffee lately. Not only does it help preserve the general safety and wellbeing of my colleagues through me having proper coffee in the morning, but it helps a young person, who works hard to provide for herself and young son, to maintain a sustainable business. No matter how good or bad the weather, that young lady turns up, smiles and delivers the nectar of the gods to people who stop in and little does she know how grateful my work colleagues are that I pull in now and then for some proper coffee. Their lives depend on it.