A 5:30a.m. opening shift was a terrible idea and I no longer trust whoever supported me thinking that I can handle working them. I also no longer trust myself because why did I think it was okay to stay out till one in the morning, when I knew that I had to be up and productive within four hours? Why did I do that to myself?

One of the first things I did when I got on shift this morning, was inform my supervisor that I’d be taking advantage of my optional 15 minute break as soon as the Student Union Starbucks was opened. He had no problem with my plan, and in fact let me take an extra long break on the down-low, since I also picked up some caffeine for him and the other supervisor on duty as well.

If my 5a.m. alarm wasn’t enough to make this Monday a long one, it also happens to be my busiest day of the week as well. That called for a lot of caffeine in the biggest cup available. And although I was in the mood for another taste of that sweet, sweet pumpkin cream, today was a venti Cascara Cream Cold Brew, which from my understanding is just the fancy way to say cold brew sweetened with caramel and toffee nut syrup topped with sweet cream.

My first taste of this drink was a little disappointing. For someone who went in with the anticipation for some pumpkin spice flavor, the lack of distinct sweetness in the cold brew took away from the experience. Even after requesting some extra pumps of caramel syrup into the brew, the drink was still not to my satisfaction.

I have another opening shift scheduled later this week, and while taking a break for a quick coffee run is likely to happen again, ordering the Cascara Cream Cold Brew probably won’t.