Unfortunately, arguably, iced coffee is becoming a running theme on this blog.

I mean, I'm now drinking iced coffee in the morning. And before you think it's a very expensive habit, I'm actually making it myself. I used to get a box of UCC iced coffee sachets, but now I'm just using instant coffee - Great Taste works better than Nescafé on this front - and experimenting with combinations of milk and sugar. So, a bit like what the kopitiams or cha chaan tengs do, then. It's also why I have a slightly more nuanced that expected understanding of the differences between condensed milk and condensed creamer, which I have passed down to my mother, in part because I got four cans of them as giveaways after a work event.

Anyway, yeah, iced coffee. I guess I'm beginning to be immune to the effects of caffeine. Or, I'm needing caffeine more often than I acknowledge. I also got cans of pineapple juice as giveaways from that work event. Good thing, I would say, because pineapple juice is good for those with high blood pressure like me. But try going through 24 cans of unsweetened pineapple juice in as short a time as possible - they're giveaways because they're expiring soon - and you'll soon realize that it gets tiring.

Anyway - anyway - I mention pineapple juice because I have so many cans and I'm trying to go through it all and I'm doing it by having it for breakfast instead of coffee, iced or otherwise. And I got sleepy before I could even start the day's work. So, I guess, coffee. Or Milo, which I used to do, but then, inflation. You have to cut expenses, and I'm living alone now.

That means I feel like treating myself more often than ever, so I'm buying myself iced coffees when I feel like it, and can justify it. I already have my go-tos, but one time I decided to give the new iced coffee offerings from Wendy's a try. (I was assembling my bedroom drawers and realized I really should've bought a hammer sooner, so a liquid pick-me-up was a no-brainer.) My sweet tooth meant their Frosty coffee offerings appealed to me, so I tried a Frosty-ccino, and, well, I liked it.

I mean, I was going to. I like Frostys. I had a phase, almost a decade ago or so, when I went out of my way to get Frostys before going back to the office. (That meant a slightly more nuanced that expected understanding of why I prefer chocolate Frostys over vanilla ones, although frankly, it shouldn't be that complicated.) Fast forward to a few months ago and I rediscovered Frostys when... when we entered our Wendy's phase, because there's one a short walk from the flat and cooking became a chore. So, iced coffee and Frosty together? It was going to work.

Until it didn't. I don't know. I got tired of it? Was it a post-split obsession? Maybe. I wanted to know the difference between the Frosty-ccino and the more straightforward Frosty Coffee. The former has everything mixed together. The latter is, well, more like a float. Since you'll end up mixing the thing together anyway, the Frosty-ccino has an advantage - or should, because the milkshake analog's flavor is easier to spot on the Frosty Coffee. That also said, if you're a fan of McDonald's coffee floats, I must note that the vanilla Frosty actually works better than the chocolate one.

Yeah, this must be a post-split obsession. That is a very nuanced understanding. And that means I can tell you that both variants have a flipside: you can't really mix the Frosty well, whether it's the topping kind of the liquid kind that makes the Frosty-ccino. That means, towards the end, you'll taste the coffee, and it's bitter. I mean, kudos to them for using cold brew (or so they claim, but I have no nuanced understanding of that, at least not yet) but it does leave a weird note at the end, especially when you're in the mood to treat iced coffee as a dessert. Also, as a side note, one day I had a Frosty Coffee and I stayed up all night.

Amidst all this, I remembered Hazel. I met her during my I-wanna-be-a-radio-DJ phase - I think I met her during a student DJ audition. I wasn't successful, and she was, and, well, that was that. But we kept in touch, occasionally, and I remember her mentioning that she liked Frostys. Now, here I am, thinking, wouldn't it be nice if I told her that Frosty iced coffee is a thing now? Maybe I should drop her a line on Facebook or something.

Turns out we're no longer friends on Facebook. She's one of the at least ten people who disappeared from my friend count over the past few months. (I will admit I have been watching it obsessively, especially when I finally went below 600 friends. I mean, "friends".) Maybe she deactivated. Maybe she unfriended me. If it's that one, it has to be several variations of "why am I friends with this guy?" (I mean, either "I don't know him" or "I don't like his posts". You know how people make everything about your politics these days.) In any case, it's a shame. I really wanted to tell her about the iced coffees. No other motive. I just thought it'd make for a good conversation starter, however awkward it may be.