It's All About the Context

I don't drink coffee. I'm definitely an oddity, because I'm one of the few people in IT who doesn't drink coffee. That doesn't stop me from going on coffee runs with friends and co-workers during the day. It's a good excuse for a stretch and a break, after all. :)

This morning, I went on a coffee run with a co-worker. As we were standing in line at Starbucks, my co-worker and I were talking about the fact that I don't drink coffee. I said that I just didn't like the taste (which I don't), and that I'll drink tea only when I'm sick, and on those occasions, I'll only drink Earl Grey tea with 4 or 5 sugarcubes. Needless to say, it's not something that I should be drinking too often. Then I turned around and said that my one big vice in university was Coke. That's when the lady in line in front of me gave me this evil stare, and I'd realized my mistake. She thought I meant the illegal drug, and I innocently meant the soft-drink, Coca-Cola. So I immediately corrected myself, hoping that the hairy eyeball would leave my line of sight.

The moral of the story? Well, I guess there are two:
1. Watch what you say, because you never know who's listening (eavesdropping), even if they catch part of your conversation.
2. Stop eavesdropping on other people's conversations!!!