Energy Drinks: Yes, Please

I love energy drinks in general. I've tried many of them, to be honest. Some I like. Some I don't. Some are awesome! Some are...meh...But herein lies more than just my opinion, the story of how I arrived at various energy drinks.

While working one day after a long night, I went and bought myself a Red Bull. I kinda enjoyed its Sweet Tart flavor. (For my friend Casey who loves Red Bull, sorry, I still think it tastes like liquid Sweet Tarts.) So, every once in a while, I would drink a Red Bull.

After visiting my brother in Vegas one year, I went to fill up before my long drive home. Well, usually, I would buy the Hostess chocolate (or crumb) Donettes as my breakfast along with a Sprite. I left somewhat early in the morning (to avoid my nephews being sad at my leaving). When I walked into the Arco, I decided I needed something healthier than Donettes and grabbed an energy bar. Fearing that the Sprite would just make me tired, I walked over to the caffeinated section of the store. On this morning, I discovered SoBe's No Fear.

My logic was I loved the other SoBe drinks and decided to try this. At first sip, I thought it was odd, but then I really enjoyed it. It definitely helped with my 5-hour drives between Vegas and Ventura County, CA. It REALLY helped me on my 7 1/2-hour drives between Logan, UT and Las Vegas.

When I got married, my wife convinced me that I didn't need them for our drives from Logan to Vegas. Yeah.....seeing as how she slept from Cedar City to North Las Vegas, she has no idea how tired I really was because, let's face it, it's a lot of driving.

Over the next few years I occasionally would have a SoBe No Fear for the drive to Vegas. Occasionally, I'd want an energy drink, but decided not to. One day, my boss at my previous job had Diet Rockstar energy drinks that she offered me. Somehow, I imagine slop tasting better. (Not really, but you get the point.) It just did not taste good and it caused my stomach to be very unhappy with me. After drinking a second one a few weeks later, I decided this wasn't the drink for me. I didn't need energy to run to the restroom. I really didn't drink anything for a while.

And then my son was born (2nd child). With my daughter (1st), I worked 10 minutes away and had to wake up by 7:00 at the latest. I would get up with her at 5:30 (and plenty of times for an hour around 1:30 or 2:30 without my wife even knowing about it) to feed her a bottle. But with my son, I had to be up by 6:00 at the very latest and drive at least 40 minutes to work. He decided he needed to be up a few times in the middle of the night. One day my wife gave me her permission to drink a SoBe No Fear. So I went to the store all excited to discover it was out of them.

Well, I decided that Rockstar and I were sworn enemies. Red Bull still gave me thoughts of Sweet Tarts. So I ventured out and tried Monster. And you know what, I have not looked back since. Monster is my preferred drink. Even their Absolute Zero or low calorie versions are tasty for me. I know not everyone agrees with me, but you know what, don't care. Obviously I'm not keeping them in business (I am helping though.)

For the environmentally/financially concerned. There is a semi-cheaper version to all these drinks. (And when I say semi-cheaper, I don't mean "healthier-for-you". This is not a "drink this, not that" kind of thing. This is a "I like to drink this, deal with it" sort of thing.) 

The awesome people at SodaStream created this energy drink. (Add to carbonated water using their special system.) For me, it tastes somewhere between a regular Red Bull and the red (non-juice) Monster. It's also a lot cheaper. But it does take some time to make it. I mean, really, who can spare 2 minutes these days? (Oh wait, that'd be real people who aren't lazy, my bad.)

And here's another selection. One day I went to the store and someone was stocking the Amp energy drinks. So I asked him what he thought of them. He convinced me to buy one (I'm a firm believer in "try it before you convince yourself you don't like it" as opposed to my childhood alter ego whose motto was "if it isn't PB&J, candy, or milk, I don't want it.) In trying it, I decided that it was by far not my favorite. But it definitely beat out Rockstar in preference. And now I can say I've tried most the major brands out there.

I've even tried various different Rockstar drinks (none of which really fit me). I've tried about 3 different Amps (meh). I've enjoyed my SoBe No Fear (only one I've ever seen). I've tasted the low cal version of Red Bull. And I've had all but one of the Monsters (WOOT!)

In conclusion, I've suddenly become very thirsty.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.