Things I Like, part I

Things I Like hardly requires an explanation. Each day, for the next 31 days, this space will feature my ponderances on something that I like. I'll try to be as specific as I can, and subjects will vary... any person, place, thing or idea that I strongly approve of, any preference that does something to define me, may come up here. And next month, maybe I'll do Things I Don't Like, for balance.

Lets start!

Coca-Cola

I love Coke. Love it. I love the bright red of the cans and bottles. I love the stark white of the scriptic text. I love the wisps of cool carbon dioxide that come off the lip of a bottle when you uncap it. I love the trademark bottle shape, and I'm quite upset that the bottlers here in Alberta seem to have reverted to the old-style cylindrical bottle for the 2L format. I love the sumptuous condensation that collects on the surface of a cool can. You'll hardly ever find me without a Coke, and if you do, consider that your cue to buy me one.

I love the range of styles that Coca-Cola uses in it's advertising. I can recite jingles that haven't been used during my lifetime - that's how catchy they are. I love the parrot, I love Super-Mom, I love the baby polar bears and I simply adore Joe Montegna as the kindly yet menacing Vanilla Coke dispensing mobster. And I respect and appreciate Coke for advertising it's own merits without resorting to mud-slinging - a practice it's leading competitor will seemingly never learn.

I can discern between Coke from a plastic bottle, glass bottle or can, and even from different sizes of bottles. My favourite container is the glass bottle, but they are virtually unavailable where I live so I favour the 591mL plastic bottle. When not drinking, I like to hold my bottle with the neck between my second and third fingers, just below the cap; I love the way the bottle swings with my arm as I walk. I can tell you that McDonalds has the best fountain Coke, and that Wendy's has the worst. I like to drink room-temperature Coke during the day, Chilled coke (with ice, when possible) at night, and I've recently discovered that I prefer Vanilla Coke when it's hot outside. I always prefer my Coke with less carbonation than usual. The best thing to add to Coke is Vanilla ice cream, but plain Ruffles potato chips are nice for dunking.

Coke doesn't taste the same the world over, nor are the containers the same. So, if you ever travel somewhere cool, please bring me back a Coke. I'll love you forever.