For the Love of DDP

On my desk right now. This is actually not as bad as it could be.

I have had a love affair with Diet Dr Pepper since I don't know when. I can't remember life before DDP. I do know there was a period of time in college where I drank an insane number of large vanilla Dr. Peppers from Classic 50's and then my desk would be covered in styrofoam cups. I always drank DDP, but it wasn't as ubiquitous as regular DP in the late 90s/early 2000s, even in central Oklahoma.

My favorite time of day is not when my husband comes home from work. I mean, that's nice and all, but the time of day that I get most excited about is when I take the first swig from my 44 ounce Diet Dr Pepper with light ice.

I started getting my daily 44 ounce fountain DDP when I was in my first year of law school. There was a gas station practically in my backyard, and I was a very sleep-deprived law student who needed vats of caffeine to get through the day. 

While I lived in Norman/OKC, it was easy to find fountain DDP everywhere I looked. But then I moved to North Dakota and it became next to impossible. There was no fountain DDP for hundreds of miles. There was ONE gas station in Grand Forks, North Dakota that carried styrofoam cups AND fountain drinks, but I had to settle for Diet Coke. Cold, desolate, and devoid of fountain DDP. Life is tragic on the northern plains. I practically cried when we moved to St. Louis and gas station after gas station carried DDP.

Baby's first DDP. I walked into the room to discover this. Much to her dismay this can was empty. She tries to steal my beverage every day.

I'm very particular and opinionated (I know you're so surprised), so I have certain rules for DDP, which are:

1. I prefer gas station DDP. I can hear the collective gasp from Sonic lovers around the globe right now. Gas station DDP is way cheaper than Sonic. When you drink as much DDP as I do, you have to be fiscally responsible.

2. I don't like a lot of ice. In fact, I prefer hardly any ice. Which is another pro for the gas station DDP. You can control your drink to ice ratio at the gas station, which you can't do at Sonic.

3. Stryofoam cups. I'm sure I'll be partly to blame when the earth is burning up from global warming, what with my high styrofoam consumption and all. But seriously, who wants a warm, sweaty, watery drink?!?

Forms of DDP in order of preference:

1. Gas station fountain DDP in a styrofoam cup with light ice

2. Any other fountain DDP in a styrofoam cup, including from Sonic or McDonald's, with light ice

3. Can of DDP

4. Bottled DDP

Bottled DDP is just gross and gets warm super fast, am I right?