loony for loonies

An infestation of frazzled, irritable and zombie-like students has plagued campus this week. They walk slowly, equipped with everything from coffees and lattes to their third red-bull of the day.  They struggle as night falls, actively fighting their heavy and blood-shot eyes to stay open. They knock back whatever caffeine they can to read what seems like the 100^th chapter talking about the exact, same, thing as all the other 99 chapters.

Yep, you guessed it—it’s midterm week.

Sorry for the zombie apocalypse reference—I grew up with three brothers who have every handbook, tv series and movie that will prepare them for the day that zombies take over…boys eh? Also, the longer I draw out this blog post, the longer I stay away from actually studying

      Anyways, with tests, papers, quizzes galore I find that I have been spending waaaaay more time at the library café then I care to admit—I’m on a first name basis with the café guy.

      Lately, when I go to pay for my extra hot non-fat chai tea latte with cinnamon and caramel drizzle, I feel like it takes me decades to sort through my money to get the appropriate amount. Why is it so gosh-darn hard to take $3.80 out of my wallet for that overpriced latte?

Then I realized that I have such a hard time because, well, every Canadian bill has a different color and symbol where U.S. money is the same plain ol’ green for every bill. Also, up north we have these nifty little coins called loonies and toonies. Loonies are gold coins valued at a buck and toonies are a little bigger, gold and silver, and worth two bucks. With this great variety of coins and bills, you dish out that 3.80 faster than the barista can ask you if you want whip cream.

These names do sound a little wacky, they may even sound…loony. I also know a lot of people aren’t particularly fond of extra coinage. Despite this, I think that the colored bills, loonies and toonies really add some flavor and diversity to your wallet. Well that’s enough out of me, time to head back to work, but first…I think I’m going to grab another coffee.