Vending Machine Follies

This semester, I have long days on Tuesday and Thursday - two classes, one in the early afternoon and the other in the evening. I've gotten in the habit of bringing dinner to work - either a frozen meal, or a serving of something I've cooked at home. (So far, it's running about 50-50.) Around 3:00, I pop it into the microwave in the faculty lounge and, while it's cooking, I go downstairs to get something cold to drink with the meal. The vending machines offer various drinks, in 20-oz bottles. My usual choice is Brisk, which is almost but not entirely unlike tea. Unfortunately, for the last week and a half whoever services the machines hasn't restocked on Brisk; but I continue to hope.

I put the money - a single and two quarters - into the machine and pressed the button for Brisk. "THAT SELECTION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE." Okay; I pressed the other button for Brisk, and got the same answer. My second choice on that machine is a fruit-flavored drink, peach-melon or something like that. "THAT SELECTION..." Nothing else in that machine appealed to me, so I pressed the change return button; quarters clinked into the return slot, one, two, three, four.... Four quarters change. I scowled; but I still had two quarters in my pocket, so I moved over to the other vending machine and dropped all six in. That one offers Pepsi's Wild Cherry, which isn't bad. Press. "THAT SELECTION..." I gave up, and hit the button for Diet Pepsi. The bottle thunked into the slot, but seemed jammed. Not too unusual; sometimes they get hung up on the flap, and a little gentle pressure frees them. This time, it required a bit more of a shove than usual, and the flap still didn't close. I looked more closely: there was a second bottle of Diet Pepsi. More pressure, and the second bottle came free.

So, okay; I spent $2 instead of $1.50, but I got two drinks instead of one. Even so, it was two bottles of my fourth choice....

Winter Storm Warning

There's a winter storm roaring across the Plains toward us. It's due to hit tomorrow morning, around 9 AM, and dump 2 to 5 inches of snow (plus, possibly, some ice) on us before moving out towards evening. I'm halfway (but only halfway) expecting the university to close tomorrow.

The pantry is well-enough stocked for a few days, if something completely untoward happens, but I doubt there'll be more than a day's worth of difficulty.

Nasty, nasty. "Spring" Break is week after next....