Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Slave to the Bean


Disneyland coffee
Originally uploaded by mayshelley.

I'm at home this week for my spring break. Note that spring break isn't capitalized or emphasized a lot like a frat boy on the beaches of Cancun might say it (SPRING BREAK 2005!! WOO HOO). My spring break consists of watching tivo'ed shows, kickin it with the parentals, and checking my e-mail 200 times a day instead of the normal fifty. Yesterday morning I was surprised to come downstairs to find the world's greatest cup of coffee brewing (thanks Dad) and my twin sister's Disneyland pass waiting on the counter. So off to Disneyland I went. I was surprised to find out that my whole family, cousins and all, were at Disneyland that day for Naw Ruz. It seems that the whole Fam-Damily was planning this trip and unknowingly left me out of the loop until that morning.
My family loves discounts. This may come from having so many family members, that one learns to take advantage of any type of discount or loophole. It's not surprising to hear my Grandpa rattle off the list of discounts at any department store: AAA, seniors discount, Diner's Club of America, etc. Leave it to my Gramps to find Disneyland's one loophole. For $2.39 (perhaps Disneyland's cheapest item in the park) you can buy a regular sized coffee with free refills. When you want a coffee refill, you simply take your used coffee cup and the food service "Cast members" will exchange it for a new cup of fresh coffee. A few years back I noticed as we were entering the park, my Grandpa pulled out an empty Disneyland coffee cup from his Jacket pocket. He then explained to me that this was a cup he saved from his previous visit and was going to redeem the old cup for a new cup of coffee. When my Grandpa went to get his coffee and handed him the old cup, the "cast member" was confused because that was an old cup's design and Disneyland hadn't served that cup for over six months. Thankfully they still gave him a fresh cup of coffee in the newly designed cup. So yesterday, being the poor college student that I am, I was aching for a cup o Joe. While I was walking by an empty table, as if the coffee gods were shining a lone spotlight to show me the way to a coffee addicts salvation, an empty coffee cup sat there upon the table, taunting me "take me, I'm free." I looked around, made sure the coast was clear, and swooped up the empty coffee cup and redeemed it for a tasty, free cup of coffee. Is this considered stealing? Has my coffee addiction (yes, my friends I am admitting it) led me to cheat Disneyland out of $2.39 just so I can supply a constant IV drip of coffee to my veins?

Written While Listening to "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths

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