My campus has few options of food vendors for people with the smallest meal plan possible. (What can I say? I'm cheap, especially when I'm being taken advantage of...) The Country Store: a gas-station-like grocery selection with high-end deli prices. The Food Zoo: the campus cafeteria named by the students which lives up to its name, in every way. And that's it. Needless to say, I try to mix it up as the Food Zoo is cheaper, but I find myself frequenting the Country Store more often.
Today, being no exception, I bought my breakfast at the Country Store (incidentally, the cafeteria doesn't open for breakfast) with the intention of returning in the afternoon to restock my dorm fridge. After class however (around 2pm), I returned to find the store locked and barred. I was confused and currious, as this was out of the ordinary and the store had been open this morning. So, I proceeded to see if I could find some sort of note or sign indicating what had happened. I passed a couple of people on the way in who had obviously been heading for the same destination in the pursuit of food, including one girl who I would encounter later. A small, hastily printed sign, which I assume had once been taped to the door via a single piece of scotch-tape, had now been kicked into a corner of the floor with several wet foot prints on it and was the only acknowledgement that something was not quite right. Apparently a pipe had burst quite unexpectedly and the store was closed until further notice. I should have got my food stores this morning, silly me.
Walking back to the dorm, I passed the cafeteria. I decided, rather spur of the moment, that perhaps I would give them the benefit of the doubt. Not much was waiting for me back in the dorm and I was starting to feel a little hungry. At the door, I saw the girl from before. She was inquiring about the carry out option of the cafeteria and I indicated that I wanted that option too. I turned to her, smiled and said,
"Busted pipes, eh?" She smiled and nodded as the kid behind the desk tried to explain to us what we had already found out. She turned to him and said as she pulled out two five-dollar bills,
"So, I don't have a meal plan..." The kid looked up and said,
"Uh, well, without a meal plan it's about $8 and with a meal plan it's $3.25..." I shook my head and stepped forward,
"No, that's crazy. Here, put two meals on my card." I handed him my card and turned to her, "There's nothing much out right now, totally not worth $8." She looked surprised and grateful.
"Thank you. Um, here." And she handed me one of the fives she had been holding.
In the end, she was saved from paying $3 more and I received an extra $2 for my trouble. Of course, we're probably both being ripped off by the not-even-worth-$3.25-when-it's-not-regular-meal-time selection, but when you're hungry... Conclusion: It pays to be helpful, apparently...
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Good karma is always rewarded...apparently with you it was sooner than later. Hope the rest of the day was as good.
ReplyDeleteActually just before this, in class the professor had asked us to split ourselves into groups that we would be working with for the rest of the semester. She didn't want groups larger than 4 people and prefered no smaller than 3. In the mad rush of "pick your own groups" where everyone hustles to be with their friends, none of the people I knew in the class gave me the opportunity to pair with them (they were too quick to group with others). So I turned to the girl sitting next to me who also didn't seem to have anyone and said "Well, should we start a group?" She said yes and we turned to look for a third member. Suddenly she said to me "I'll be right back" and walked over to a group of three people. I watched as they started shaking hands and exchanging emails. I had obviously been dumped and left to fend for myself. I managed to beg another group to let me join, but I had to struggle very hard as I left class not to be bitter over the whole thing. I guess I just decided I needed to get back in control of my own situation and actions... If it helped someone else out, so much the better.
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