I only had $2.25 to start with

Douglas Adams wrote that the Nutrimatic Drink Dispenser invariably produced a drink that was almost, but not quiet, entirely unlike tea.

On college campuses, and highway rest areas, you can often find the "Hot Coffee and Tea" machines. You know the ones. Push which drink you'd like, its strength, select your sugar and "whitener" levels, and out comes a drink. I've often said that these machines are the non-sentient equivilents of Mr. Adams literary nightmare, in that the "tea" they produce has a hint of tea, but is otherwise most un-tea-like. Likewise, the "coffee" they produce isn't REAL coffee, but hints that long ago in a far distant dimension, the penultimate parent of Coffee smiled in passing at the great-grandancient of the "coffee" we pay the coin in our pockets for in the middle of the night on Interstate 75 in hopes we can make it through Atlanta before rush hour.

Getting through class today has been a bit rough. We took a break just after 7pm, but sure enough the campus coffee shop closed at 7. I walked over to the vending machines, and there she was: The automated coffee and tea machine. I learned a long time ago: It's not tea. It's not coffee. If you don't expect tea or coffee, and can deal with the fact that "whitener" might just mean "high quality correcting fluid", then these marvels of modern technology can produce Cthuluian Ambrosia. There was a sticky note on the machine, stating the Vienna Roast was not working. No worries, as I wanted the Dark European Roast, Full Strength, one sugar, one whitener. Large.

But no... Cthulu laughs at Me tonight. It's not the Vienna Roast, it's the whole damn machine that's broken! Somehow, I'll make it through.