Vending Machines.

Today, I tried Vitamin Water for the first time. Usually, my drinks fall in four categories: Water, Soda, Orange Juice, and Milk. I also like apple juice and some other drinks, I just rarely actually drink them. And if I'm ever thirsty for a healthy, hydrating drink, I drink water. It tastes better than gatorade and powerade and this vitamin electrolyte filled stuff. Dustin used to drink them. And I drink it at work when my boss tells me I should to avoid dehydration. Now, I work as a lifeguard, but I drink alot of water, which will probably save me from dehydration as much as the gatorade, but I like my job and I like to listen to my boss because then she likes me and gives me days off. Either way, I prefer water. So why, you may be asking, did I try vitamin water today?

Well, it wasn't exactly by choice. Here's what happened: As I leave for class, I want a bottle of water to take to class with me, because I feel thirsty. I stop by the vending machine in the dorm basement, walk to the non-soda machine (one has only sodas, one has no sodas) and I press the top button for a bottle of Dasani water. The machine vends. I reach for my drink, and pause. The bottle is shorter, wider, and pink. It also says "Vitamin Water" on the side. This is clearly not the drink I wanted. I scan the buttons. The BOTTOM button is Vitamin Water. This is beyond a malfunction, this is outright rebellion. I recall similar past experiences...

Picture me three years younger. My bangs are straight cut (see the changes to my hair blog) and I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt (that was my outfit every day in high school, if I could help it. I had quite a collection of t-shirts, most from camps, clubs, and choir events.) I am walking and talking to Jeff as we walk from calculus to the "Dog-bowl" to eat lunch. This is a large circle with steps all around and picnic tables outside of the cafeteria, since the cafeteria alone couldn't hold all of the students, even with two lunch periods. Jeff and I stop by the vending machines, and he takes out the $0.75 that he brings every day to buy a can of coke for lunch. He presses the top button and reaches for what he expects to be a cold can of Classic Coca-Cola. However, this is not the case. The can is black. The drink is Coke Zero. For you who don't know, this supposedly tastes identical to coke, except that it has no calories and no sugar or something like that. However, Jeff and I tried coke zero the first time the machine did this to us, and it tastes nothing like coke. It tastes like what I imagine non-toxic carbonated cleaning chemicals might taste like. So, already knowing this, and having had the machine done this many times before, Jeff stares at the drink in his hand a second, then turns and throws it with great force into a trash can and glares at the vending machine humorously. I feel bad, knowing that he used up his only money on that drink and that the stupid machines keep giving him the wrong drink. So I get out a dollar and we try the next machine, and have better luck.

Now, recalling this story, I stare at my vitamin water. I can either try it, or throw it away forcefully. However, there is no trash can nearby, and one of the janitorial employees is in the tv room and can see me through the window. I can also dump out the entire bottle and fill it at the water fountain, but I figure that will just give me some sort of severely diluted even less tasty vitamin water. And, what if it's some odd flavor, like coconut or lime? Pink usually tastes good, though. So, I open the lid and take a sip. It's actually not as bad as I thought. It tastes well enough to drink for class. Actually, it reminds me of strawberry, my favorite flavor. I look at the flavor. Dragonfruit. I hesitate. Dragonfruit? What the crap is dragonfruit? Why is this drink flavored in such a way as to be named after some sort of fruit that doesn't exist?

I decide to worry about that later, since I have class and this drink tastes well and quenches my thirst, while providing me with all forms of Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Zinc, and.. Chromium.. However, this is an anomoly. This vending machine error may have produced a decent drink, but usually they are much less pleasant. What happens next time when it gives me some sort of drink that's not nearly as great? How can I stop this defiance? Can vending machines even be trusted anymore?