I dedicate this to one Mrs. Rivera. Thanks for sharing your Mexican bottled coke and your quarters.
Pepsi. I used to resist and set limits. ‘Only for Wednesday staff meeting’s turned into ‘only two afternoons a week’. That spiraled down into any day that Amelia and I refer to as a “three-quarter day.”
Three-quarter day n. 1. a day following a bad or sleep deprived night 2. a day involving a two-hour long staff meeting or any type of staff development 3. a day that is rough for whatever reason 4. a day that falls in the same week as some sort of deadline. I am so exhausted; I think this is going to be a three-quarter day.
Seeing as I go weeks without a day-off from work, teach fifth grade and set my alarm for 4:50 am, nearly any day can qualify as a three-quarter day. Naturally, this term originates from the change necessary to get a Pepsi from the vending machine in the staff room.
A few months back, I briefly considered getting this habit under control and returning to the soda-free days of yore. While the intentions were good, I had no real motivation to give up the juice. And today I found my justification.
It seems that all the most interesting and successful people have some sort of struggle or addiction they have kicked. Pepsi will be mine. I just need to give it another year or so to blossom into a full fledged addiction so that when I decide to kick the habit, it is that much more significant. I will toast to my improved bone-density with a glass of red wine and think back wistfully on the days I had with that sweet blue can.
Guess what: The machine has been AWOL for weeks now! I’m going insane.