fflo: (Default)
fflo ([personal profile] fflo) wrote2004-12-20 12:10 pm

Why is the coffee free at work?

There don't seem to be any VIPs around, but I'm not worried.

Sometimes I worry when the coffee's free & I can't figure out why. Sometimes it means a coworker, or the dog, is sick, or sicker, or has died. It can reflect an inconvenience, like that the water's out, or the heat (which'd be pretty bad today---it's 3 degrees F out there), or (perhaps most commonly) the fact that "important" visitors are in the building. Then there are throw-ins, like "it's Election Day," or some other borderline aspect of note to the day.

Today I'm betting it's cuz it's so cold. Notably unpleasant weather often gets us free coffee. It could be that it's the pre-holiday week, but I'd think it more likely that the coffee will be free for holiday reasons NEXT week. It could also be that our intern is in the house. He's home from U. Indiana on break, and he's come in, I gather, just cuz people were hoping he would. I don't think the office manager would necessarily provide free coffee to honor his presence, but I would.

In any case, there are plenty of possibilities besides something really bad. And our coworker with the repeatedly collapsing lung, who is having surgery today, seems to be doing well---is reportedly in good spirits, at least.


Turns out Paula didn't die from a viral infection---that was a false impression from the irregularities in her heart muscle. It was actually a "plasmacytoma, a relatively rare [and in this case very aggressive] expression of a relatively rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma," which caused extremely high levels of calcium in her blood, and "the hypercalcemia, in turn, caused the kidney and heart problems that killed her."

Her dear partner finds a positive angle for us on her memorial blog, pointing out that, from what he's read about the usual, more prolonged cases of this cancer, "I don't think she missed anything she would have wanted to experience."
(deleted comment)
groovesinorbit: (Default)

Re: free coffee...

[personal profile] groovesinorbit 2004-12-20 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, it oughta be. That's just silly.

Re: free coffee...

[identity profile] fflo.livejournal.com 2004-12-20 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Nope---Friday we were paying 30 cents.

[identity profile] masculine-lady.livejournal.com 2004-12-20 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
where does the 30 cents go?

[identity profile] fflo.livejournal.com 2004-12-20 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
into the machine, and then into the company coffers, to cover the cost of the beans

[identity profile] masculine-lady.livejournal.com 2004-12-21 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
the beans don't cost that much, no way. they are turning a profit on y'all's coffee consumption.

[identity profile] masculine-lady.livejournal.com 2004-12-21 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
oh, i see that there is more to pay for than the beans themselves...

[identity profile] anderyn.livejournal.com 2004-12-20 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
It's really not that expensive considering that they have to have the machine serviced and all. And the proprietary stuff prolly isn't cheap. And believe you me, if you'd ever tasted the oil slick that our beloved Arthur would leave in the pot and/or make over the weekend, you would thank heavens for having to pay 30 cents. (I used to come in and make the first pot of the day, lord ohmy, and it was NASTY, when we had to make it ourselves.)

[identity profile] fflo.livejournal.com 2004-12-20 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm both glad and not glad when it's free---cuz I drink lots more coffee when I don't have to shell out for it.

[identity profile] squirrelykat.livejournal.com 2004-12-21 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
well, I liked the Arthur coffee - they make `coffee' in the other half
our our department - if you can call it that - to me they make just hot bronw water.