Save the Coffee Pot!

There are few things in my daily routine that need not be messed with: 1) the alarm clock and 2) the coffee pot.

The alarm always needs to be set for the time I need to get up. I use to only set one alarm, but after sleeping through a marketing management test in college, I now set two alarms. In January, I had an incident with iPhone's alarm when it decided not to work. And the same thing happened when the time changed for Daylight Savings Time.

This morning I got up and completed my morning routine with ease. I had about 20 minutes of spare time to eat breakfast and make coffee. I go over to the coffee pot, fill the canister with water and put the coffee and the filter in the basket. I flipped the switch to on...and nothing happened. No red light. Nothing.

So I flip the switch on and off a couple times just to make sure it's really not working, and then I decided to check the plug-in. Plug-in had no green light. Green light means good to go. First, thought: Glorious, now what will I do for my morning coffee.

My mind instantly goes into Fix-It mode. I have a Bunn coffee maker, and it keeps water hot in the reserve so it can make coffee in less than 3 minutes. So I make the executive decision to switch plug-ins and junk up the counter, while I set out to make my morning joe.

First attempt: Coffee came out brown-clear and cold. When I say brown-clear I mean just that. I like my coffee like motor oil. I don't want to be able to see the bottom of a white cup. Nice and strong for an early morning pick-me-up. So I dump it out, and start over. But I get the brilliant idea of refilling the reserve with fresh water so it can heat up.

Second attempt: No coffee in the basket. Just run water through the coffee maker. As it fills up the canister, I think "Hmmm...I hope it is getting warmer." I feel the side of the canister, and it feels warmer. (I didn't think at the time that the warmer/burner under the canister is on). So I think "Sweet, I almost got it now."

Third attempt: Refilled the basket with coffee, filled the canister with water, poured it in and waited. Coffee looked like it should, nice and dark. I pour some into my travel mug with sugar and cream and then tasted it. Lukewarm, not good.

So I gave up. It was 6:35 A.M. I decided it would just be a better idea to leave the roommate a note to put in a maintenance request with the apartment since it doesn't open until 9 A.M. and pray they come fix the plug-in. That way when I get home, I can try to revive my coffee maker.

What I think happened: The roommate has been blowing a lot of breakers the past few mornings while she gets ready. My guess is the straightener, hair dyer and Hero morning marathons via instant-watch Netflix on the computer has taken its toll on the system.

Since the 900 Square-foot box only has so much space for outlets and such, I'm betting the coffee maker outlet is somehow attached to the other outlets she blew, but they are on different breakers. Not her fault. It's just something that happened.

So no homemade coffee for me this morning. But I did get to stop at Starbucks before work. So I'll call it a lose-win situation. Lost my coffee pot power, but gained an expertly-made coffee bevy.

Until next time...