black water

i was proud of myself today.  (i do that on occasion since i require affirmation...even if i get it from myself.)  anyway, i was proud of myself for waking up at a decent time (e.g. before 8:30am) without an alarm clock.  part of me knows that even though i'm unemployed doesn't mean i should sleep in.  the other part of me HATES alarm clocks.  and that part of me wins.

in true gr fashion, i reward myself for awaking at such a time by going downstairs for a cup of coffee.  a perk (heehee) of renting a room at your parents' home is that about 97% of the time someone else is up earlier to make said coffee.  upon arrival in the kitchen, i discover what looks like a small flood of muddy water and coffee grinds taking over the counter.  another note about myself is that in most moments of crisis, i do not panic.  so i calmly stand there and manage to say, 'um...mom?'  to which i get a response of my mother dashing into the kitchen, exasperated at the sight and exclaiming, 'not again!'  apparently the coffee maker had already exploded once before this morning.  and seriously, when all you want in the morning...when all you get out of bed for in the morning...is a simple cup of coffee, this is unacceptable!  

you see, i hate this stupid coffee maker.  it looks cool.  has lots of little lights and buttons on it and a stainless steel carafe, but every step of the coffee making process is ridiculous.  it doesn't even have a simple 'on' button.  it has a 'select/off' button (which somehow makes the machine brew).  i could go on and on about the lack of intuitive use this machine has.  i would recommend having a cup of coffee or two before even attempting to approach this contraption.

after the clean up on aisle 3, and straining the grounds out of what coffee did make it into the carafe, i learned a little bit of a life lesson.  isn't that how a lot of us live our lives these days?  all bright and shiny and modern.  built for the same purpose of ages ago, yet somehow we've made things so much more convoluted, difficult and frustrating.  change and progress for the better is one thing.  creating a more difficult way to accomplish a simple task seems silly.  (and i certainly do the latter more often than not.)