Paying More for Less

Two questions have ruled my life for the past two weeks: “why are you here?” (it’s both others and myself asking that) and “how much is it different from Italy?” Both questions are important at times, but they don’t ever get better conversations going; until today …

People asking me “why are you here?” doesn’t bother me as much as I expected. My situation is unique: I’ve graduated and I’m working at TCU before going to graduate school. People are startled after not seeing me for eight months, especially since I shaved my head. What I wasn’t expecting was how often I would ask myself that question. It’s not an atypical question; I ask it at least once a semester and sometimes once a month. Several times a week, however, is starting to push the limit. Juggling my workload (which isn’t hard, just self-demanding), my social life (there are WAY too many old and new friends to catch up with) and my ever-fleeting introspective time that I used to treasure is just plain hard. Why am I here? What is this all leading to? How did I even get here? How am I supposed to enjoy this while living in the moment? The questions go on and on …

My friends ask “How much is it different from Italy?” ALL of the time. They’ll ask it with food, with shopping and with unexpected things like TV. Normally I brush it off and ambiguously say “it’s different, but not so different that it’s a completely separate thing (whatever that means).” For lunch yesterday I experienced something so Italian: I was asked to pay more for less.

TCU’s food-service provider, Sodexho (see rant), is famous for overcharging students at TCU. Well, I should rephrase: the price is rarely the same even though the food options stay sadly constant. The price you pay for food at TCU depends on the operator at the machine and not on the actual food you purchase. I went over to the Deco Deli to pick up a sandwich and saw a special combo meal which came with chips and a 32 oz. drink. I didn’t realize it was the 32 oz. drink included, and assuming it was the standard for TCU, went with the smaller cup for my soft drink. When I got up to pay (luckily there weren’t people in line) the price came to over $2 more than the combo price. Here’s how the dialogue went:

Adam: “Wait, doesn’t the combo include the chips and drink?”
Cashier: “Yes, the combo does, but you don’t have the combo.”
Adam: “Well, how do I get it since these are the things that make up the combo?”
Cashier: “No, you have a 20 oz. drink and not the 32 oz. one. I have to charge you for each individual item now.”
Adam; “Wait, I have to pay more money for getting less?”
Cashier: “Yes, you should have filled with the bigger glass.”
Adam: “What’s to stop me from going over and dumping this into a bigger one? Can I do that?” (even though it’s SO typical for a TCU person to waste two styrofoam cups)
Cashier: “No, I’ve already put it into the machine and you already put the money on the table.”
Adam: “But you haven’t given me change, so it’s not actually finished.”
Cashier: “Well, let me see if I can figure this out.”
[While she worked on the machine I went and filled with a bigger one. When I came back the price was higher than what she’d said before.]
Adam: “How does it cost even more now?”
Cashier: “Because you got a bigger drink.”

I learned and followed the moral of the story today: bring your own leftovers for lunch!