Balancing the scales

The thing about supermarket carts is that you have to pop in a dollar coin to get them unlocked, and as we all know, the locks don't always work or if they do, the wheels are all wonky, and it's just a general pain in the arse. (Not complaining though; they're far more convenient than a basket!)

So the other day, I was at the store, with my dollar coin in hand, but I couldn't get the cart released. I saw a bloke returning his cart, so I asked if I could just get that one. I handed him my dollar coin in exchange for his cart. He examined the coin and walked away quickly. As he was walking away, I then realised that the coin that HE had put in was a fifty-cent one.

Yes, I was really annoyed by this. It's not that I got cheated out of fifty cents; that doesn't matter to me. Hell, it's not even enough to get a Thai milk tea ice cream cone from McDonald's (which are the bomb, have you guys tried that shit yet? SO. GOOD.)

It's the principle. Where's the integrity? Are you really that hard up for fifty goddamn cents? Is this your standard modus operandi? If you can keep swapping out your fifty-cent carts for a dollar...well, that's one way of turning a profit, I suppose!

But yeah, that left me not only feeling disgruntled, but also with a strange unsettled vibe around me.

Getting Haagen-Dazs tubs at 3 for $28.90 helped somewhat. Plus I found the last two coffee flavour ones, so that was some comfort.

Still felt grouchy though...

When I was returning my cart, the disgruntlement returned full force, because I would've gotten out the fifty-cent coin...but just then, a family passed me, and the father (or at least, I assume that's who he was) was about to get a cart. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I offered my cart to him. He offered me a dollar coin, but I waved that away, told him no worries, have a good evening, and walked away.

Now those of you who were keeping track of the maths would realise that I would've only been out fifty cents, but by giving that away, I was pretty much out a dollar.

(I was also planning to use that dollar coin to pick me up a Thai milk tea cone, but then couldn't...but I also had 3 pints of Haagen-Dazs, which is a trade I could live with.)

My point, after taking you on that long and verbose route, is that I countered the bad juju by putting out some good vibes into the Universe. Balance was restored, I felt settled again, AND I had coffee ice cream.

All was right in my world again, and that's what matters.