Damn you Caffeine!

The Caffeine molecule

After having my sleeping hours drastically cut back by work commitments for the past one week, I woke up this morning with a superhuman (well, at least for me) determination to make the most of the weekend. I downed a cup of coffee at 6 AM and followed that with another 2 hours later. With my blood singing and my brain cells buzzing I set off for the nearest mall for some retail therapy.

Browsing around I decided to pamper myself and bought an item for RM 98.70 (approx. USD 28). Out of the corner of my eye I spied a poster about a store wide promotion whereby you would get a stamp for every RM 50 on a single receipt. Collecting 5 stamps would make you the proud owner of a RM 30 discount card which you can use at leisure. I walked up to the counter with my purchase and the cashier explained this to me in great detail. She suggested that I look around the store and get myself some small item to make up the RM 100 that would make me eligible for 2 stamps.

I dicked around for a good 5 minutes and felt the boredom descend. My brain was a blank sheet and it quickly made friends with pure laziness. I trudged back to the counter with a sheepish grin and paid up. The girl looked at me as if I was growing horns. "What a pity, sir," she said with a practiced smile on her face, while applying one stamp on my card. That's one, where it could have easily been two.

Driving home, the full horror of the missed opportunity dawned on me, draining every ounce of pleasure that I was suppose to feel from the purchased item. Now it was an albatross around my neck and I couldn't stand the sight of it. What a way to spend the weekend!

Caffeine, I thought you were my friend! What a time to desert me!