The Little Things

This morning was my first time opening the office by myself. I was a bit nervous. What if my key jammed in the lock again? What if I had a hard time disarming the alarm system? What if I couldn't get the safe open?

Well, the opening went really well, except for one thing I would never have thought to worry about:

The coffeemaker.

First person in the office has to prepare coffee for staff and guests (yes, free GOOD coffee is another perk here!).

When I make coffee in an automatic machine, I take these steps:

-put water in machine;
-put empty carafe on burner;
-put filter in basket;
-put coffee in filter;
-install basket in machine;
-turn on machine

Well, our machine here is, well, not one whose operation I am familiar with.

I put water in the machine. So far, so good, right?

I didn't realise that putting water in the machine would start it.

Hot water began to pour out.

I placed a carafe on the burner only to realise that I was being pelted by jets of hot water, not a stream, and they weren't hitting the carafe.

With no way (that I know of) to stop the hot water, I held the carafe up to the source of the hot water and jammed styrofoam cups under it to hold it.

While waiting for the carafe to collect all the water, I mopped up the flood.

That done, I put a filter in the basket, put coffee in the basket, and put the filter in the machine.

Then I filled the carafe with water and poured the water in the machine.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Yup, I should have placed the second, empty, carafe, under the basket.

Because the machine was now raining coffee. At least, it was in a steady stream, not several jets. In the nano seconds before I managed to get a carafe under the stream, there was enough time for a river of coffee to escape, run down the side of the machine, traverse the whole width of the table, and drip down to make a nice puddle on the floor.

I mopped up really well, had my first cup of (much needed) joe, and got to endure quite a few pokes about the smell of burnt coffee (from what had accumulated on the hot burner) in the office all morning.

Maybe I should have my first cup of coffee at home the mornings I open the office!