Indian Ameri

Thursday

Kick Steps

A dozen days of hogging can truly amplify the meaning of the word 'Hunger'. Half way through a new experimental procedure that might define my next 4 months work, my gastro-mucous decreased to the nanometer thickness in the acidic medium. With timing of reagent-addition being the most crucial step of the process, I was barely reduced with the options of hunting for food outside the department. Fortunately, I had enough 'red' change in dimes and nickels for a walk in fast food vending machine. (Red Change: Trade secret coins, used as stirrers and sometimes even as catalyst in some of my experiments... :D)

A dash to the vending machine as I dunked the gloves and flip-folded my lab coat on the way, reminded me of the potential failure of the experiment, if I don't make it back in 2 minutes to turn on the nitrogen purge. There! I was standing, hands on hips, eyes starring on the multitude of chocolate bars, and candy down the rows. A slight elevation of the angled sight revealed, "Aah Come On!!!! No chips today? Only chocolates?"

Running back in disbelief, I decided to ditch the idea and carry on with the experiment. As I turned the Nitrogen valve, my guts twisted equivalently a grumble of extreme pain. With enough discussion and quarrel going between the two sides of the conscience, I skipped the concept of Yuck and Pffbbt, and ran back to the vending machine hoping for a miraculous presence of something, anything other than chocolate. Disappointed with my expectation, I scanned through the wordings in the chocalate bars to find something interesting. Pause..... Almonds - "More almonds than the regular chocolate bar" hit my eye.

"Here goes" and I ratta tattled the collection of red dimes and nickels through the slot. Mr. Vending Machine gulped the red change, and sparkled his eyeful display. The display waited for me to press E3. With my stomach zombieing towards my other organs, I had no choice but to press E3.

'Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............ & Tat............'

My eyes just popped in disbelief and "Aah Come On" blurted out of my mouth. The almond bar just got sidened to the spiral. It didn't make the fall. As my brain reprocessed critical information such as "It's 5:15 pm and it's Friday. And data collection awaits your presence", I had no other option but to go soccer style. My leg almost pummeled the vending machine that I remembered the famous Pepsi commercial that used to be replayed during Cricket games (remeber the Aussies breaking their leg trying to kick the vending machine). Deciding not to risk the jumping jack leg, I went totally rocky style.

A bang here and a bang there, and a bang bang everywhere. Nothing seemed to move the almond bar of its meditation. With the stomach volcanoing smoke through my ears, and my neurons all firing towards the experiment in risk, All hell broke loose. A really hard, close fisted punch made me go "Ouuuuccchhhhhhh!!!!" The ouch went as long as the time taken for the pain to creep into my knuckles.

After a couple of seconds of chilling my temper by focussing on the almond bar, I gave a really hard kick on the machine. The rest was all in slow motion..... The vending machine, shook in vibration, all the way to the spiral rack. The bar shook a bit, and slowly dived into the chasm of the vending exit with the elegance of Michael Phelps.

Hurray!!!!! and my heart tapped many a step in my mind. With the success smile spreading cheese all over my cold dried lips, I bent and pushed the vending machine pick up flap door.

"Thud!" and it hit the rack in its designed format, and it was all that was needed to drop a kit kat which I assume was also in the verge of "I'm falling away, with you"
I picked up both the chocolate bars, unwrapped the wrappers, took a bite of the almonds and walked in a style so clear of pain that Rey my lab senior and a good friend of mine walking towards the loo, just told in his African accent, "Oh Ha(h)ri! That's a quul step"

I smiled at him and said, "It's called, kick the vending machine step" As I walked closer to the lab, I realized that the pain in the toe was excruciating enough for me to finish the almond bar with no flinch of the taste buds triggering the yuck and pffbbt reactions.

Rey came back after some time and demanded some grooves on the lab floor coz he needed a break from his thesis work. The last time he danced was on the shores of the Atlantic on a cold casino night. He showed me a cool step which he called, "Kick my broken car" and my tummy ached again not with hunger but with laughter.
posted by Unknown at Thursday, January 08, 2009

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