Zivia on the cheap.

My girlfriend Tina really likes drinking Zivia, which is a zero calorie root beer. Lately the store has been out of stock some weeks so I am constantly on the lookout for the beverage when I am out shopping.

Last week all they had left was a 6 pack that was missing one can. I searched for the missing can but it had disappeared.

My bargain sense began tingling. I assumed they would discount the cans by 1/6th or 16.6% at a minimum but there was a chance for an even larger discount if I played my cards right. 

One nice thing about my local grocery store is that the employees are empowered to make deals and discounts on the spot right at the register if it's under a certain dollar amount. 

I began to profile the cashiers. Who was likely to give me the deepest discount? Was it the guy with the beard? He might identify with me since I also have a beard. Was it the nice old lady? I could tell her it's gift for my girlfriend. Was it the Teen with a vape dangling around his neck? He probably doesn't care about anything but he also might not want to make the decision and call a manager over. The manager would be the worst since he would have to go by the book.

I took a chance on the teen. I was banking on his obvious apathy. The opportunity to stick it to the man in a minor way might inspire him to really cut the price. I put the cans on the conveyor belt and began my pitch. I decided I could be more persuasive if I spoke to him in his language.

"Yo bro. My bae really heart emojis dis root beer ya feel me? Deez da only 5 cans left up in dis ma. Can ya slice me a dolla dolla drop down fam?"  

His response was swift and decisive. 

"Bet."

Which I later learned means affirmative.

Instead of the 1/6 off I was expecting which would have saved me a cool $1.03, he gave me half off. that means two free cans and $3.10 off. 

Tina was thrilled that I brought home her coveted cans. she also politely listened as I triumphantly regaled her with the tale of my haggling acumen.

Fridge Failure.

We had another ice storm here in Austin. The 2nd serious winter weather event since I've lived here. Should have learned my lesson from the last one and set some emergency water and food aside. My emergency rations consisted of a case of canned garbanzo beans I purchased during the pandemic. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were easy. My events were canceled so I stayed home. This gave me time to catch up on some reading, exercise and finish my online safe driving school. 

Thursday the power went out.  

I immediately began worrying about my groceries in the fridge. I had spent $50 at HEB just 2 days ago. Some of the food was uncooked and uncookable since the power was out. Specifically my family sized package of pork chops. I wasn't just going to eat $9 worth of pork chops by tossing them and I couldn't actually eat them since they were uncooked. 

The coffee machine was also down in the recreation room. Luckily I have a stash of emergency coffee. I pulled out my red french press and began a batch of cold brew. Knowing the coffee would be ready in 16-24 hours put me at ease.

 My phone was at 68% so I knew that would last until morning. Then I realized the signal was super weak. The WiFi was down so I could hardly send or receive text messages. My Instagram feed wouldn't even refresh.

By walking outside I could begin my research into how long my pork chops would be safe to eat. The first 20 links on Google all said 4 hours was the limit for meat in a fridge without power. They had already been sitting for 6 hours. Time was running out. 

A link on the 3rd page of results that said food would be safe in the freezer for up to 48 hours in a full freezer or 24 hours in a half full freezer. I transferred the pork chops to the freezer along with some ice I had picked up from the recreation room in my building. Things weren't looking good when I grabbed a pint of ice cream from the freezer which was completely melted. 

The next day the power came on around 8am and I had a decision to make. Had my pork chops made it safely through the night or was I about to throw away $9? They looked fine. They smelled fine. I decided I would do an experiment. I would cook them a little longer than normal to kill any extra bacteria then just eat a little piece. If nothing happened then I would eat the rest. I cooked them at 425 for 30 minutes.

I paired my experimental pork chop sample with some rice and beans and a large glass of cold brew coffee. After an hour, I felt fine so I ate an entire pork chop to see what happened. No ill effects as of this writing. 

There is a reason I've had food poisoning 3 times. If you asked any person if they would pay $9 to not get food poising they would all say yes, especially people that have already experienced it. My brain looks at that deal and says lets roll the dice. Even after Google confirmed I shouldn't do it I kept searching to find information that would confirm what I wanted to be true. I willfully ignored contrary information and put my health at risk to "save" $9 which I already spent either way. My interest in saving money created my very own unique confirmation bias. 

Even after writing this, I'm planning on eating the rest of those pork chops. My motivational driver that says don't waste money is overriding other parts of my decision making processes. 

I don't have a solution to this obvious thinking error I'm experiencing. Maybe simply recognizing it is happening will help.   

Next ice storm I'll be ready with Water jugs, spare batteries and canned pork chops that won't go bad, or more likely I'll simply do nothing and assume it won't happen again. Wishful thinking is feels good.