mft's McDonald's breakfast burrito

Developments at McDonald's, on Main St., Bismarck, November 19, 2007: this morning I stopped at McDonald's. I wanted almost an entire #10 (Number Ten), but told the gray haired lady behind the till that I just wanted one breakfast burrito, not two. She gave a constipated look, slightly frustrated, and then while shaking her head said, "I can't do that unless I ring it up separate..." Her look almost suggested, "I can't serve you here, son." I said, "Okay. Ring it up separate." Once punched in, the damn meal came out to be $.20 more than if I would have gotten the original meal with two burritos. I retracted and said, "Okay, I'll just get the meal as it appears." She again was unimpressed. I told her I didn't mean to mess up the social order so drastically. Her raised eyebrow suggested that she was aware of the smart-ass she was serving.

Just yesterday I told an acquaintance that humans get pissed when there is deviation from the norm. Consistency equals expectations, and when expectations aren't met, there is disorder: it's mathematics. We get pissed when we see 2 + 2 = 5. We need fours. There was much disorder at McDonald's today: there were fives rather than fours. I quickly returned to standard algebra, to the equation: 2 + 2 = 4.

Once at the office I unfurled the wrapper, devoured one breakfast burrito, and threw the other away. Back to standard math, a loss of twenty cents, but now I know how to pull another important social lever so as to avoid constipated looks from blue-haired women working the till at McDonald's.

[This requires a pic; you guys may add a caption. -- AI
Classic pic, AI. I knew it needed something.]