Coffee on the Counter, Coffee on the Floor

My old boss, Gary, used to say “It’s never too early to panic” whenever he witnessed someone freaking out about something.  Early this morning, I put that phrase to practice.

Making coffee and feeding my cat are my top priorities after I flop out of bed in the morning.  In efforts to reduce my work in the morning, I fill my coffee carafe with water from my reverse osmosis system before going to bed in the evening.  I also have the basket filled with coffee grounds.  First thing in the morning, I simply need to pour the water into my coffee maker and press the power button.

This morning, when pouring water into my coffee maker, I noticed something dark and suspicious surfing out of the carafe and into the coffee maker’s water reservoir.

When I peered inside the coffee maker, I saw a spider backstroking around in the water.

A good time to panic.

So, I did.

After twirling around in disbelief and cursing a few times, I finally resorted to scooping the spider out with a spoon.  I then trotted the spider out the door and flicked it against the dark.

Upon returning to the kitchen, I poked on the power button.

About five minutes later, I returned to the kitchen only to find a pool of coffee on my counter and coffee dripping down onto the floor.

I had forgotten to put the carafe in place below the coffee basket.  I quickly grabbed it and shoved it in place to catch the little coffee remaining.

I captured an image of my mess and then spent the next half-hour cleaning top to bottom.

—Mitchell Hegman