Mission: DDP
One problem that's been on my mind lately is that of my Diet Dr Pepper supply. It's not easy to find in Vancouver, but I did manage to bring a 12-pack aboard with me on Friday. I've been hoping to get to a supermarket or Wal-Mart in Victoria, and at 4 pm today, I decided it was now or never. I launched Mission DDP...
Step One: Recon
I walked over to the dock terminal and spoke to the security guard there, who has always been kind and generous with directions. My intention was to use his phone to call a cab, but to my surprise he offered me a ride to the Wal-Mart himself, as he lives directly behind it and was just finishing his shift. A nice stroke of luck, to be sure - he also advised me that the taxi services routinely visit the strip mall in which Wal-Mart was located.
Step Two: Wal-Mart
I was dismayed to find that Wal-Mart only had two (2) 12-packs of Diet Dr Pepper on hand. Requests for more in the storeroom were a bust; the attendant explained that restocking only took place at night, when the store was closed. There is, however, a supermarket at the far end of the strip mall, she told me. So off I went with my basket and 2 boxes of DDP.
Step Three: the Mother Load
I parked my cart in front of the supermarket and made my way to the soda aisle. Again, I was disheartened to find only two (2) 12-packs there as well. I asked a stocker to check in the back for me - he said he might have one or two more back there... "How many do you want?" he asked. "As many as you've got," I replied - hoping at least to have 8 for my trip: not even 2 per day.
When the stocker returned, he had a card with TEN more boxes, in addition to the two already in my cart and the two I had from Wal-Mart outside. I didn't see how I could easily transport 14 boxes back to the ship... "I'll take em!"
I piled my 12 boxes into a cart and went outside to retrieve my original two, only to find that they'd been snarfed. Just then a homeless woman approached me begging for change, and I noticed my 12-packs sitting with her belongings. When I explained that those were mine, she apologized and said she thought they'd been abandoned. "You can take them... I don't like Dr Pepper anyway." Thanks! :)
Step Four: Return to base
I called a cab from the supermarket, loaded my loot into the trunk, and was driven back to the dock. When I arrived, Alex (captain of the JR) was waiting for a cab with Ginny Lowe (Yeop), Debbie Partain (Yeop), and several other people from IODP. When they saw the contents of the trunk, I got some looks of surprise and confusion... I was half expecting Captain Alex to lecture me about weight allowances and refuse to let me carry the loot to the ship! Bob Wheatley asked how I was going to get them all onto the ship.
"One step at a time!" I told him.
Step Five: Loading
The rest of the mission passed without problems. I was able to borrow a luggage cart from the terminal, and move all 14 boxes to the gang-plank. From there, it was simply four trips up and back to move the DDP on board, all in a steady rain on slick steel decks... Regardless, I set out to acquire a butt-load of Diet Dr Pepper, and that's just what I did. It may have cost me $93 Canadian (what is that, about 7 bucks?), but I had to declare Mission DPP a rousing success! I now have exactly enough Diet Dr Pepper on board for an average of 3 per day... which means I only have to ration my normal consumption by 25% :)
.
Step One: Recon
I walked over to the dock terminal and spoke to the security guard there, who has always been kind and generous with directions. My intention was to use his phone to call a cab, but to my surprise he offered me a ride to the Wal-Mart himself, as he lives directly behind it and was just finishing his shift. A nice stroke of luck, to be sure - he also advised me that the taxi services routinely visit the strip mall in which Wal-Mart was located.
Step Two: Wal-Mart
I was dismayed to find that Wal-Mart only had two (2) 12-packs of Diet Dr Pepper on hand. Requests for more in the storeroom were a bust; the attendant explained that restocking only took place at night, when the store was closed. There is, however, a supermarket at the far end of the strip mall, she told me. So off I went with my basket and 2 boxes of DDP.
Step Three: the Mother Load
I parked my cart in front of the supermarket and made my way to the soda aisle. Again, I was disheartened to find only two (2) 12-packs there as well. I asked a stocker to check in the back for me - he said he might have one or two more back there... "How many do you want?" he asked. "As many as you've got," I replied - hoping at least to have 8 for my trip: not even 2 per day.
When the stocker returned, he had a card with TEN more boxes, in addition to the two already in my cart and the two I had from Wal-Mart outside. I didn't see how I could easily transport 14 boxes back to the ship... "I'll take em!"
I piled my 12 boxes into a cart and went outside to retrieve my original two, only to find that they'd been snarfed. Just then a homeless woman approached me begging for change, and I noticed my 12-packs sitting with her belongings. When I explained that those were mine, she apologized and said she thought they'd been abandoned. "You can take them... I don't like Dr Pepper anyway." Thanks! :)
Step Four: Return to base
I called a cab from the supermarket, loaded my loot into the trunk, and was driven back to the dock. When I arrived, Alex (captain of the JR) was waiting for a cab with Ginny Lowe (Yeop), Debbie Partain (Yeop), and several other people from IODP. When they saw the contents of the trunk, I got some looks of surprise and confusion... I was half expecting Captain Alex to lecture me about weight allowances and refuse to let me carry the loot to the ship! Bob Wheatley asked how I was going to get them all onto the ship.
"One step at a time!" I told him.
Step Five: Loading
The rest of the mission passed without problems. I was able to borrow a luggage cart from the terminal, and move all 14 boxes to the gang-plank. From there, it was simply four trips up and back to move the DDP on board, all in a steady rain on slick steel decks... Regardless, I set out to acquire a butt-load of Diet Dr Pepper, and that's just what I did. It may have cost me $93 Canadian (what is that, about 7 bucks?), but I had to declare Mission DPP a rousing success! I now have exactly enough Diet Dr Pepper on board for an average of 3 per day... which means I only have to ration my normal consumption by 25% :)
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posted by Balin at 10:00 PM
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