How many buffalo chicken sandwiches does it take to fill up a meal plan?
Apparently, more than I can handle.

After four years here at Fisher, I should know better. But I fell victim to the curse of the gold meal plan (as I like to call it).

I didn’t even realize this until a few days ago. I was about to enter the dining hall, when the person in front of me asked how many meals she had left this semester. She had around 28. So when my card was swiped next, I was curious how many meals I had left, how bad could it be, I thought.

“You have a 100 meals left.  You’ll never use all those.”

If you’re thinking that’s a lot of tacos and Crystal Light, then you’re right. What can I say, I paid for too many meals this semester, a luxury that a broke college student such as myself does not have.  And to make things worse, I’ve drained my dining dollars through late night meals and Cyber Café lattes. 

So if you’re keeping score at home, that’s Bon Appétit: 1, Scott: 0.  Right?

Not quite. 

When I was told, “You’ll never use all those,” I took it as a challenge.  The 100-Meal Challenge, as I’ve dubbed it.  My goal is simple: to use all of my remaining meals.  Not almost all of them, I mean every single meal. I’ve already paid for them and I am a big fan of food, so there’s no problem there. I’ve started my quest by doubling up meals at the Fishbowl, you know getting three wraps instead of one, or purchasing a few Snapples here and there (this is an added bonus because of the knowledge I gain from the Snapple “Real Facts”).

This challenge isn’t all about me though.  It’s a challenge to raise awareness on the trickery of meal plans.  Next semester when you’re salivating over the endless possibilities of the platinum meal plan or the convenience of the gold plan, don’t hastily select one; think about what’s the best plan for you.  Do you opt for Subway on the weekends?  Do you use more dining dollars than meal swipes? Do you spend too much time wondering why the buttermilk ranch sandwich hasn’t been on the menu? All of these are good questions to consider before embarking on a meal plan odyssey of your own.

I’ll keep my progress posted on the Cardinal Courier blog (http://cardinalcourier.blogspot.com), as I continue to attempt this seemingly impossible task.  I’m also selling meal swipes to the highest bidder if anyone is interested.  But if you’re like me and have too many meals, don’t panic.  It’s never too late to use them all.  And as for my quest, well, there’s only 78 more meals to go…