Lisbeth is faced with decisions

This morning I had oatmeal for breakfast. 

I like to cook my hot cereal in the microwave, since it’s usally just for me (and, occasionally, for Seth), and it doesn’t seem necessary to cook it on the stovetop.  It’s pretty easy - just dump in the right amount of cereal and water, and maybe a little salt, and toss it into the microwave.  When I’m making Malt-O-Meal or grits, I always watch it and stir every 30 seconds or so.  The oatmeal cannister didn’t say anything about checking it every 30 seconds, though, so I put it in for the full 3 minutes and went back to checking the weather online. 

When I returned, I was sort of annoyed to see the oatmeal had boiled over, depositing a lumpy paste all over the turntable.  Bah.  Frustrating, but not disastrous, as I simply scooped the overflow back into my bowl and had my breakfast. 

You would think that it would have been simple enough for the copy writers for the oatmeal to put a few more words into the microwave instructions.  Cook for 2¹/₂ to three minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.  Four extra words.  Really - I think they could have found room for them.

Of course, you might have thought I could have come up with a few more dimes and bought a name brand instead of the lowly store brand.  I got my money’s worth, I guess.