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It was either a pill or a piece of candy. Those were my options.

The firm but non-threatening voice coming from the speaker box behind me next to the door I'd been led through {click} offered me a simple choice: Would you like a pill? Or a piece of candy?

I'd volunteered my Saturday away for a couple hundred bucks. I'd been hearing the radio ads for a long time. You know the ones - Are you under 30, male and a non-smoker? ReoVeen Labs is conducting short term clinical trials and we want to pay you for your time and opinions. Call today for more information.

Finding yourself down on your options can sometimes make some things seem more like an opportunity than a risk. A phone call and a signing trip through a passel of disclaimers and here I am.

Alone in a small room barely able to contain the small white table and chair, the couple of unblinking corner mounted eyes and me.

It's so quiet in here. Someone is waiting for me to make a decision. This seems simple.

Candy, I break the quiet with. Half a moment passes and then a small panel I hadn’t had time to notice fssshts open at my left. I can easily reach in and retrieve the single pastille without getting up.

The only sound I am aware of beyond my breathing is of the wrapper as it says goodbye to its raison d'etre.

As I place the candy in my mouth, I feed the wrapper back into the white space.

The panel closes as my lips meet each other again.

Now I add the noise of hard candy clicking against teeth as my tongue forces acquaintance.

This butterscotch somehow reminds me of the warmth I feel when I drink a good cup of coffee. It’s like a warm all over reward you might get after mastering exquisite timing --

you hustle into a cafe seconds after a sudden summer downpour’s begun. You’re a little damp but not a disaster, your friends are there, you hadn't expected it and couldn't have planned it better. You shake off the few drops that have found you and you’re ready for anything. It's a day to sit, laugh, and sip.

It’s like a commercial only it’s your life. Everything is good.

I’m thinking about this and how good it made me feel.

Funny how I rarely drink coffee anymore, there’s so much other choice when it comes to beverage. Plus, if you don't know how to pronounce all the new words for small, medium and large, even the process of getting one can be daunting.

This whole coffee culture that's sprung up around me amuses me. Do people really believe they can’t function without the stuff? We all know better.

The voice comes through the speaker again. I’m told that I can now sign out and collect my earnings. How strange, this has to be the easiest money I’ve ever made. I’m soon on my way.

I step out into the sun and begin walking toward the bank. It’s amazing how a few simple zeroes can change your mood so quickly. Stepping lively, I'm already forgetting that I’ve spent mere minutes fleeceing a large company out of a large amount of cash for nothing.

You know what would be great right about now?