Barista: Good morning ladies, what can I get for you?
Eve: A cappuccino for me please!
Alice: And a double shot cappuccino for me. I need the extra caffeine. I challenged myself to have just one espresso shot a day this week, but I give up.
Eve: Been a tough week for you?
Alice: It's much quieter than last week, but with fewer people to help out, it still means long hours in the office. Carol and Dave are on holiday this week, so I was all alone on Monday. Yesterday, there were just Bob and I, but he's also on holiday starting today. I’m glad you could make an exception and come in today instead of yesterday -- you can take over Carol's work. Guess it is just the two of us tomorrow as well for the weekly team meeting.
Eve: Indeed, just the two of us in the firm for the rest of the week.
Alice: If only the four of you were capable of working full time. I know, you all have family and need some time off during the week to take care of the kids. I’m the only one who can do all five days.
Eve: It’s nice of the company to offer a 60 per cent load for working parents. Thankfully there’s one day a week when we can all come in for the team meeting. Except for that day, we always have the same number of people in the office, so the workload is more balanced.
Alice: It really helps when everyone’s in. I even managed to stay off coffee that day last week. Does that mean that I had fewer coffees per day that I worked, compared to all of you last week?
Eve: Nah, it's the number of shots that counts. I only take single shot cappuccinos, so I had the fewest. Bob, Carol and Dave each had one shot more than me, in total.
Alice: And my average number of shots per working day is just more than each of theirs. If I had one fewer, I would have had less than each of them -- still more than you though.
Eve: Thinking about it, I’ve never seen you having a single shot.
Alice: You were never in when that happened. Every day that I ordered a single, Bob was there, ordering a double -- except for the day I was alone in the office, of course. Interestingly, I think we placed the same order each day last week, using only half the tray, except for the day I didn't drink, and that was the day when we ordered the most number of coffees as a team.
Eve: Based on the number of coffees we order on most days, a tray half the size will do, but we do need to cater for exceptional days.
Barista: Here you go, cappuccino on the left, and the double shot next to it on the right.
Eve: Thank you! Alice, have you noticed, the baristas here always place the double shots on the right and the singles on the left.
Alice: Yes, except for yesterday. He placed both cups on the left, next to each other.
Eve: That doesn't sound like a very balanced arrangement. Today he also placed them too far to the top -- makes the tray tip outwards when you carry it. It would be better if they were both in the middle row.
Alice: It’s a different guy this week, I noticed he places the cups closer to the top edge. The guy last week does keep them more balanced. The center of gravity was exactly in the middle row, except last Tuesday when it was a bit towards the top, but still not as much as yesterday.
Eve: And on Thursday, it was balanced right in the centre. You know, the single and double shots actually weigh the same: the extra coffee is compensated for by a little less milk.
Alice: But he never cared much for symmetry, Wednesday was the only day that the cups were arranged symmetrically along the middle row. On other days, he tends to put the double shots closer to the top.
Eve: The double shot was in the middle row on Tuesday though.
Alice: That's true.