Michael has a super power, which I don’t talk about often, but is just shy of miraculous.  You see, Michael can find free food anywhere.  I kid you not.

For example: My senior year, Michael was a junior and studied abroad (well, technically on a ship, but that is another story) and came back home a month before the semester was over.  Rather than going home and bumming around, he persuaded his boss at work study to hire him as an intern for a month and a half.  Then, he arranged to crash at a friend’s place (and really, let’s be frank, he mostly crashed in my room) while he worked on campus.  The only problem?  He didn’t have a meal plan, or even a place he could really cook meals, since dorm rooms are short on anything other than a microwave.  Instead, he arranged to have various friends bring him sandwiches and wraps from the eating hall for brunch (our school had a rule that if it could fit in a coffee mug, you could take it out of the eating hall.   You’d be amazed what you can fit into a coffee mug) and then for dinner, he would find some club or other event that was offering free food (like pizza, pancakes, hamburgers, etc).  He managed to keep himself fed (and even gain a little weight) this way.

Nowadays, this manifests in Michael’s work network.  You see, he has people at work who owe him favors or want to ensure that their computers get taken care of quickly.  So they “bribe” Michael by inviting him to eat the leftovers from various luncheons, breakfasts, or other events.  Most days Michael ends up bringing his packed lunch home because he’s managed to fill up on free bagels, cookies, sandwiches, cupcakes, and other sundry items.

It truly is a super power.