Zip it? I think not.

I stood there.

Exasperated.

I was at work, hungry, and in front of the vending machines looking for anything that resembled a nutritious snack. Instead, I found dozens of chip varieties, doughnuts, cookies, candy and cereal bars with high-fructose corn syrup. The machine with refrigerated items had a yellow orange and sausage biscuits, burritos and french toast.

I purchased a diet soda and walked away in disgust.

A few minutes later, though, I found myself walking back to the machines, armed with a pad of paper and pen. I took meticulous notes of the varieties of snacks and the lack of healthy options. I shared those notes with my boss if only to feel like I did something. To my surprise, he was receptive, asked for 10 suggestions and then shared those suggestions, along with my concerns, to human resources, which passed them along to the vendor.

I honestly thought it would stop there. My boss warned me that it would probably stop there, too.

But it didn't.

Since then, I have seen Sprite Zero, sugar-free Jell-O, sugar-free pudding cups and properly colored fruit added to the refrigerated machines. Sure, it's not the carrots with hummus, Kashi bars and almonds that I asked for ... but it is a start. Something. Something that would have never happened had I not opened my mouth.

So, you see, it pays to be a whiner and a complainer sometimes.

By the way, in case you were wondering, I purchased an apple and pudding cup just yesterday ... because I could ... and because I was hungry. A tasty, satisfying and healthy snack.