So at the Sears I work at there's this girl named Mary who looks exactly like me. People always call her Ann but no one ever calls me Mary, which is odd because she's been working there longer than I have. Mary and I are both interested in photography, she's quiet like me and we have the same hairstyle. The only difference is that I'm taller than her, and that she's a year older than I am. 

Anyway, Mary and I both share an insane love for Pad Thai. At the Promenade there's a Thai Express in the food court where for weeks on end she would constantly order Beef Pad Thai, so much so that they remember her and every time she goes there they know what she's getting before she even opens her mouth to order. (On some occasions they even slip in a free spring roll.)

One day I discovered that since Mary and I look so alike, the people at Thai Express can't tell us apart.  They think I'm Mary, because when I went to order they asked "Beef Pad Thai?" with a smile that throughly confused me. (Before working at Sears I worked in the food court and thought they remembered me because of that) When I saw Mary later on that day she explained it all to me. 

Today I was ordering Beef Pad Thai when the guy who is usually there gave me a big smile and put extra beef in my Pad Thai because he thought I was Mary. I was very happy. 

See the thing is, though I may complain about the monotony of working at Catalogue department at Sears I can't leave because of Mary. And all the other people I work with. If I leave I'll never see Mary again, or my Manager, or the very awesome people I work with in my department, or that girl I always smile at, that guy I always say good morning/good night too, that customer who never gives me a hard time. I'll stop getting extra beef in my Pad Thai. 

If it's one thing I hate, it's saying goodbye.

Also at work they have this Tree of Hope for christmas. It's decorated gold stars  that has various names (as well as their age) from the Boys and Girls club, kids who are less fortunate/have disabilities. The purpose of the tree is for people to take a star and buy a gift for the kid whose name is on it. It's right in front of my counter, so whenever I have a shift I take a peek at the tree and see who is left. I noticed that the older kids weren't being picked - the ones who were 10 and up. I suppose it's just easier to buy gifts for the younger kids.

There's this 13 year old girl whose name I can't remember, but it sounded like Desdemona so I'll call her that. I noticed that no one was picking her. A few weeks ago I had decided that I was going to buy a gift for her but then felt partly broke, so I decided against it. 

Then, because I had a ridiculously long shift at work today and because the tree is right there in front of me, I began to think about it. I didn't have to buy the Beef Pad Thai, could have saved my money right there and bought her something. I didn't need to buy my friend that expensive gift, I didn't need to buy that jacket the other day. In other words, I guilted my way into it. 

I ended up buying her socks, a scarf and a hat. I hope she likes it. I wish I could see her reaction when she opens the gift, because I want to make myself feel better by knowing that I made someone happy.