Do I know you?

What looked to be an ordinary shopping trip to a Costco store turned out anything but.

While I was flipping through the DVD bargain bin, there walked through the entrance this beautiful Asian woman whose appearance could only be described in heavenly language. What made her triumphant emergence even more celestial and enchanting was the thick fog bank in the parking lot from which she descended from like an angel.

Okay, angels usually don't show up with a shopping cart, but please for the sake of discussion, let's not over-analyze.

But there was more to her captivating beauty, the true emblem of the crown jewel of God's creation. She looked really familiar. I had seen her before in person. And more over, we made eye contact and when we did, she briefly paused, and threw another quick glance at me which had me reeling.

I could die a happy man now.

You know the sensation you feel in your stomach that stubbornly gnaws at you when you see someone you recognize, but can't put your finger on who that person is? How could I possibly have met this beauty of this magnitude and had forgotten who she was? And she appeared to recognize me as well.

Though painfully shy at times, I saw this as a defining moment to rise above myself. There comes a time in everyone's life to test the limits of one's courage and determination, and this was it for me.

"Hi, I think I know you. Do I know you?"

"Yes. Pecking Wok"

Said so tersely, and she walked away to the deli section.


********** Flash back to Last Summer *************
It was a sultry day here in Southern California, and I and a couple of colleagues decided to try out this Chinese takeout place near the office. It was a typical Chinese fast food joint where you tell the people behind the counter what items you want, and they scoop the stuff out of the trays on display into a plate which they hand to you at the cashier.



After paying for the two item combination, I proceeded to pick up some napkins and utensils then my mind drifted to heaven knows what. It was lunch time. Give me a break. It happens to everybody.

"Sir, you did not pay for the soda."

Huh? The next thing I saw was a dispenser of the soda fountain from which a stream of Coke was pouring into the cup in my hand.

"Huh?"

"Sir, the cup I gave you is for water, not for a soft drink, " continued the Ice Queen. "That will be $1.25."

So there I was, in front of all these people, fumbling around in my pockets in search of $1.25 while apologizing profusely. She made me pay after catching me allegedly stealing when in fact my mind had blanked out and found me operating a wrong dispenser.

How embarrassing was that? The food wasn't all that great. In fact it was horrible; hence I nicknamed that place "Michelin Tires R Us."

And I've decided against marrying her.