12.21

I remember stealing these from the cooler at work before we all left at night. Mainly because we didn’t get a lunch or a break to eat our own food, so we felt that we deserved something. And these drinks weren’t much. I’m pretty sure they were bought in bulk for .50 cents each and sold for over $3. That’s insane. But these people were extremely stingy. The one owner would hunt you down if you were a penny short and reprimanded you in Korean until you finally walked out. It was the worst job I’ve ever had, but I had no choice at the time.

At the time I could not realize how wrong this place was. Well, maybe a little. But I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. No one listens to young women. Especially in our country. All the waitresses there had to make do with the opportunity we had on hand. And it wasn’t pretty. We were all in school, and the best this place gave us was half the gas money it took to drive to and from our college classes. So, food was never an option. Which is why we grabbed one item or another to make ourselves feel a little better for wasting our time there.

One by one we all left; there’s a breaking point for every employee. And having our wages stolen by immigrants was mine. I tried turning them in to a few different authorities, but who cares about servers? They’re the bottom of the barrel. Obviously all criminals and drug addicts. And they must make over minimum wage, so there’s no need to tip them. You must be a better person than the person who serves your food, because you somehow figured out a way to scam money out of someone else.

12.16

I remember when this was always our Christmas tree topper. Always. We couldn’t have a normal star or anything. Because she matched my mom’s entire collection of Precious Moments ornaments. And by collection, I mean each year’s from 1990 to 2007 plus all our Baby’s Firsts. So, that didn’t leave much room for any ornaments with sentimental value. Like the ones all kids make in school.

My mom was serious about her ornaments. So much that when one of our Christmas storage tubs had some water damage, she sent my dad on an internet wide search to replace all of them. And she wasn’t happy until it was done.

After my parents got divorced, this little lady and her twenty-some minions fell into memory. Until a few years ago. And much to my surprise, my own mother just gave them all to me. Without asking. Of course I took them; I was definitely in need of any and all decorations. Not that I wanted any of her gifts, but these are related to my father and I’m sure she would have loved to smash them all. No matter how much money was spent on them.