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April 22, 2002
Am I A Bad Person?
Obivously, if I have to ask, something is cranking the ethical gears in my head.
Walking home from breakfast yesterday afternoon, Matt[1] and I stopped by a local used CD store to browse a bit. I wasn't actually planning to buy anything, but that has never really stopped me before. I took my four discs up to the counter to check out. While the girl behind the counter was getting all the CDs (the cases on the store shelves are empty), she and I started talking about what I was buying, etc. Finally, she had all the CDs in the cases and rung it all up. The total was $28 or so. I was starting to feel bad about spending more money than I should, but decided not to worry about it. When she ran my credit card, she only charged me $4.99, the price of the CD at the top of the stack. I noticed it when I was signing the slip.
I paused and waited to see if she would say anything. Nope. I signed it and waited for her to pack the CDs in a bag, then turned around to collect Matt[1]. All the while, I'm just waiting for her to say something about the other $23 I owe. We left the store without being stopped.
My prevailing theory is that she did not make a mistake -- it was somewhere between flirting with me and just doing me a favor since she liked the CDs I was buying. Of course, this is entirely unlikely, but it let me sleep better last night. A more realistic scenario would be that I am a petty thief and karmic justice will slap me upside the head in the near future. Damn.
Posted by buddha at April 22, 2002 05:25 PM
Comments
Dan - your necessary course of action is obvious in order to clear your conscience and make sure there are no karmic repercussions. You must verify your prevailing theory that she did not make a mistake by heading back to this CD store as soon as possible and either directly asking out this girl or getting her phone number.
If she accepts or volunteers the digits, not only do you have new avenues to pursue (if you find this lass attractive) but you will have escaped the petty thief scenario.
I leave as an academic exercise the question of your course of action should the girl turn you down.
Posted by: DK at April 23, 2002 03:50 PM
i like the way dk is thinking. here's my suggested
karmic solution. go to the cd store the same time
next week. if she isn't there - well, the powers
that be are not cooperating and there's not much
you can do. you can't pay off your karmic debt
alone! but, if she is there, then that's
not a coincidence. it's your opportunity to set
things right. ask her, hey, while i was going
through my receipts in quicken™* i noticed
that i underpaid when i was last here, by about
how much dinner at fire&ice costs. do you want to
grab some food when you get off work? if she says
yes, you win, you have a date. if she says no,
you pay what you owe but you still win. what's
the point of saving a measly jackson if it means
coming back as a cockroach.
*chicks dig men with sound financial acumen.
Posted by: matt[0] at April 23, 2002 04:39 PM
Uh, not to be negative but if she's not there it could be because she got shitcanned for not ringing up purchases correctly.
Of course, being shitcanned was the best thing that ever happened to me... so I could not honestly say I'd feel guilty even if I knew I were the cause of someone losing her job.
Posted by: Troutgirl at April 24, 2002 03:39 AM
hate to say it, but i think i'm probably going to end up being lazy and just sit here enjoying my new cds.
but there is a strong chance we'll go back to the same place for breakfast next weekend, which means i'll be in the area. we'll see.
Posted by: dan at April 24, 2002 02:07 PM
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