It never occurred to me that something as innocent as a smile can make me go nuts. 🙂

I was briskly walking in the mall (SM City North) as I always do when the mall is just another obstacle I have to go through on my way home. But then I was forced to abruptly slow down my walk when I noticed an approaching familiar face – a former officemate. I quickly put a smile on my face for the incoming exchange of pleasantries. This is my typical behavior in this type of situation. But then by the time she looked at me, it hit me. As I realized my eyes failed me and the supposed to be former officemate turned out to be a complete stranger. There’s only a slight resemblance that I wonder why I mistook her for a previous officemate. After that rude awakening, I’m now faced with the problem of wiping off the big smile I’m still carrying, without looking like a fool. The last thing I want is for her to think I’m some nuts, who smiles at everyone I see, or worst, she might think I’m flirting with her. But I guess that would be ok, she’s not that bad 🙂

The crowded mall offered many solutions to my urgent problem. I quickly thought out a plan and proceeded to execute it. What I did was to cleverly look beyond her, pretending I was actually smiling at the girl just behind her. Good thing the girl was not looking at me, if she was, I would have to go through it all over again. Plan accomplished – perfectly.

I’m been having these bouts of what I call “Familiarity from a Distance” syndrome lately. Where every so often, I would, from a distance, mistake a stranger’s face for someone I know personally. But on a closer look, find out that he or she is just another face in the crowd.

Have you also had this kind of experience before? I want to know.