Alright! I finally found some time to sit my lazy ass down and write my second post! Admittedly, I have gotten off to a slow start. But, I did manage to do a few things over the past week. Nothing big (I'll have to save the big ones for later), but that isn't the point. The point of this project is just to spread some happiness and make people smile. So, with that said:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Tuesday Dec 11th:

I NEVER left my apartment on Tuesday! I stayed up really late the night before  writing the previous blog, so I ended up not going anywhere or seeing anyone. I did; however, order a pizza. And when ordering said pizza, I was given the option to include a donation to St. Jude's hospital. So I did. When the pizza was delivered, the woman realized that she had forgotten my drink. She apologized a million times, but I kept assuring her that it wasn't a big deal and not to worry about it. She went and got the drink and brought it back, so I tipped her a second time. I felt bad that she had to drive all the way back to the store to pick up the drink and come back. I imagine she spends a fair amount of money on gas being a delivery driver, and she was incredibly nice and apologetic. So, there's that.

Wednesday Dec. 12th:

Ummm... I know that I did SOMETHING on this day, but I'm not sure what it was. I can remember the rest of my day. Dr.'s appointment, lunch, final, hanging out with Samantha and Savannah, brief coffee date. Oh!! There it is!! I left a $5.00 tip in the barista's tip jar even though my coffee was only $3.00. I figured, why not?

Thursday Dec. 13th:

I NEVER left my apartment. Are you catching the theme of my winter break? Haha

Friday Dec. 14th:

WORK. Nothing to note.

Saturday Dec. 15th:

Saturday was a good day, but not noteworthy as far as my project is concern. So, as it turns out, I've gotten a bit caught up in enjoying my break.

Sunday Dec. 16th:

I opened on Sunday morning. I was tired and since I was scheduled for a double, I knew that I had a long day ahead of me. So I went to Starbucks to get some coffee. I had intended to pay for whatever the person behind me in line got as well, but would you know it? No one ever got in line behind me! With that effort failed, I went to work.

As per usual, I pretty much did all of the opening stuff in the restaurant by myself. Not even pretty much. I just did. So I guess one could say that I did a nice deed since I didn't bitch my co-worker out for being a lazy-ass, but that's an every day thing for me, so meh :-P The day was actually decently busy. So was the evening. I did manage to brighten the day's of two different tables at work that day.

Table one was a party of five. They were a very difficult group, mostly because we were extremely busy yet they kept me at the table for a million hours asking me a billion questions in the slowest way possible. But, I remained nice and polite and put a ton of effort into the table. At the end of the meal, the grandma decided that she wanted some ice cream. This lead to three of the remaining four people ordering ice cream as well. They asked the fifth person if she wanted some, but she turned it out. In the end, I decided to bring out a fifth bowl of ice cream free of charge. As I passed the ice cream around the table, I explained that I went ahead and brought the fifth one for free, because I didn't want the fifth person to feel left out. Being the only person at a table full of people eating ice cream is a sad and lonely state. This got a laugh out of the table and lots of smiles. The woman who was in charge of the group was especially pleased. She kept telling me how sweet I was. It felt good and definitely put me in a better mood for a few hours.

Table two was another party of five. This family came in during our dinner rush and I was a little slow getting their drinks, because I had just been sat back to back tables before them. Thankfully, they were patient and again, I remained friendly. Since they were still there after the restaurant had cleared, I had a chance to talk to them towards the end of the meal. As it turns out, they were a big marching band family. The son had attended the high school where we went to a competition every year. We got to talking about marching band and then social work. It was a very long, but very nice conversation. In this case, I wasn't actually the one who did anything to make anyone smile. It was them! You see, I eventually left the table to go do side work so that I could finally get out of there and go home. When I came back, there was a tip on the table that was wrapped in a note. The note said "Keep up the good work :)" I tried to attach a picture, but for some reason, it kept coming out sideways! Ah well. The point is, this works both ways! It means a lot to servers to get little notes like that. It makes us feel more like we are humans and less like slaves. In a job that brings very little appreciation, it feels great when we are given any at all. So again, that's a perfect example of how easy it is to do one, little good deed in a day!

Monday Dec. 17th:

While I was walking downtown, I did give a homeless man a couple of dollars. Also, later that night, I dropped another dollar in the Ronald McDonald house charity box when I stopped at McDonald's on my way home. The homeless man seemed appreciative.

Monday was really just another tale of someone else making me smile though. After having a bit of a bad morning, I was invited over to a pretty girl's house. She promised comfort food and hugs and she delivered on both. She fed me spaghetti and let me talk her ear off. For hours. She was great and was exactly what I needed to feel ok about things again. I guess I sort of did my part for the day. I definitely made her laugh a good deal! Maybe that wasn't quite what I had in mind when starting this blog, but hey... at least I made some donations that day!

Tuesday Dec. 18th:

Spent the whole day doing chores. I was too wrapped up in chores to do anything else. I did compliment a lady's hair while I was grocery shopping though! It seemed to brighten her day a little. I'd say that counts! And I wasn't lying either! Her hair was kinda cool!

Tuesday night was awesome for completely unrelated reasons.

Wednesday Dec. 19th:

Had an absolutely awesome day! I also didn't realize that today is the 19th until I typed Dec. 19th just now. Sooooo, I nearly missed calling my step-mom to wish her happy birthday! Thankfully I caught it before late and got the phone call in! Whew!!


So that's it for this week. Not much accomplished, but it is harder when I'm not out in the real world much right now. Also, I have ideas of things I want to do. I just need to get on the ball with doing them. I got wrapped up in enjoying break and taking care of tons of chores. But still...the point is trying to find little things to do here and there as much as possible. I'm sure I'll mix in bigger things eventually!

FEATURED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

This blog's featured volunteer opportunity is No Kid Hungry. 1 out of 5 children in Ohio struggle with hunger. The goal of this organization is to stop childhood hunger and they have a variety of different volunteer opportunities. If you don't have time to volunteer to the organization, then you can make monetary donations. If you don't have money, then you can donate time! Either way, your efforts would go towards helping hungry kids be fed, and that is as great a cause as any. Children are our future after all, and when a kid is well-fed, they are likely to do better in school. Well-educated children lead to a better future! Follow the link for more info!

http://www.nokidhungry.org/take-action/community


Also, I'm still looking for stories from anyone else who'd like to volunteer them! Did you write a letter to the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting? Did you donate a toy to Toys For Tots or adopt a family to buy Christmas presents for? Tell me about it! 'Tis the season for spreading joy. I can't make good happen all by myself! I need your help as well!!

E-mail me at: teshishgoldfish@gmail.com with your small smile stories!

Let's Make It A Masterpiece

I have two loves in this world: girls and my dog, Puppy.

Oh wait. Wrong blog. Let me try again...

I have two loves in this world: writing and making people happy (and girls and Puppy, but that's a completely different story...)

I've loved writing ever since I was kid; since before I loved girls and long before Puppy was born. I have notebooks full of short stories and incomplete novels. I have several journals. And thanks to the technology age, I also have a few blogs. In the recent years, I've become a bit of a Craigslist addict. In fact, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've pretty much perfected the art of the Craigslist personal ad! The responses to my ads are part of my inspiration for this new blog. You see, between my Lesbian in Cincinnati blog and my CL ad responses, I've probably had a good fifty people over the past few years tell me that I have a knack for writing and that I should do something with it. My step-mom always told me the same thing, but I always wrote that off as "mom-talk." She loves me; therefore, she has to tell me that I'm good at stuff. So naturally, I ignored her and instead chose to listen to random internet strangers. Such as life in the technology age :-P The only problem was, I just didn't know what to do with my writing. My Lesbian in Cincinnati blog was fun, but I outgrew it. And while my CL ads are fun or endearing or entertaining or "adorable" (adorable is probably the most common adjective used - what can I say? Adorable will always be my curse), that type of writing isn't exactly commercial either. So I've just sat around letting my talents go to waste, except for the occasional adorable CL ad.

In addition to my love for writing, I also have a passion for helping people. I've always done it, often times at the detriment of myself. I can't help it. I have a compulsion to make others happy as often as I can. I just like connecting with people. I like getting to know people's stories. I like being able to give advice or an ear. I also have a heavy interest in humanity in general. People fascinate me. I'm always reading books from the cultural studies section or watching documentaries on culture or humanity. I'm a fan of inspiring documentaries. I like knowing that good exists in the world.

So, after watching one of my humanitarian documentaries tonight, I finally figured out what to do with my writing. I'm 29 and in a state of total flux right now. I'm in school full-time as a Social Work major (which I LOVE, by the way) and I'm working as a waitress. Like many people in my generation, I am pretty damn self-obsessed. I get wrapped up in my world and in my emotions and I lose awareness of what is going on around me. I focus on the fact that I'm 29 and single, or on how I always seem to have the worst luck with table rotation at work, or how it's fucking raining today when I finally have a day off. The more that I let myself get wrapped up, the more that I start to become depressed. But then I watch a documentary like "Craigslist Joe" (tonight's inspiration) and I remember how good I feel whenever I do something good for someone else. I remember how happy I feel when I smile at stranger and they smile back. I remember how awesome I felt that day a few years ago when I stopped and bought coffee and breakfast for a homeless man who was standing outside in the snow. I remember how good I felt when I left a $20 tip on a $30 check for a waitress who was new and struggling. I remember how people smile at me when I tell them about how I rescued Puppy and how exactly she came to be my soul mate. It's as simple as that. The key to creating happiness within oneself is to create it outside of oneself. Don't believe me? Then fuck you! Hahaha.. sorry. Just kidding. But seriously, studies have shown that people who volunteer have generally report a greater sense of overall happiness. I read it in a book once, so I know it's true.. hehe

Which leads me to THE PLAN

The plan has parts. Because I'm organized like that.

Part One:

My goal for each day is to find a way to make SOMEONE smile. It's as simple as that. Every day, a simple act of kindness. I will collect the acts of kindness and the stories around them and share them with you here in this blog. And I will share them with you in MY writing style. My aim is to make you smile, make you laugh, and inspire you to join me in my goal of making someone smile each and every day.

As for my acts of kindness, I already have several small and large ones planned out (I'm actually VERY excited to start doing some of these - and one of them even involves Puppy!), but others will just happen at random. Given that I am a busy bee, I can't promise I will write every day, but my goal is to post once or twice a week.

Part Two:

I don't want this blog to be just about me and my stories.

                                                               Haha, Chuck Norris...

I want your stories! Tell me about your random acts of kindness! Tell me about connections that you've made! Tell me about the money you dropped in The Salvation Army bucket, volunteering at the soup kitchen, the random compliment you paid a stranger (unless the compliment was given in the hopes of getting in said stranger's pants - I'm not sure if that counts... haha). Tell me your past stories, but more importantly, tell me your future ones. Get involved! Make your day more memorable. Make your LIFE more memorable!

My goal here is to not only collect stories from family and friends, but also to collect stories from anyone and everyone that I can. I will talk to as many people about this as I can. I will spread the word. I want to fill this blog full of good karma so that any time you are having a bad day, or are feeling unloved or unwanted, or are finding yourself wrapped up in yourself, you can come here and be reminded of the good in the world. I want this blog to serve as a reminder of the overall good nature of people.

Part Three:

In addition to my stories and your stories, I will also throw in some froufy (I made that word up) shit like inspiration quotes, documentary and book suggestions, and volunteer opportunities.






So, what do you think? Comments/suggestions? I'd love any feedback that you'd like to provide. Please shower me with your knowledge!!

I'm really excited about getting this up and running. I can't wait to go out tomorrow and make someone smile. But, I suppose I should be going to bed for now. I'll leave you with this:

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Come experiment with me! Hehehe... that sounds so wrong. I love it.

Have stories? Send them to me: teshishgoldfish@gmail.com