Little Things That Make Others Smile

Last week I asked you all to list little things that make you smile and I sat here grinning like a fool reading them all - thank you!  So, today's post started because of a conversation Cindy and I had on a Facebook comment.  Today, I'm offering up a challenge - what little thing can you do to make someone else smile?

Nothing major or insincere, but if you feel like playing, try to compliment someone today.  The lady in Accounting who always smiles when you see her or that guy who sits in the corner of the lunchroom by himself, or the cashier at Target or the counterperson at Chick-Fil-A (true story, the guy who rang up my order last week at Chick-Fil-A told me I had really pretty nails. I was kind of surprised because I don't do anything to them; I just let them grow and keep them fairly even, but his off-hand comment brightened my little day a tidge).   When you think about it, how often do YOU get a sincere compliment from a co-worker or stranger?  Does it make your day a bit better or am I that easily amused?

Anyway, you can share it in the comments here or you can keep it to yourself or hell, you don't even have to do it if it seems disengenous.  I'm judging our company's Cubicle Decorating Contest this morning, so since I'm going to be all over the building and talking to employees I don't usually interact with, I'm going to try to notice little things and make a point to mention them.  Who knows, maybe they'll just think I'm weirder than they thought, but maybe it'll make one person's day.  Maybe it'll make MY day?

Happy No Whining Wednesday!!

If you would like to spoil the day for a grouch, give him a smile.

So, Monday starts Employee Appreciation Week at my office.  This basically means the Admin Assistant, Dana (truly one of the nicest people I've ever met), and I will spend a week (and a shit load of our time and patience) trying to make 360 employees feel appreciated.  They will in turn make us feel like slapping them.  No matter what we do, it won't be enough.  No matter how much we give, it won't be enough.  No matter how hard we try, it won't be enough.  That said, 11 people will appreciate our efforts.  It's the same 11 people every year and I've come to value them above all the rest.

Dana and I spent Friday afternoon shopping for supplies and planning the logistics of the week.  Last Thursday, I gathered the aforementioned 11 positive and grateful employees and dubbed them the Attitude Ambassadors (because I am a GIANT nerd).  I gave them each 2 little plastic smiley face trophies with the instruction that they are to give them out this week to people who do nice things for others or people they see being helpful or good role models.  Additionally, those employees who receive the awards are supposed to give the trophies away to other co-workers who have been helpful or kind to them...and so on...  I also gave them silly little smiley face stickers and asked them to give them to employees who looked like they were stressed or weren't having a good day.  I asked them not to tell the employees to "smile!"( because that makes me fucking stabby), but they should give the bummed co-worker a sticker and just nicely tell them that they hope their day gets better or a similar sentiment.  I'm really hoping that their example will influence the behavior and attitudes of the other employees.

Some of the activities we have planned for the week include:

• Jeans and tennis shoes every day.

• Raffle tickets will be passed out and all week we'll draw numbers for $25 gift cards to Kohl's, Best Buy, Olive Garden, Old Navy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Giant Eagle, and Outback Steakhouse.  (haaa, I kept typing Steakhorse - totally different!)

• Monday, smiley face notepads and 4-color pens with our company's logo will be distributed to everyone.
  

• Tuesday will be Creative Arts Day.   The staff can wear their favorite movie, tv show or band/concert t-shirt (I'll be wearing my WhiskyBabyNinjaStar shirt, because no one will know what the hell it is and I'll probably say it's a band if anyone asks).  We'll be doing a DVD/VHS movie swap where they can bring in old CD's/movies/games and either trade them or just donate them  & we'll give them to the local library.  We're also giving everyone microwave popcorn packs with our company logo on them and putting big bowls of popcorn, M&M's, Red Hots, Lemon Heads and Milk Duds in all of the break rooms to munch on throughout the day and we're continuing the raffle, but the prizes are $10 gift cards for AMC Theaters and iTunes.  I think we have 10 of those to give away.
  

• Wednesday I'll be at a job fair all day with stupid Thirteen, but the kids at work will be getting caramel apples.  There better be some leftover apples for me when I come back on Thursday because caramel apples are one of my favorite things.  They're totally healthy 'cause they're fruit, dammit!

• Thursday we're having a catered lunch of roasted chicken, cheesy potatoes (these potatoes are TO DIE for!), applesauce, coleslaw and rolls & butter with yummy giant cookies for dessert.  I feel like we're doing something else on Thursday, but I can't think of what it is right now.

• Friday is Sports Day and employees can wear their favorite sports team jersey, t-shirt or sweatshirt.  It's also Boss's Day and for all of the Team Leads, Supervisors, Managers and Directors we have handmade AMAZINGLY delicious shortbread cookies iced to look like smiley faces.  They will also get pretty little brightly-colored wooden boxes with sayings written inside, like "Every day you get more wonderful".  Inside the boxes we'll be putting magnets with different sayings like "Live.  Laugh.  Love." and other hippy dippy phrases.  And then, because I'm 9, we also have a whole bunch of smiley face toys to give to them.  Smiley face slap bracelets and pencils; those paddle things with the string and the ball; smiley face stress balls; little plastic slinkies with smiley faces on them, etc., you get the idea.  Junky, fun, little things that they can keep or take home to their kids. 

That's our week.  It comes once a year in October and Dana and I plan and look forward to it.  We put a shit-ton of effort and creativity into and every year end up feeling bad because the employees are assholes.  But *this* year, I'm not going to let the negative ones get to me.  I'm going to focus my attention and energy on the ones who appreciate it and who genuinely feel appreciated, because we DO appreciate our employees.   This year, I'm going to have fun!

Wednesday, You Wily Wascal!

I took a vacation day on Monday, so my week is all jacked up. It's Wednesday already? Wow!

One of the side effects of this No Whining Wednesday EXTRAVAGANZA is that it makes me truly appreciative of the little things in my life. All of the things I take for granted; reliable car, friends I can count on, a good paying job, multiple lip balm options, etc. tend to get lost in the day-to-day grind of life. But equally important, it has also illustrated the incredible generosity of spirit in others. I'd really like to highlight those of you who are giving back and doing good things. You guys are my inspirations and when I'm feeling sorry for myself or am too lazy to take the trash out (it's THREE flights of stairs, ok??? Get off my back!), I think about you and the selfless & generous things you're doing and I feel like a lazy, whiny asshole. So, *obviously* I try not to think of you guys too much...

OnTheVirg is currently participating in a SEVEN HUNDRED mile bike ride to raise money and awareness for Hemophilia. SEVEN HUNDRED MILES. On a bike. I've mentioned this before and I mention it again, because, a) It's 700 freakin' miles! b) On a bike! Nice work, Virg. You're seriously impressive and I wish you lots of luck and I hope your ass doesn't become permanently numb.

Speaking of bike riding - The Falldownasaurus (™ Nicole), TK will be doing a charity bike ride to support lung cancer research and awareness in October. Provided he doesn't break a leg (or arm or front tooth or hip or um, really anything...) before then, I salute him! As a former pack-a-day smoker, I worry about my lungs and whether I've doomed myself to a future of emphysema or lung cancer. I'm thankful that people like TK are raising money to fight and prevent such an ugly disease. If you'd like to support him and donate, please click here. Good luck, TK. You're a good man.

Another cancer warrior is the kind and adorable Girl with Curious Hair. Such a funny and sweet girl, she's out there kicking Lymphoma's and Leukemia's ASSES! She's running with Team in Training to raise money to get rid of that fucking asshole Leukemia and she's doing it in memory of Alabama Pink. You can read her own lovely words here and if you are able to, you can donate here. Good luck, Girl and keep us updated on your training.

I've come across a new blog, via Twitter, that just excites me and makes me happy to know that there are such wonderful, caring and motivated people out there. It's called "It Starts with Us" (it's on my blogroll as Change the World!) and it's all about individuals doing small things (15 minutes a week) to affect the lives of others. This is the post that hooked me and now I look forward to the weekly projects and announcements. Check it out if you have a few minutes. You may find that you have a smile plastered to your face when you're finished.

So, now I want to hear (hear/read, whatever) about who or what inspires you. Who do you admire? What or who makes you smile? Feel free to pimp your pet project in the comments or to post links to your favorite charity or a story that had a positive influence on you.

Happy Wednesday!

Waaahhhhh....

My word, this week has flown. FLOWN, I say! It's time for No Whining Wednesday again already.

I found myself looking forward to it today when I started getting a tidge cranky and picking at the little things. It's been a rough few weeks at work and if I let myself, I can easily wallow in the crapitude and negativity. I'm looking at Wednesdays as a palate cleanser, you know? A good time to stop. Take a deep breath. Reevaluate things. Refocus my energy.

I definitely plan to add to it after work on Wednesday and I really hope to be able to get even MORE positivity (is that a real word?) from your comments, but here's my good stuff for now.

* It's been in the low-to-mid 70's (I have no idea what that is in Celsius. I think I have to do math to figure it out and that's just not gonna' happen) with nice breezes for most of July. It's so wonderful to be able to sleep with the windows open and not sweat to death. PLUS, I'm not a Josie Grossie, from the nasty heat and humidity, by the time I get from the parking lot to my office every day.

* I got "Coraline" in the mail on Monday and I'm so going to watch it after work. This pleases me to no end!

* Speaking of movies, the lovely and talented Anna von Beaverplatz and I had a virtual movie date. We watched "Galaxy Quest" and chatted online during it and it was SO much fun! We're going to do it again soon and I think we've selected the fanfreakingtastically AWESOME "Fear" with Mark Wahlberg (who I secretly love and I don't even care. Suck it.) and Reese Witherspoon. Anyone who wants to join us is more than welcome! OOOH AND? I drank a Pepsi Throwback while we watched. First, I can't remember the last time I drank a non-diet soda and secondly, NO clue the last time I had one with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, but it wasn't bad. It's kind of spicy tasting, which I was unprepared for, but not unpleasant at all... Sorry, that was kind of tangenty, wasn't it? I'm SORRY. I've had quite a bit of caffeine and sugar this evening and my thoughts aren't exactly linear!!! I might be a tiny bit excitable. (!!!!)

* And finally - Thirteen is still annoying as hell, BUT she checks her notes before she asks me questions AND she is starting to actually take some initiative and has been *helpful* a few times. Progress!

Ok guys, your turn. What's the good stuff in your lives? Hell, I'll settle for things that are making you less stabby today...

Lainey Yap

Lagniappe
la·gniappe \ˈlan-ˌyap \

Etymology:
American French, from American Spanish la ñapa the lagniappe, from la + ñapa, yapa, from Quechua yapa something added

: a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase ; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure; a little something extra :


You guys are my lagniappe.

I started this thing as a distraction. When Michael and I ended our relationship, I didn't know what to do with all of my time. I started spending more time at Pajiba (It's true. Ask the IT guys at work. They can probably tell you exactly how much time I spend at the 'jiba) and eventually dipped my toe in to comment. I had been reading for a while and I trusted that TK, AlabamaPink and socalledonlycousins** wouldn't let anyone rip me up too badly. No one did and slowly, but surely, I got more comfortable posting there.

I started this here fancy blog thing and really didn't expect anyone to read it. I especially never expected anyone to read it with any regularity. It was mostly a place to spew my random babbling. It has become so much more.

I consider you guys my friends. I consider you guys my confidants. I consider you guys my support system.

You're my lagniappe. Thank you.

You're my good thing for No Whining Wednesdays!

I'd also like to highlight a good deed (and there are actually MANY I'd like to draw attention to and I hope to do this every week) from a guy who makes me laugh & also gets me to say, "awwww" from time to time. He doesn't post often enough *cough*, but I figure he's probably pretty busy with training and with running a small zoo out of his home. If you have a moment or two, check out his blog (which, when he updates it *cough* is very entertaining) and read about his bike ride of 700 miles in 7 days! Wait, read that again - SEVEN HUNDRED MILES on a bike! I can't ride 700 miles in a CAR without whining about it! He's riding to raise funds to help folks with hemophilia. 700 miles! On a bike! His blog is called "My Taste in Wine Leans Towards Vodka" and it won't kill you to go read a few words and hopefully donate a few bucks to a very worthy cause.

Ok, so what do you guys have going on? Big plans for No Whining Wednesday? Do you even care that tomorrow is Wednesday? I want to hear about the good things in your lives! Seriously, even if it's relatively minor or seemingly insignificant. If it made you stop for even a few seconds and think, "oh hey, that's a good thing", then my evil plan worked. I'm gonna' be looking forward to Wednesday for the first time since LOST went on hiatus...Oh LOST, I miss you so much...luscious manlocks, dirty, dimpled Sawyer... wait, what? Sorry, distracted by thoughts of shirtless, wet, snarky Sawyer... wait, what?

Where were we? Oh yeah, please share your small victories, happy thoughts, compliments, successes, or a moment of gratitude. Happy Wednesday!


** It was like 4 months before I figured out that Ted Boynton, The Boozehound and socalledonlycousins was the same person. I'm wicked smaht!

If You're Happy & You Know It...

Clap your hands - *clap* *clap*

Hey, kids! 'Sup? I've been away from the intertubes a lot this weekend because I appear to have some sort of stomach MONSTER that wants to destroy me. Every time I thought about posting a status update on the Facebook or Twitter, I really thought about it for a long time. I didn't want to be that girl. The one who only posts negative or whiny info. So, I got an idea while I was trying to come up with positive content.

I'd like to institute "No Whining Wednesdays"!

On Wednesdays, I'm going to try my best to only post positive status updates, blog posts & tweets. I'm going to make it a point to focus on the good things, rather than the bad, and recognize the good things in others.

My theory is that if you don't automatically post any and every complaint that pops into your head, you're forced to be optimistic. Yeah, I realize it sounds jacked up to have to force yourself to be upbeat, but sometimes, you gotta' fake it 'til you make it, you know? It's not like I invented that cliche.

In addition to the positive updates, I'm going to also try to post a blog entry praising or highlighting the good deeds or success stories of others.

I'm sure I sound like a total Pollyanna and I have no idea how long this will last, but I hope you guys will want to play, too! It would tickle my tiny toes to know that a bunch of us (all 7 of you who read the nonsense I spew) are paying equal attention to the great things in our lives.

So, who's in? I swear if you sumbitches leave me hanging... Um, I mean - this is going to be SO MUCH FUN, right?

Karma Isn't Always a Bitch

About 10 years ago, things were not going well for me. I got sick. I left my job. My boyfriend was married, but somehow forgot to mention that tiny detail to me. I was alone and depressed and feeling very sorry for myself. This sounds like a Country & Western song, but I promise it isn’t. I found a new job and things were turning around, but I wasn’t going to get my first paycheck for a while.

A friend loaned me $200. I told her I didn’t know when I could pay her back, but I would as soon as I was able to. She told me not to. She said that someday I would be in a position to help someone else out and I should give the money to him or her. This stuck with me for so long because it was just really, really, kind, but also because she didn’t have an extra $200 to give to me. She was living paycheck to paycheck and had recently been living in her car. I asked her how she could do this and she told me that when she needed it, someone helped her and asked her to do the same when she could.

There’s a non-profit organization that does stuff like this every day. Modest Needs helps people who need urgent assistance to make it until the next paycheck and before they get sucked into the cycle of the vile Cash and Go loan sharks or government assistance/dependence.

I’m posting this for two reasons. The first is that you may be in a position to help. If you’re looking for a charity organization that helps people who need unexpected, but basic things like to replace a dead car battery or glasses because they broke the pair they’ve been wearing for 10 years and don’t have any extra money in their budget to have them fixed. Or to help someone pay for the vet bill because their dog had a tumor which needed to be removed.

The second reason is that you may need help or know someone else who does. It’s a good place to start. Modest Needs won’t just give someone money, but will help with an unforeseen expense and will issue a check directly to the vendor. It won’t take away all their problems or make them rich, but it may help them sleep a bit better without worrying how they’re going to fix the broken water heater or pay that delinquent medical bill.

I urge you to check them out, particularly the “thank you” page.

www.modestneeds.org

I Scream, You Scream...

*Sometimes*, I love my job! I know I mostly just bitch about stuff, but yesterday was a good day.

As a surprise and for no particular reason other than we had extra money in the budget, I arranged for The Ice Cream Man to come to our office. It was really fun watching groups of 50 to 75 un-enthused adults shuffle out of the building, looking tired, slightly annoyed, wondering why the crap they are being dragged outside and then seeing their faces break into smiles as they heard the familiar “Pop Goes the Weasel” song. Grown men and women perking up considerably as they try to decide which ice cream treat they’re going to choose. First they were shy and reserved, politely queuing and then eventually they were giggling and animated, pointing at the pictures on the side of the truck and bobbing their heads to see over the people in front of them. Earnestly weighing their decisions about what to pick. Smiling as they tore open their Bombpop or Screwball (NOW with TWO gumballs!) or Drumstick or my old favorite, the Strawberry Shortcake Colonel Crunch. A couple people asked why we were doing this and it was kind of cool to be able to say, “no reason, just thought it would be a nice break” and them nodding, smiling and saying a simple “thanks”.

I realize this isn’t particularly well written or even very amusing, but it was refreshing to be able to say that I had a good day. They’re fewer and further between than I would like, so I’m choosing to focus on them as they come.

That is all. Enjoy your weekend!