Finding Something to Smile About
I had trouble sleeping again last night. This cough is gonna kill me. Bleh. Rolled out of bed at noon. If I don't find a regular sleeping pattern soon I'm going to be operating on Tokyo time...
Decided I would commit to some action and get my day started by actually getting out of bed. I had a shower, shaved (my hair was starting to get long and unruly), ate a banana and headed to Timmy's for my morning... er, afternoon coffee. I decided I could do the donut today and brought my winning cup with me. As I was standing in line I saw a new face behind the counter. A young kid. He was being bossed around by some older lady who was really giving the gears to him. Kinda felt sorry for him. You could se it in his face that he was thinking, "bitch..." Every little thing she was pointing and sniping at him. Get the coffee, ring that order in, close the cash drawer. She was really nagging him hard. I got up to the counter, asked for my large double double and plopped my free donut cup on the counter. "I think I got a free donut coming to me," I said with a grin. He sauntered back got me my coffee and came back to the counter with it. "I'm gonna unload some change on you if you don't mind," I said.
He sorta looked blankly at me and I realized he thought my freebie was the coffee. I smiled at him and said, "I think my winner was for a donut." He picked up the rim which he had torn off and his eyebrows went up as he said, "Oooooooh. So it is..."
I asked for a Boston Creme which he diligently got for me and as I started pushing the change on the counter towards me he snuck a look over his shoulder, grinned widely and whispered, "don't worry about it, man."
I grinned back, thanked him and pocket my change. Score! Free coffee and donut. The best part was, the kid had a look on his face like he just got away with the biggest heist ever. I think he was just happy to be able to think to himself how pissed that lady would have been if she had found out what he had done. Brilliant way to start the day.
I had been eating like crap the last little while so I decided i would make salad for dinner. Some taco beef salad... or a reasonable facsimile there within. The one problem with having a temporary space with an undetermined timeline is that you can't really stock up on anything. If I suddenly have to move tomorrow I don't want to have to haul a bunch of food so I've been trying to shop in small amounts. So far, it's worked out alright but I'm looking forward to landing something full time so I can set down some roots somewhere. I picked up a few items along with some Buckley's™ (ack blech ack)that didn't have any DM in it and headed back to the house. On the way I stopped to take a photo of the Daily Special sign at the Greek restaurant. It said, "Parking at Rear." That sure is a funny daily special.
I spent the rest of the day trying to get some paperwork done. I'd fallen a little behind so it was time I caught up. The Buckley's seemed to help as it soothed my throat for most of the afternoon. Tasted like all hell though. Gag... All in all, a pretty productive evening. I got my government paperwork done for the rest of the month, had a decent salad for diner and got a whole lot of dishes done. I found a cutting board and a tray full of utensils on top of the cupboards over the weekend. Lara and Dan had thought they had been stolen. They looked pretty gross so I decided to give them a good scrubbing.
It was also nice to see Eugene's memorial page now had 250 members. I expect there will be more as word filters out across the alumnus. The graduating class has also decided to dedicate this year's Teacher Appreciation to Eugene. That's pretty cool of them.
As I do this blog I've decide I should try and roll up Project 365 into this as well. It make sense. SO going forward i will try and include at least one photo and my reasons to smile and something I've learned segments at the end of each post. So, without further ado:
Reason to smile today: The Timmy Ho's heist. That look on that kid's face was just priceless.
Something I learned today: As teachers and mentors we have a truly profound impact on people's lives. I realize that now both as someone who was once Eugene's pupil and grasping how much he has influenced the way I work and think as well as from the perspective of the other side and the kind words I hear from my kids not only towards Eugene but also to me as some of them come to terms with not having been able to say, "Thank you Eugene for everything you've done."
I had trouble sleeping again last night. This cough is gonna kill me. Bleh. Rolled out of bed at noon. If I don't find a regular sleeping pattern soon I'm going to be operating on Tokyo time...
Decided I would commit to some action and get my day started by actually getting out of bed. I had a shower, shaved (my hair was starting to get long and unruly), ate a banana and headed to Timmy's for my morning... er, afternoon coffee. I decided I could do the donut today and brought my winning cup with me. As I was standing in line I saw a new face behind the counter. A young kid. He was being bossed around by some older lady who was really giving the gears to him. Kinda felt sorry for him. You could se it in his face that he was thinking, "bitch..." Every little thing she was pointing and sniping at him. Get the coffee, ring that order in, close the cash drawer. She was really nagging him hard. I got up to the counter, asked for my large double double and plopped my free donut cup on the counter. "I think I got a free donut coming to me," I said with a grin. He sauntered back got me my coffee and came back to the counter with it. "I'm gonna unload some change on you if you don't mind," I said.
He sorta looked blankly at me and I realized he thought my freebie was the coffee. I smiled at him and said, "I think my winner was for a donut." He picked up the rim which he had torn off and his eyebrows went up as he said, "Oooooooh. So it is..."
I asked for a Boston Creme which he diligently got for me and as I started pushing the change on the counter towards me he snuck a look over his shoulder, grinned widely and whispered, "don't worry about it, man."
I grinned back, thanked him and pocket my change. Score! Free coffee and donut. The best part was, the kid had a look on his face like he just got away with the biggest heist ever. I think he was just happy to be able to think to himself how pissed that lady would have been if she had found out what he had done. Brilliant way to start the day.
I spent the rest of the day trying to get some paperwork done. I'd fallen a little behind so it was time I caught up. The Buckley's seemed to help as it soothed my throat for most of the afternoon. Tasted like all hell though. Gag... All in all, a pretty productive evening. I got my government paperwork done for the rest of the month, had a decent salad for diner and got a whole lot of dishes done. I found a cutting board and a tray full of utensils on top of the cupboards over the weekend. Lara and Dan had thought they had been stolen. They looked pretty gross so I decided to give them a good scrubbing.
It was also nice to see Eugene's memorial page now had 250 members. I expect there will be more as word filters out across the alumnus. The graduating class has also decided to dedicate this year's Teacher Appreciation to Eugene. That's pretty cool of them.
As I do this blog I've decide I should try and roll up Project 365 into this as well. It make sense. SO going forward i will try and include at least one photo and my reasons to smile and something I've learned segments at the end of each post. So, without further ado:
Reason to smile today: The Timmy Ho's heist. That look on that kid's face was just priceless.
Something I learned today: As teachers and mentors we have a truly profound impact on people's lives. I realize that now both as someone who was once Eugene's pupil and grasping how much he has influenced the way I work and think as well as from the perspective of the other side and the kind words I hear from my kids not only towards Eugene but also to me as some of them come to terms with not having been able to say, "Thank you Eugene for everything you've done."
Buckley's: "Tastes awful, but it works". Feel better buddy!
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