Day Thirteen: Going Above and Beyond

So, I’ve mentioned it once or twice on this blog (and I’m positive that if you know me in real life I’ve mentioned this in conversation several times) but on the 9^th, my birthday, I got promoted from hostess to waitress at the restaurant I work at.

Now, I’m a very good hostess.  (I’ve been a hostess for about a year and a half- I should hope I have my job down by now!)  In fact, I’m so good at my job my manager was pretty hesitant about promoting me.  I’m the best at running the front, seating people and directing my bussers where to go next.  (There is a science dedicated to seating people in a restaurant, I swear.  Only people who have worked as a restaurant greeter for an extended period of time will get where I’m coming from when I say that.)

Anyway, I’m a server (currently in training), but I still play the role of a greeter when they need me.  (Which, might I add, is awesome.  It makes me feel needed and valuable!)  Today was one of those days that they needed me to be a greeter.

It started off as a normal, steady day.  I came in at noon and we had a good three hours.  Then, just as we cut most of our servers to go home for the day while we waited for the nighttime crew to come in, a HUGE rush of people came in.

If you aren’t aware, a greeter’s main duties are as follows: seat people at tables when they arrive and bus the tables when the people leave.That’s it.But today, I went above and beyond my job description.

When the rush came in, my coworker and I took on thirteen tables together.

THIRTEEN!

Just to put this into feasible terms, we have thirty one tables in our whole restaurant.  That means the two of us handled 41% of the restaurant.  And, not to be conceded here, but we rocked it.  Totally and completely rocked it.

Remember what I said my duties as a hostess where?  Well today I added getting drink orders, making salads, putting in orders, tracking down dishes, giving out bread and peanuts…all with a great big smile.

YES.

Today was crazy!

And it doesn’t end there.  When that rush of people left, it was probably 5 o’clock.  When 6 o’clock hit ANOTHER huge rush came in.  Only this time, I had many more servers and my fellow greeters to help me out. 

I stayed up front taking reservations, answering phone calls, talking to servers about their tables, and telling my co-worker what I needed done for another three hours.  And boy!  Was it fun!

I left today with nine hours of work completed, instead of the set eight hours I thought I was going to complete.  It felt great! I put my entire heart into doing a good job, when I could’ve so easily said, “Nah.  That’s not MY job.”

This is my positive act for the day because it made me realize that my positive attitude is what helps make things work. 

Just IMAGINE what this world would be like if everyone, ever day experienced such a positive mentality!

Go above and beyond what you are called to do.  And do it with a smile.

J

Day Twelve: Team Clean-Up!

Aren’t Friday night football games the best part about the beginning of the school year?  I think so!  The food, the fun, the fans…But have you ever stayed after the light went out?

Today, for my positive act, I cleaned up the bleachers.  And boy!  Where they bad!  I even got my friend to help me.  And I’m so glad I did.  It was such a big job for just one person!

We started at half time, picking up little things here and there.  Then, we scanned the bleachers for anything we missed when the fourth quarter ended.  After running to the other side of the field, my friend and I picked up our opponent’s side too.  Which, I would like to add, wasn’t that bad!  The fans were very respectful of our field.

Thinking we were done, my friend and I started walking to the parking lot, when we realized that the SIDES of the football field were disastrous too! We spend awhile cleaning both of those up.

And just when we thought all of our work was done, I saw the opposing team’s water bottles still on the football field.  I grabbed it and my friend and I ran to the buses to catch the team before they left.

They had just started to move when I yelled, “FOOTBALL PLAYERS!”  I thought, at first, that the bus didn’t notice.  But all of a sudden, they stopped and I gave them back their water bottles with a smile and a “good game!”

Today’s positive act really made me feel good!

Today’s question of the day:

What could YOU do to help your community?

And a bonus question of the day…

What OTHER acts of kindness and positivity could I do to help my local and/or world community?

Day Eleven: Puppy Love!

Name: Neo

Gender: Male

My nickname for him: Buhbuh!

Breed: Boxer Lab

Age: 10

Adopted from the Humane Society at 4 months old

Name: Brody

Gender: Male

My nickname for him: Bro-bro!

Breed: Boxer

Age: 11

Adopted...mostly from the Humane Society (the way we got Brody is an interesting tale for another day) at one year old. 

 

I LOVE my dogs.  They cuddle up nice and close to me when I’m trying to sleep, find my bras and run around the house with them like they are squeaky toys, and lick my tears away when I’m sad.  And what’s really sad is that when I’m gone for extended periods of time, I don’t really miss “home”- I miss my puppies. 

I don’t think my life would be the same without my dogs. 

But sometimes, life gets in the way from me showing them how much I care about them.  A school assignment takes priority over playing fetch with them, or I have to go to work instead of going for a long walk with them. 

So today, I made an effort to put all that extra stuff aside and play with them.

I know, it doesn’t sound like much.  What’s the big deal about throwing a ball a few times?  But think!  Pets are part of our family.  Doesn’t that automatically mean that they are part of our community too?  And it’s in a dog’s blood to run around and play!  It's what makes THEM happy!  THAT'S what this project is about- benefiting the community, making people (or family members of another species!) happy!

The best part about playing with Brody and Neo is that not only were THEY happy, I was too.  It made me feel good, seeing them romp around.  And you need to realize that pets are incredible creatures that protect you and love you no matter what- but they aren’t going to be around forever.

We need to love them while we have them.

 

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms." -George Eliot

Day Ten: Reading Matters!

In health class, we’ve talked about reading to kids when they are young.  Reading to a kid encourages them to read.  And when a child is excited to read, they read more.  This leads to a higher aptitude for learning- not just in reading, but overall.  It also teaches a child good communication and thinking skills and improved concentration.

My favorite childhood memories involve good books.

So today for my positive act, I read to my FCCLA advisor’s child.  And it was fun!  Which doesn’t surprise me- my all time favorite time of the day is when I get to read with the fifth graders for mentoring!  It makes sense that reading picture books that rhyme also make me happy.

I hope that the kids I’ve read with develop a passion for reading.  Most importantly, I hope that the kids I’ve read with learn that they need to make time to read.  In high school it seems like I barely have time to sleep let alone sit down and retain 500 pages of a novel.  Which is really upsetting- I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish an amazing read.

Reading to your child, niece, younger cousin, boyfriend’s younger sister, WHOEVER…makes that person feel loved and cared for.  So, I ask you:

Who will YOU read to today?

Day Nine: The Free Rice Vocabulary Game

Today, I played a vocabulary game for 925 million undernourished people.

One in seven people in this world do not get enough food to be healthy.  In fact, hunger and malnutrition are the number one risks to health around the globe, surpassing AIDs, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

When I read that fact, I was shocked!  Here I am, healthy and active, worrying about all the homework I have to get done by tomorrow, while others on this earth are worried about getting their next meal.  That’s just surreal to me.

I was ecstatic when I heard about www.freerice.com.  Freerice is a website that donates 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme for every question you get right in a vocabulary game.  In a vocabulary game?  What?

Yes.   The mission of freerice is to educate and feed as many people as possible.  By playing a vocabulary game (There are other subjects to play too, like math, science, and foreign languages, at all different levels.) you are learning.  In fact, they have a list of benefits on their website.

This website helps you:

•  “Better formulate your ideas.
• Write more effective papers, emails, and business letters.
• Speak more precisely and persuasively.
• Comprehend more of what you read.
• Read faster because your comprehension improves.
• Get higher grades in high school, college and graduate school.
• Increase your scores on tests like the SAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT.
• Improve your performance at job interviews and conferences.
• Sell yourself, your services, and your products more effectively.
• Be more successful in your job.”

To get started, just go to www.freerice.com and start clicking!  The game is right there for you on the homepage.  You don’t even have to have an account!  Although if you want one, you can create one. 

 

My mom and I donated 1,310 grains of rice. 

How many can YOU raise?

Day Eight: No Text on Board

So, I’m a pretty good driver if I do say so myself.  I’ve never got into a car accident and I’ve never been pulled over (except for that one time I got pulled over because I didn’t have a license plate light.  And still.  I only got a warning.)

However, I am guilty of two things…

For one, I speed.  Not excessively- just five miles over the limit.  But those limits are set for a reason- to protect people’s safety.  And two, I text while driving sometimes.

It was just put into effect that texting while driving is illegal in a few cities around me.  And I’m kind of glad.  It will make me thing twice when I want to pick up my phone when I’m behind the wheel.  And if a ticket isn’t enough to keep you from texting while driving:

Three Facts that will Make You Think Twice about Texting and Driving

1. Texting while driving results in longer response time then driving drunk.

2. While looking at your phone for five seconds on a typical highway, you can cover more area than the length of a football field. 

3. An accident can happen in two to three seconds while texting.

Today, my positive act is driving safely.  Making sure that I keep putting my seatbelt on and pledging to stop texting and driving.  I even promise to leave early, so I don’t have to speed!

I took the pledge, and so can you.

www.itcanwait.org

and

 http://www.causes.com/causes/639835-connect-for-good/actions/1475122?sf6119825=1

And the best part?

 For each pledge not to text and drive, AT&T will give NOYS, the National Organization for Youth Safety, $2 to help keep our roads safe (up to $50,000).

Day Seven: Goin’ Gold (Childhood Cancer Awareness)

Facts of the Day (Found on curesearch.org):

 

•Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer.

•Children's cancer affects all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups.

•The average age of children diagnosed is six.

•More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.

So I’m just going to throw this out in the open- I like make-up.  I don’t wear make-up daily, but I commit a lot my time to researching and playing with it.  And most of my research is done on YouTube.  In fact, out of my 24 subscriptions on YouTube, 15 of them are beauty channels.

One of my all-time favorite beauty gurus is emilynoel83.  She’s funny, smart, well-spoken, honest…I could go on and on about her.  But my favorite thing about Emily is that she knows that it’s what’s inside that counts.  And when I saw one of her latest videos, I got very excited.

Emily’s video is titled “Goin' Gold Makeup Tutorial (Childhood Cancer Awareness)” and in this, she talks about a mother who recently found out that her little boy had leukemia.  This mother reached out to Emily for a YouTube Campaign called “Goin’ Gold.”

This campaign’s goal is to make the gold cancer ribbon as popular as the pink ribbon for breast cancer.   With popularity will come more funding. And more funding means that more research can be made.  And that research can be used to find a cure for childhood cancer.

 

Emily made a YouTube tutorial using gold colors.  I thought this was a wonderful idea- using gifts and talents you have for a cause.  So, I decided to put my make-up skills to good use.

 

I get a lot of compliments when I do my make-up.  So, today, whenever someone commented on my make-up, I told them about childhood cancer and what they could do to help.  In fact, I want to do this look all month; September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month!

Will you help this cause? Spread the word!

“Children get cancer too.”

Emily’s video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3q5vxkh_cg&feature=g-u-u

To spread the word on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.517900114892161.136807.501363799879126&type=3#!/pages/Goin-Gold-September-is-Childhood-Cancer-Awareness-Month/501363799879126

To learn more/donate: http://www.curesearch.org/

YouTube Campaign: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoinGoldCampaign/videos?flow=grid&view=15