Song of the Day: Not Now But Soon

Watch "Imogen Heap - Not Now But Soon (With Lyrics)" on YouTube

CTS - Choosing to Smile

There's something to be said about those select individuals who choose to be happy.

You see them all the time:

The woman who always waves to you as you walk into work.

The guy that allows you to cut in front of him in the grocery line even though he has less items to scan.

The countless people that hold the door for you or "bless you" when you sneeze.

Today, I salute you and your longstanding fight against unhappiness.

Too often we let ourselves live in a world of checklists and routines, saying "These are the things that need to get done today," and everything else we push to the side thinking we will get to them eventually. But then life comes by unannounced and makes us add even more to our list and our "eventuals" become "nevers" because we can't make the time or effort to let them occur, causing disappointment and sadness.

I think we need to be more like our aforementioned friends and crusade against those natural feelings. They say happiness is a choice. So I challenge you to a day of CTS (Choosing to Smile)!

Think about it: If one smile can change your mood, what can it do to others? If you smiled to 3 people and they smiled to 3 people, who's to say we can't start a chain reaction of happiness that spans worldwide?

So be the spark that lights the fire! Choose to smile! :)

An Apology is In Order

So it's officially been over 2 weeks since my last post...

In my defense: My birthday photos keep crashing the Blogger app I use for my blog, so that has frustrated me to no end. And this past weekend I was in the wedding party for my older sister and, as you know, weddings bring out the stress in people.

So please take my most humble of apologies and forgive me of my absence. Hopefully I can make posts more regularly from now on.

PS. I have postponed my 22 Acts of Service Recap post for the time being. It will happen eventually; not now, but soon.

Almost Done Everyone!

My extreme blogging will commence at midnight but until then I can't seem to upload any of my pics on here :(
If you are friends with me on Facebook you can see my actions so far but until then please be patient with me as I try to sort it out.

Song of the Day: It's Time

Watch "Imagine Dragons - It's Time" on YouTube

Game Day Everybody!

It's almost 5am and my right arm is pulsing with caffeine and pain from writing my address a bajillion times but I am ready for today.

It's time.

Pre-Game Thoughts: Why a Day of Service?

Ladies and gentlemen, we are so close I can taste it. :)

But in all seriousness I am a bundle of nerves today. I've got about 3 more cards to finish, some bird feeders to create, and finish the final touches on my artpiece. (Who knew melting crayons would be so fun?)

But as my birthday comes closer I can't help but wonder to myself: why am I doing this? And the more I've pondered about it the more I've realized the reason.

-cue the violins-

My mother is possibly the most blessed women in the world, and not because she has me as a son.

In the early fall of 2011, my mother was admitted to Winchester Medical Center due to complications with her breathing/oxygenation. She was put under almost immediately upon arrival  and spent 5 days on a ventilator and another 10 days staying in the ICU.

After 17 total days in the hospital she returned home, spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with our family.

On New Years Eve she was admitted again and spent 19 days in the hospital.

(You see where this is going, right?)

So when my birthday came around a month later, the last thing on anyone's mind was celebrating.

You would think that after enduring that I would be more grateful for my mother and care less about my birthday, but sadly that was not the case.

I distinctly remember being really angry and hateful. This was MY birthday after all. Why couldn't it be normal?

Its amazing how much we can grow up in a year.

So, this year I figured I would do penitent service to offset my terrible mood last year.

Is that a good enough reason?

Quick Service Update!

Thought I'd share some of my progress with you all so far. 2/5 of the handmade cards are complete and I have one work of art done as well. Moving along quite nicely if I do say so myself. One week left till my birthday. Will I make it?

The Official "22 Acts of Service" List

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Here is the official list:

1. Leave quarters at a laundromat - For the first year I lived in Winchester I had to depend on the laundromat to get my clothes clean. And you can easily drop about $15 - 20 to finish every load. So just a few dollars in quarters taped to a machine can help offset some of that burden.
2. Donate used books to a library - I actually have a stack of books on the corner of my room that have only been read once and will probably never be opened again. So this way I can give them a chance at being read more than once.
3. Pay the tab for someone behind me - A lot of the sites I looked at for ideas had this one. And how awesome would it be to pull up to the cashier in a McDonalds drive-thru and be told that your meal was covered?
4. Feed parking meters - The Parking Authority in Winchester is notorious for giving tickets due to "hungry" meters so I figured another little bag of coins to be spread out throughout the day would be a fun idea.
5. Leave pennies on a playground/anywhere for children/adults to find - As a child, finding a penny was the equivalent to being a millionaire! So I'm gonna spread some of that wealth around as well. And you know what they say: "Find a penny, pick it up / And all day long you'll have good luck"
6. Donate to a local food pantry - This one is a service classic but what are the classics for if they aren't enjoyed once in a while?
7. Write a thank-you letter to someone who inspires you - A letter may be heading your way!
8. Return shopping carts from the parking lot to the cart corral - This is actually a pet peeve of mine. Nothing worse then a cart left 3 feet from the corral or a couple yards from the entrance.
9. Send flowers anonymously to someone in the hospital - Another given, but I thought it would be really sweet. Especially if they haven't received visitors for a while.
10. Compose a poem for someone and share it with them - I'll actually be randomly choosing one of my Facebook friends to be the recipient of said poem.
11. Make a bird feeder to be hung in the park - Relatively easy project that I thought would add a lot of character to the local park.
12. Bring in a special treat for my co-workers - Though I have scheduled to have February 11th off, I will be working that morning because I work night shift that month. So to my co-workers reading this -- You have also been warned!
13. Draw/Paint/Color a picture for someone - Another randomly chosen Facebook friend will receive a art piece signed my moi.
14. Tweet 5 individuals who are having a #badday and send them a "hope your day gets better" message - I actually took this idea from UK YouTube-Star Carrie Hope Fletcher (itswaypastmybedtime).
15. Hide $10 in the dollar store - I just like the idea of someone stumbling upon money in the dollar store!
16. Leave change for the vending machine - Another typical service idea but worth having on here anyway.
17. Make/Send handmade cards - I actually have people in mind for this one but either way it will be fun to hear from them anyway.
18. Leave a gift for the Mail Carrier - Even the heroes of all things postal deserve a treat once in a while!
19. Hand out gum to strangers - I saw a picture someone posted of them randomly taping packs of gum to people's cars so I thought it would be a cool thing to also reciprocate.
20. Visit a graveyard - I like the symbolism of this more than anything. Looking back at the past while striving towards the future. Maybe I'll bring some flowers as well.
21. Call up someone you haven't talked to in a while - I'm going to attempt to reconnect with an old friend. Will keep you posted on that!
22. Post pictures and blog about it - Yes folks, there will be pictures and documentation of all 21 aforementioned service projects to be posted at the end of the day.

So do you guys think I can complete all of these in 24 hours? Leave your comments below. And, last but not least, have a great day!