Today at 11:12 am: The fat man stares at me quizzically. He wipes the beads of sweat from his puffy red face from running around the kitchen. This is the first time I've seen him stop. In his mind, I see him debating whether to take my credit card and help me pay for my meal. He runs off to the back, and I'm stuck staring hopelessly at my quarter white-meat chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn as it cools down. I just hope it isn't too cold when I get home.

Finally the manager gets off the phone and takes my credit card. As I'm paying for my meal, the fat man runs back in yelling, "WHERE IS THE CHICKEN?" For some reason, this amuses me greatly. I nearly catch myself laughing out loud. My face is frozen in a half laugh/smile. He notices this. The fat man stares at me quizzically.

. . .

One of the best pick-me-ups for any day are random acts of kindness. Getting up out of your seat to open the door for an elderly couple. Holding the door open for people and getting that genuine "thank you." What really sucks is the lack of acknowledgement from a random act of kindness.

I was sitting at an intersection this morning after I dropped off my sister at school. For some reason, the light wasn't triggering; the person who was walking across the street noticed this. After he crossed the street, he hit the crosswalk button so he could trigger my light. He looked back at me and grinned and waved as the light turned green. I flashed a smile and gave him a thumbs-up. And you know what? That smile stuck with me the rest of the drive.