Smile & Move

An email arrived today with a link that said "Smile and Move" video, so I clicked on it. A very pleasant surprise popped up.



The website says that "Smile & Move gives you a simple (and fun) way to remind yourself and others of the core fundamentals that lead to better work, better relationships, and better results -- a message that reinforces what we know we need to do."

So I printed two of the posters and hung them in my cubicle at work. The first poster is "Smile, be Happy". It has five points:

Wake up.
Show others you care by giving attention to their needs.
Be thankful.
The opportunity to serve is a gift... not an entitlement.
Be approachable.
We're at each other's service, and contact is where it starts.
Complain less.
We've got work to do.
Smile. Really.
It's where pleasantness begins.


The second poster is "Move, do Something". It has four points:

Start early & go long.
Get lost in your service to others.
Exceed expectations.
Dismiss mediocrity. Expect more from yourself.
Have a sense of urgency.
Predict and pre-sweat the details for others.
Be resourceful & resilient.
Service is about giving someone what they need... no matter what.

The reaction around the office was immediate. They saw the word move and leapt to a conclusion.

"You're leaving?"

I should've known. After all, no one really reads posted signs in the Evil Corporation. That's why signs like "Flush twice. it's a long way to the cafeteria" are merely ironic statements of fact, and others like "Real Men flush" have already missed the mark (pun intended).

Since no one in my immediate office reads this blog, I'll tell you that I have been looking for another job. It's true. It's just not the reason I hung up the "smile and move" posters. It's OK by me if they think I'm off interviewing when I leave work because it means they won't be asking me questions about signing up for a dance lessons. Yep, you heard that right. It's real dancing -and not the kind I normally do to mock Republicans. I hope the instructors have steel-toed shoes coz they're gonna need 'em :-)

Wishcast Wednesday

Jamie asks "What do you wish to remember?" When times get difficult, I wish to remember that Hope still exists and blooms even in the toughest places. I went for a walk and let off some stress. Along the way, I found this little wild flower blooming in the oddest of places today. I am thankful for this little swatch of color.



I am also thankful for my friend Bindi's very kind words today.

Thank You

Thank all you very much for your support and encouragement. It has meant so very much to me this last month. I appreciate it more than I can ever say.

Miss Sunshine and I have split. She's doing fine. We still talk, but what we had is over. I'm doing well also, but still trying to sort through everything. I know that Time moves on and heals all wounds. I have to borrow pieces of two poems to say what I can't.

Time is engraved on the pale green faces
Of the floating lotus leaves.
Our hearts are a sea, a lake,
Finally a little pond, where
Spider webs interlock over the round leaves,
and below them our longing
Is only a single drop of dew.

Sometimes, suddenly the old story overcomes us.
Time triumphs then,
And lets down its hair --
Shadowy black,
trailing like a willow.

The old melancholy
Comes from the land of longing.
The colors of the sunset thicken.
The shadows grow fast on the water.
The memories of long love
gather like drifting snow,
poignant as the mandarin ducks
that float side by side in sleep.


If Life were fair, we wouldn't lose the love of our life and our best friend at the same time. But, there are somethings that just are the way they are. I promised Sunshine that I would love her as long as she would let me. And I did. I also promised her that I would still love her after that, but wouldn't tell her. So, now it's time to honor that promise too.

Skeeter

PS. To the girl who made a special point to leave her phone number on my desk at work this afternoon. I know you read this blog. I appreciate your trying to cheer me up, but please! For the love of God, the hole in my chest where my heart used to be really does need to heal and close enough so that the wind doesn't whistle through me when I walk. After a few months or so, when I've had time to hit the bottom of this and make what Christopher Sherwell of the Financial Times named "the Dead Cat Bounce", I'll be happy to talk to you about you, your sister, your cousin or even your evil twin.

Dance Me Again

I love you, Sunshine.



I miss you.