On painting, and randon acts of kindness.

This week has been crazy for me. 

In addition to having some long days and late nights, I had a few random mishaps and acts of kindness happen. 

Yesterday, when I was about half a mile from my destination, I got a friggin speeding ticket. I was going 18 over. 

FUUUUUUUUU....... But the cop was nice enough to overlook that, and give me a ticket for going 10 over instead. That saved me about $100. PHEW.

In spite of the major inconvenience on my pocketbook (and driving record), I remained optimistic heading into my day of painting. To my surprise, my little brother dropped in on me unannounced, and not only provided another day of great conversation, but he had some great input for the mural. 

He is untrained in the arts, so his natural ability to come up with design solutions made me so proud and happy. 

(That creative gene runs in the family, one day I'll show off the family jems.)

I got home last night and the Internet was out. No biggie, I was exhausted and past out on the couch. 

This morning, still no internet. 

The internet holds a world of education for me; Rotoscoping tutorials GALORE! 

So I was pretty stressed out about not being able to utilize my day as planned. I obsessively called the provider until the they agreed to send someone over. 

They sent over a nice guy named Scott--Of course, by the time he showed up, I was knee deep in tears. 

The long distance relationship and the possibility of missing a Skype date with R, was really getting to me.

I explained my frustration to Scott in between apologies for answering the door so upset. 

Part of my frustration was not having gas in my car to drive to starbucks for internet-- I drove to Orlando A LOT this week, so my starving artist budget is a little slim until payday.

As he walked out the door, he handed me a Ten and said: "Hey, some gas on me"

I insisted he keep his money, but he insisted I take it. Since I am a lady, I went ahead and graciously took the money and told him I'd pay it forward and thanked him for his generosity.

The key to receiving random acts of kindness is paying them forward. 

When I lived in Chicago, I had a lot of bad days. I dating a guy that didn't like me that much, a job I didn't like and the lack of vitamin D made me rather weepy. 

One day I was taking a smoke break (I quit okay!), and I was balling my eyes out between puffs because a customer had just berated me in front of the entire mall. 

A homeless man named William came up to me and said: 

"I don't have much to give you, but I can offer you a hug and another cigarette"

I took him up on his offer, and we were friends the remainder of my time in Chicago. 

Fun Story: My final weeks in Chicago, I spent a lot of time trying to find William so I could say good bye and thank you for being a good friend-- My work location changed so I didn't see him as often. I looked for him every day for 7 weeks with no luck. 

My last day in Chicago, I decided to take a different route home from work, and there he was, standing at the corner of State and Madison. We embraced each other for a solid 10 minutes. I was dressed to the T, and he was wearing the same jacket he wore every day-- it would have been a beautiful picture. To this day, that moment is one of my top 10 of all time.

I always think about William when I have a bad day, and I catch myself wishing for that moment in time again; His act of kindness was so simple, yet so perfect. A hug, a cigarette and a beautiful memory. 

I'll keep that forever.

So today when Scott wanted to help a sister out with some gas, I was moved to tears and grateful. 

His company will be getting a call tomorrow with many compliments.

I make a point to always talk to someone who looks like they are having a bad day, pay tolls for the person behind me (when I can), smile back at strangers, thank the clerks at walmart, and tip a little extra for great service- I don't have a lot to give, but I try to give what I can, when I can. 

_______________________________________________

The mural I have been working on this week looks great. I am waiting for the client to give me the thumbs up, and then I will reveal the final product. 

I hope everyone had a great and positive week.

xo, r