NICE Campaign: Charter for Compassion

I received an email from Brandi last week with a link to this wonderful campaign called Charter for Compassion, which was officially unveiled November 12, 2009.

Here is a video of a reading of the charter:

I particularly like this quote:
"We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world."

I encourage you to affirm the Charter for Compassion online as 16,555 others have (at the time I wrote this post). You can also Share the Charter's Message and Act with Compassion by sharing and reading stories on their site.

NICE Assignment: Compliment a Stranger

Hi everyone! How have you guys been lately! I know I haven't been around much, but I'm hoping to change that. I have so many emails from all of you with new things to post, and I just haven't made the time to do it. But I hope you know that you all (and this blog) are super important to me! :) I can feel a change in myself when I'm posting regularly. I feel happier and less cranky. So that alone should be incentive enough to do it, right? Right!

Many of you know that I have trouble talking to strangers. Starting conversations with people I don't know gives me anxiety, even if it's to help them out or do something kind. It's a wall I've been trying to get over for a while now. And I can tell that I've been progressing.

Yesterday morning while waiting for my warm morning beverage at Starbucks, a fashionable girl walked in and as she passed she said, "Oooh, I love your boots!" This absolutely made my day because I had just bought the boots last Friday. And isn't that the best? When you buy something new and you get a compliment right away? It made me feel like my decision to buy them was completely justified. Anyway, we chatted a little bit about where I got them and shopping options in the city. It was a delightful conversation with someone I had never met before!

Today's Assignment: Compliment a Stranger

Sure, it's easy to compliment a coworker or a family member or a friend. Going out of your way to compliment a stranger? Not quite as easy! (At least for me.) So I'm encouraging all of you, and myself, to go out there this week and find a stranger to compliment. I guarantee you will make their day! How many times have you walked down the street and though, "I love that girl's bag," or "What a great haircut," or "She has great style." And how many times have you shared that with the person? Just try it! Once! And I'd love to hear the reaction you got in the comments section of this post.

I know so many of you email me saying how much you love the concept of this blog, but it's up to you to take that concept and incorporate it into your everyday life. I hope that you'll start with this assignment! I'm going to overcome whatever social anxiety I might have in my gut and give it a shot myself. I promise!

Have a spectacular day!

RAOKA: Kindness

I'm back! I had an incredible time in Arizona with my fabulous friends. I think someone needs to invent a teleportation machine so I can see them more often than once or twice a year. Get workin' on that, wouldja??

Unfortunately, I brought something back with me aside from great memories. A cold. I've been coughing like crazy and struggling to make it through the days. And since it's tough to take days off after coming back from vacation, I'm attempting to be a trooper, while not breathing near anybody. But I've been neglecting you all far too often lately!

So, I hadn't gotten around to my RAOKA post for the month. I apologize, it won't be as insightful, well-written, or detailed as my fellow RAOKA members. So I urge you to check out their wonderful blog posts about their months of Kicking Arse.

RAOKA Posts from the Team:
Lance from Jungle of Life
Lori from Jane Be Nimble
Dani from Positively Present
Brandi from Joy Rebel
Sami from Life, Laughs & Lemmings

Results
So I mentioned that I wanted to make a list of ten good deeds. I didn't actually write out a list, but I had certain things in my head that I wanted to do this month to push myself to be kinder. I'll just mention a few here to give you an idea. I sort of feel weird about sharing things I've done. I hope I don't sound like I'm patting myself on the back! Not my intention!

Anyway, the internet is an amazing place, right? I have "met" so many people that I feel like I know, even though we've only exchanged emails here and there. Well, one of my internet friends was hurting, and hurting bad. I felt so much empathy each time I saw her Tweet about her pain. I wanted to cheer her up, but I felt like an email wouldn't be enough. So I decided to send her flowers. It's a simple gesture, I know. But I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her, and even though I couldn't give her a hug in person, she was in my heart. Be kind to your friends!

Okay, then one day I was walking into work. I saw a section of newspaper on the ground, as if someone was finished and just discarded it on the sidewalk. I thought about RAOKA and decided it might be a good idea to pick it up and dispose of it properly. I went and grabbed the stack and started heading to the nearest trash can. Then I stopped. The recycle can was behind me at the corner. I knew the right thing to do would be to backtrack and recycle that paper. So I did. Be kind to the earth!

And then one thing that I've always wanted to try was paying for the person behind me at Starbucks. I've heard so many stories about people doing this, and c'mon, being the Starbucks lover that I am, it'd be the perfect act of kindness. So as I was waiting in the drive thru, I peeked at the woman behind me, and decided it was the day. I got to the window, paid for the order with my Starbucks card, and when the barista handed it back, I said, "Actually, could I pay for the car behind me too?" This confused her. She stared at the register for a bit, then asked a coworker to help her out.

"She wants to pay for the car behind her," I heard her tell the other girl. They both looked confused.

"You want to just use your discount card for them?" one of them asked. I told them that I wanted to pay for the order. They turned back to the register, trying to figure this out. "Do you know what they ordered?" the girl asked? So I explained that I didn't know the person, I was just trying to do something nice. At this point, the line in the drive thru was getting pretty long and I was wondering if maybe my good deed was annoying some other folks! The girls finally realized what I was trying to do and ran the order through, saying how nice it was. This entire situation made me think paying for the person behind you wasn't as common as I'd like to have hoped! I just hope the woman enjoyed her coffee!

So anyway, there were a few more little things. I tried to be a bit more conscious (and a bit less lazy) about my kind acts for the month. And you know what? It was a lot of fun! I realized that every kind act I performed put a smile on my own face, and I thought, "I should do this more often. :)

November Theme: Beauty
Stay tuned next month for a post regarding this particular RAOKA theme!

And if you're interested in getting involved with RAOKA, there's some great info at the bottom of Sami's post.

EEP!

I owe you guys a RAOKA post today, but I'm going to have to keep you in suspense for a little while longer. I'm leaving for Phoenix this afternoon to visit two of my favorite girls and their families for a long weekend. But along with a few work emergencies that have kept me running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I haven't had time to do a write up. Forgive me!

I promise to describe to you my month of kindness as well as introduce to you the theme for November next Monday!

Have a spectacular week and weekend!!!

NICE Assignment: Places I Love

Hi guys! Did you all have wonderful Halloweens?? Mine was fun! I wish we would have had more trick or treaters though. We only got three. And I live in a perfect trick or treating neighborhood, so I was surprised. I remember when I was a kid, we went through at least 14 bags of candy every Halloween. It was awesome!

I hope I never feel too old to dress up. I love it so much! Here I am on Friday night, as my favorite movie character of all time, Max Fischer from Rushmore. After trying to convince my husband to be him three years in a row, I decided to do it myself. :) Funny thing is that it's not that much different than what I typically wear. I bought the beret and the blazer, but everything else is a regular part of my wardrobe.

Since it's now the month of Thanksgiving in the U.S., I thought it would be great to do Love Lists as every weekly assignment, focusing on different topics. Let's give thanks for the things we love by sharing them with each other.

Today's Assignment: Places I Love

If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be? What places do you have fond memories of? What spots do you regularly visit because you love them so much? Here are mine.

Let's get the cheesiest one out of the way first. I love to be in the arms of my husband. There, I said it. • I love the city of Boston. The vibe, the awesome public transportation, the fabulous shopping. • I love Sorted (indie/brit rock dance party) at the Barbary. • I loved my grandparents' living room on Christmas Eve, where we'd gather to open gifts for hours upon hours. • I love my newly furnished bedroom. • I love Lorenzo's on South Street. Yum. • I love my friend Maria's home in Arizona which I'll be visiting in three days! • I love riding the subway in NYC. • I love sitting at my parents' kitchen table, chatting with them on a Sunday morning. • I love hammocks. All of them. • I love the HOW Design Conferences. • I love wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble. • I love the Ritz theaters in Philadelphia. • I love bowling alleys. • I love art supply stores. • I love karaoke bars. • I loved going to the Point Pleasant boardwalk with my mom. • I love anywhere that involves good friends and good board games.

Ahh, that was much needed. It's been a rough day! But thinking about all those great places has put me in a much better mood! So, wanna play along? Tell me about the places YOU love!

I did my assignment!

On my way into work, I stopped at the grocery store to buy treats for the day. Then I sat in my car in the parking garage putting together little goodie bags for my friends at Starbucks, who provide me with liquid sunshine every weekday morning. And I also made three bags for my fantastic coworkers, who I couldn't be more grateful for.



For some bizarre reason, I'm always nervous doing things like this. Hey, if someone handed me a bag of candy, they'd be my new best friend. But I don't know, my social anxiety kicks in and I honestly almost chickened out. But when I was at the register, I pulled out the bags and just went for it. After I left Starbucks, I had the biggest smile on my face! I should really do that kind of thing more often!

NICE Testimonial: Let's Not Judge

I received an email yesterday from NICE photographer Beth with a link to a blog post she wrote a few days ago. It is so lovely, beautiful, meaningful, introspective (and more!) that I had to share it.

It's easy to dismiss people based upon their appearances. I still have inner issues from my nerdy childhood. People didn't take the time to get to know me. And even now, I sometimes worry that my blue hair gives off the wrong kind of vibe. I'm not "disturbed" or "alternative", I just like blue. And my husband, in his fitted thermals and baseball cap might seem like a jock. Okay, he sort of is. But he's also one of the smartest people I know, but many times people don't see that in him. They don't see the guy that goes to library lectures of Iranian authors or the guy that studies books on the history of Rwanda. They see a sports nut.

As that age old cliché goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," because you might be missing the story of a lifetime inside.

Click here to read Beth's inspiring blog post about how she avoided judgement and had a great experience.


(image courtesy of Beth McWilliams)

NICE Assignment: Trick or Treat!

Hi everyone! Phew, it's been crazy in my world lately. I could use a break. Luckily I go to Arizona to visit some of my favorite people in the world next week! That'll be an absolute treat. It's been tough managing everything on my plate lately. I've taken a hiatus from drawing, though I'd like to get back to that soon. I've cut back on my posting here, which I'm sure you've noticed. And I've definitely cut back on chores, much to my husband's dismay. :) But as I've been saying for the last few years, I just need to get through the next couple days!

So here's a belated assignment for you!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I absolutely love dressing up. Not to mention the fact that I also absolutely love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. But any excuse to play make believe is a good one. Last year I was a Peta victim. The year before that I was Björk. And the year before that I was a Robert Palmer video girl. This year I'll be showing less leg. :)

Today's Assignment: Trick or Treat!

Another one of my favorite parts about Halloween is giving out treats. Unfortunately, my neighborhood doesn't get many trick or treaters, so I might have to go on the offense to find people to treat. That may be my coworkers, my mailman, my Starbucks baristas. Since I always buy far too much candy and I don't feel like gaining ten pounds or ten cavities, I thought it'd be nice to use some of it to surprise those people in my life that deserve a little treat.

And as a treat to you, here's a free download of some Halloween notes that you can attach to your goodies!



If you decide to play along this week, I'd love to see pictures of your treats or hear stories about how the assignment went!

Happy treating!

NICE Campaign: The Responsibility Project

Where the heck have I been?! Sorry for abandoning you guys. I've been swamped. I know, that's always my excuse, right? Well, I'm so glad you keep popping by anyway!

So the other day, I was catching up on some missed TV, and I ended up watching the premier of 30 Rock, one of my favorite shows. During the commercial breaks, they showed an animation written by Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth on the show. He and four other NBC stars, created a series of short films for Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project.

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

The Responsibility Project began as Liberty Mutual's response to the attention they received from their commercial, which happens to be one of my favorites.

Click here to see the commercial.

Seeing this commercial always puts a smile on my face! And it reminds me so much of this blog. :)

Blog Action Day 09: Climate Change

I know it's a little later than usual, but today is Blog Action Day, and I couldn't let October 15th pass me by without a post about this year's topic, climate change.

When I was in grade school, I got the book "50 Ways Kids Can Save the World." I started cutting up plastic rings from Coke cans, putting soda bottles in our toilets, and begging my father to stop using Aquanet so abundantly. But somewhere on my journey to adulthood, I forgot about the earth-conscious Melissa of my youth. Helping the environment took a back seat to convenience.

Sure, we recycle. In fact, if my husband and I are out in an area without a recycle bin, he will bring the plastic bottle home with us. And yeah, we have fuel efficient cars and put on water-saving shower heads. But that's not much of a sacrifice. Maybe today is the day to start thinking, "What else?" Meaning, what else can I do to help join the global fight against climate change?

I thought I had mentioned this book here in the past, but I couldn't find the post, so if I have, forgive me! I think that New Day Revolution by the fine folks of Cool People Care might be the "50 Ways Kids Can Save the World" of my adulthood.

This book is full of helpful tips that even the laziest environmentalist can use. For example:

• Replace your incandescent bulbs with florescent ones - done!
• When cooking, don't use a pan bigger than you need - never thought of that
• Buy green power, check your utility bill for details - we've been wanting to do this for a while
• If you forget your reusable shopping bag, be sure to recycle your plastic one - I save mine for this reason, just need to drop them off at my grocery store
• Bring reusable utensils with your lunch - I am guilty of abusing plastic utensils
• Fully inflating your car tires makes your fuel last longer - gotta do that soon

And there is so much more helpful advice! Things that you might never consider but are actually easy habits to form. I highly recommend you check out New Day Revolution and start making little changes in your life to benefit the earth in honor of Blog Action Day!