The Little Things that Make You Proud of Yourself

[artsfartsyjanet]

Today, a group of 20 people I work with (around my age) had a goal of 200 lbs of food to collect within a 2 week time period. The bins we placed all around the company were looking pretty empty day after day.... I took the initiative to launch a challenge between my team and another team (Workstation Architecture vs. IT Asset/Order Management) to see which team would bring the most pounds of food by Thursday 5pm. Of course, Workstation won, but overall, I was able to motivate the teams to bring over 350 lbs of food (just our teams alone) of food for the Food Drive. Woo hoo!!! I'm so proud of the teams. I am just glad I was able to help bring an influx of food in for the Food Bank in our region. *Giving myself qualms and runs away. *

Question: What makes you proud of yourself? What did you do recently that made you feel appreciative of yourself, and what did someone else do that made you feel appreciative of someone else's generosity or kindness?

[Banana]

I yelled at some moron in a deli line because he was whining. That makes me feel pretty damn good when I do things like that.

[applehead]

the other day i helped carry an old
lady's shopping cart down the stairs in the subway.
little things like that make me feel good about myself.

i caught a pervie on the train.
and this man was nice enough to stay with me
at the police station as a witness.

[rice cracker]

I let my roommate cry on my shoulder about her shitty boyfriend, even though I think she's enabling him to be an asshole. I was even nice about it. Then I told her to clean the litterboxes. All in all, a satisfactory interaction.

[Banana]

When I was walking around on the subway platform to get to the exit, a woman holding a baby in her arms with a baby carriage next to her was just standing near the exit steps. So, I asked her if she needed help getting up. She seemed really happy for my offer and much to my surprise, she let me hold the ~5-6 month old baby as she carried the carriage up. Not sure if that was a stupid mistake on her part or if I just look like a friendly guy. It's true though; if Asians aren't smiling, people think we're angry.

Baby be cute.

[Emperor_Mike]

Nothing as of late. Between city/continent hopping and studying I haven't had an opportunity to do anything that I'd be proud of.

Although I did give this old woman my cheesecake somewhere above the Pacific Ocean.

[Irezumi Kiss]

I found the Louis Vuitton credit card/change purse/keyholders of two women, once on a subway bench and once in a dirty snow-filled gutter. I called them both to let them know I had their stuff and when I returned them their property, I got a dinner and a bottle of champagne as rewards.

I am forever giving strangers directions, nearly every day. Must be something about my face.

[Hiroshi2]

I saw my friend the today and could tell by the look on her face she was really upset so I simply walked up to her and smiled and said "hi" and even though she didn't smile back, I could tell by the tone of her voice she was really glad that I did that. I'm still feeling good about that.

[Tao]

the other day i helped carry an old
lady's shopping cart down the stairs in the subway.
little things like that make me feel good about myself.

i caught a pervie on the train.
and this man was nice enough to stay with me
at the police station as a witness.
was it the same guy who was masturbating on the train?

[bigwong235]

i baked a chocolate cake w/chocolate chip butter cream icing for my friend's birthday last night.

i've never baked a cake before!

[kimpossible]

I twisted my surgeon's nut until he acquiecsed into officially recommending physical therapy. Felt bad at first, but what the hey I was in pain and my insurance company gets enough money to cover stuff like this.

[mr. x]

i got into berkely, not LA tho, eh c'est la vie

[applehead]

congrats sher!!!

no tony this was another guy. it's like they're lining up.

[Faithless]

I'm proud to read stories like this:

Stories of generosity.

Pay It Forward (http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1086181781,84039,)
Foundation awards $5,500 in scholarships to 14 average students from endowment
PHELAN — A local foundation gave away $5,500 in scholarships Tuesday night and brought in an endowment to keep the giving going for future years.

Sara's Hope Foundation will continue to give money to help average students, thanks to a donation of $25,000 from Frontier Homes to provide scholarship money, Kristina Nolan said.

"It's going to be a really exciting night," Nolan said before the awards were made. The foundation held its scholarship award ceremony at Serrano High School's Performing Arts Center.

The foundation gave out two first-place scholarships of $1,000 each, four $500 scholarships and eight $250 scholarships to students from Silverado and Serrano high schools. The scholarships are based on an annual essay contest, not grades.

This year's theme was Pay It Forward. Students sent in essays about random acts of kindness they performed, Nolan said.

The top winner from Silverado High School was Valencia Rabanal, who struck up a two-hour conversation with a homeless man she saw frequently at a McDonald's restaurant, said Dan Tate, a founding member of Sara's Hope, and Nolan's brother.

The top Serrano High School winner was Keona Fulcher, who offered a ride to school to a fellow student whom she'd never met before and thought was a little strange.

"I didn't do anything spectacular," Fulcher wrote in her essay. "I just did what I should have, what we all should do and what I hope someone will do for me some day."

This year's theme came from the 2000 film "Pay It Forward," starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment. Osment's character, a seventh-grade boy, decides to change the world by doing three kind acts, assuming those three people will then do something kind for someone else.

The foundation members wanted a theme that would inspire volunteerism and kindness, Tate said.

This is the second year the foundation has given out scholarships, Tate said.

The foundation hopes to include all the high schools in the area, and is adding a school a year to the program, Nolan said.

The foundation is named after Sara Rojas, a Serrano High School basketball player and Miss Teen Victorville 2001 who died in a traffic accident in December 2002.

[onnihs]

sounds a little cliche... but i once helped a blind man walk across the street in Brussels, Belgium. My cousin and I were backpacking through the city, and as we were crossing a street, I noticed him. I kept my eye on him, and as the light turned green, he nervously, cautiously stepped out onto the crosswalk with his walking stick. I couldn't take it, so I approached him and said, "Need help?" HAHA he look so surprised.. he had the look of, "who the fuck are you?" So i backed off a bit, then i think he realized i wanted to help him, and he called out in French, "Monsieur?" then started reaching out for me. So i extended my arm and guided him across the street and up the opposite curb. "Mersee Bokoo" he said (spell check!).

Boy i feel like a humanitarian now.

[thaite]

I scored a damn sweet goal in my soccer game last weekend. It came out of total instinct, no planning or thought process, just action.

I was center of the field about 35 yards away from the opponent's goal backing up a drive our team was making. A defender stole the ball and tried to clear the ball out of their backfield, but instead of going far it just went high. I saw it coming, stepped up to about 25 yards out, chest-trapped the ball and before it even hit the ground, snapped it into the top-right corner of the goal. I saw it go, and I wasn't even sure it was gonna go in -- from my viewpoint I thought it was gonna hit the top bar. But the ball dipped just before the bar and in the net it went. Goalie never even saw it coming.

Now what was cool about that? Scoring a goal? Sure, that's cool, that's always cool. What I liked was that it was so natural and instinctive. I think about how I did it. Right after I set myself up to receive and before I even touched the ball i mentally took a snapshot of the field in front of the me: too many people in front of the goal, I'd never be able to drive the ball up, and no one to pass to, my teammates were being marked. Instinct was my autopilot. I even shot rightfooted, and I never do that, because I'm leftfooted.

Sometimes things just fall into place.

[Faithless]

Now what was cool about that? Scoring a goal?
Well, it's probably also sweet justice after having been kicked in the 'nads. :wink:

[onnihs]

This one time in Amsterdam, a bum approached me and asked me for money (there are quite a few of those). Being super stoned, I reached into my pocket and pulled a bunch of Euro coins out and quickly sifted through them. I gave him a coin that had a silver outlining and a gold middle - 2 Euros. He took it and looked at it for a second... and his eyes grew super wide. He looked at me and humbely bowed and said "Danke, danke" repeatedly, even after I smiled and began to walk away. I later realized that I gave him over $2 USD... more than anyone has probably given him in a while. Boy was I stoned.. but i feel good about it :)

[artsfartsyjanet]

i got a mentor today at work. =)

[mr. x]

This one time in Amsterdam, a bum approached me and asked me for money (there are quite a few of those). Being super stoned, I reached into my pocket and pulled a bunch of Euro coins out and quickly sifted through them. I gave him a coin that had a silver outlining and a gold middle - 2 Euros. He took it and looked at it for a second... and his eyes grew super wide. He looked at me and humbely bowed and said "Danke, danke" repeatedly, even after I smiled and began to walk away. I later realized that I gave him over $2 USD... more than anyone has probably given him in a while. Boy was I stoned.. but i feel good about it :)
i gave a dude like 20 bucks, and this was nearby

[Irezumi Kiss]

i gave a dude like 20 bucks, and this was nearby
Next time I'm on my last five nickels, I'm comin' over YOUR way...

:tongue:

[onnihs]

i gave a dude like 20 bucks, and this was nearby

heheh paypal? :wink:

[mr. x]

Next time I'm on my last five nickels, I'm comin' over YOUR way...

:tongue:

but your not a mexican dude trying to get out of the gang life :tongue:

heheh paypal? :wink:
paygal

[capoeira]

I sold a beat ment for my own album to anup and coming pop star for $1500 Monday.

I scared this guy in the parking lot by walking pass him just being a black man. I love doing that.

I love taking off my shirt every chance I get to show off my abs I've been working for two years to get.

I can wear pink and still look masculine.

I make a decent buck legally and effortlessly

[mr. x]

I scared this guy in the parking lot by walking pass him just being a black man. I love doing that.

I make a decent buck legally and effortlessly
so hows being the torchbearer for black imagery? :rolleyes:

[Hiroshi2]

I fed the homeless downtown this evening.

[mr. x]

I fed the homeless downtown this evening.
good for u man

haha, i keep thinking of the simpsons episode

"fat man has fat heart"

[Emperor_Mike]

I helped two American tourists from Indiana find their way around the Underground in London.

[Hiroshi2]

good for u man

haha, i keep thinking of the simpsons episode

"fat man has fat heart"




Yeah what's sad is I remember when our church went out there last summer (around June or July) there were certain people there who are still there now.


I seriously think some people just want to be homeless.

[mr. x]

I helped two American tourists from Indiana find their way around the Underground in London.
we were in taiwan once and this english dude was trying to communicate with these department store clerks (in english) and i guess they didnt really speak so along comes my brother and in perfect english tells em they dont have shorts (politely of course)

yeah theres my lil anglophile story

Yeah what's sad is I remember when our church went out there last summer (around June or July) there were certain people there who are still there now.


I seriously think some people just want to be homeless.
well u should be glad u recognize a lot of em cuz then that would mean the homeless population is getting bigger and bigger (if u didnt recognize any at all)

[Hiroshi2]

we were in taiwan once and this english dude was trying to communicate with these department store clerks (in english) and i guess they didnt really speak so along comes my brother and in perfect english tells em they dont have shorts (politely of course)

yeah theres my lil anglophile story


well u should be glad u recognize a lot of em cuz then that would mean the homeless population is getting bigger and bigger (if u didnt recognize any at all)




Well there were slightly more people there this time around, but I recognized maybe two or three. You got this one dude named the "Bike Man" who's like a 60-year-old black man who wears sunglasses and tight ass shorts all the time. And big black work boots. And of course he has a bike with all kind of shit on it, it reminds me of a car with too many bumper stickers on it.


Another dude named "East Coast" who just hangs out there cause he says he doesn't like being confined to a house/apartment.


And another dude, I don't know his name, but his eyes get real big and beady whenever we show up with food. He's actually kinda...............................well, you know. Fat. I dunno how you could be homeless (especially as long as he's been homeless) and still be fat. Maybe he didn't really need a meal..................



OK no seriously overall yeah it was a good expeirience. Just gotta get over the smell.

[Emperor_Mike]

we were in taiwan once and this english dude was trying to communicate with these department store clerks (in english) and i guess they didnt really speak so along comes my brother and in perfect english tells em they dont have shorts (politely of course)

yeah theres my lil anglophile story


A little help goes a long way, huh? Someone did me a nice turn in Calais as well. I didn't know how to get to Paris so I asked this elderly woman and she told me to take the EuroStar. She was very pleasant.

[mr. x]

A little help goes a long way, huh? Someone did me a nice turn in Calais as well. I didn't know how to get to Paris so I asked this elderly woman and she told me to take the EuroStar. She was very pleasant.
did she know english or did you know bad french? :tongue:

ive taken like 4 years of french and i probly couldnt carry a conversation beyond

"je m'appelle, je suis X ans, j'aime le cinema, et vous?"

french speak too fast, in french classes hear they go really easy on the speech, like slow and stuff, hard to listen to conversations of fluent french speakers

[Faithless]

The little thing(s) I'm proud of:

That I can actually teach a PhD a thing or two about stuff.

In this case, putting together simple SQL statement. :cool: