What was the nicest thing you did for someone else yesterday?

[NJmaverick]

What was the nicest thing that someone else did for you yesterday?

[Blue_Tires]

1. gave me a pep talk when i was discouraged about my shitty job

[MajorChode]

2. I bought a round of drinks

[likesmountains 52]

3. I gave the cafeteria cashier an extra $5 and told her to buy someone

breakfast....just anyone who she thought could use a free meal.

[NJmaverick]

4. That was a very thoughful thing to do

:hi:

[Captain Hilts]

8. that's cool. I often buy an extra coffee or muffin and give it to someone homeless.nt

[Captain Hilts]

5. Wrote a letter to an elderly friend. Typed it on a manual typewriter. nt

[NJmaverick]

6. Why the manual typewriter?

[Captain Hilts]

7. Easier for them to read. Especially with a half space between each line.

I have a fair number of older correspondents.

The manual typewriter is especially good for getting more on the back of postcards.

It's a great machine. Here it is:

[Heidi]

12. :swoon:

:envy:

[Captain Hilts]

24. Go to ebay and buy one. Just google the kind you want. They cost very little these days.

And it's not hard to get ribbons either.

[Heidi]

28. The ribbons are my main worry.

It'll be easier for me to buy one here on http://www.ricardo.ch/ than e-bay, but I just did a cursory google search, and it seems the ribbons I'd need are ones I could order and have sent to my mom and she can send them from the US to me.

Thank you for the inspiration, Captain Hilts! I predict that within a month or two, I'll have a new, old manual typewriter taking up space in my studio. :loveya:

[Captain Hilts]

41. When you send letters typed on a manual - people know it's not mass-produced! nt

[TrogL]

32. I can't find ribbons for mine. It's an Olivetti

[NJmaverick]

13. I guess they would be good for post cards

with anything else I would think the computer's ability to work with larger fonts would be better. On top of that, I learned on electric and manual typewriters. I have to give you credit, I couldn't imagine going back and using one. I am so used to being able to backspace over errors, I don't think I could still use one.

[Captain Hilts]

23. True, but older folks know, when you type a letter, that it is unique and just for them.

I'm on a Library of Congress keyboard right now and it'sticker than any manual! Terrible.

And Dell keyboards are needlessly noisy. I'm used to my quiet laptop.

[Heidi]

11. I would _love_ to have a manual typewriter again.

I used to have a gorgeous, old Royal, and I miss it. :hi:

[Richardo]

15. We have two of the 50-lb (22.7 kg) desk models

Like this:



All they do is collect dust and trip me. I should put one of them on craig's list and keep the other. :think:


I like them, but don't need TWO of them.

[Heidi]

17. LOVELY!!!!

I cannot express to you why, or how much, I love manual typewriters. But I also love old Polaroid land cameras, phrenological "heads" and OLD natural science, philosophical and legal textbooks -- so if you get that, maybe I don't need to worry about expressing why or how much. :rofl:

:hi: friend!

[Richardo]

42. If you like phrenological heads, I should send you a cast of mine some time...

...maybe you can tell me what the sagittal crest signifies. :shrug:

:hi: Heidi! :*

[Captain Hilts]

26. If it still works I might buy it from you.

For the historic vessel I'm a volunteer on. It would be great to have a working typewriter on board that would fit in.

I'm recreating paperwork to have lying around the vessel.

[Richardo]

29. I'll check out their working condition(s) and let you know....

Will you be able to supply ribbon, etc?

[Captain Hilts]

40. Ribbons are astonishingly easy to get. nt

[Captain Hilts]

25. Google it and buy one used from a typewriter distributor or ebay. They cost NOTHING now. nt

[KittyWampus]

9. Asked someone about his sick wife.

[Captain Hilts]

10. I've made an appointment to donate platelets at Walter Reed.

I have kind of strange blood, so they're always glad to have it.

[rurallib]

14. I got some strange blood also. I get tapped like and oil well

for platelets and white cells.
Thanks so much. Donating blood is so important.

[qb]

16. I gave a guy money to ride the bus. There are a lot of new bus riders in this economy

and they are floored by the $3.00 fare.

[NJmaverick]

19. good for you

:hi:

[SacredCow]

18. My significant other surprised the hell out of me yesterday....

Some time back I told him of a guitar that I used to own. Actually it was my first "good" electric guitar- a Gibson L6-S Deluxe, for those who want the details. I sold it to buy the girl I was dating (later my wife, and more recently my ex wife) a birthday present. For the record, she was indifferent to the present (knowing that I sold something I cherished for her) and professed to HATING the cake that I baked to go along with it (though everyone else loved it). Should have been a sign that my sacrifices to her were a requirement- not an extra.

The specific guitar is not terribly valuable, but they're hard to find (only about 3500 of them were made). And I've always said that if I found another for a good price I'd snatch it up. Well.... He found one, and gave it to me yesterday, for no particular reason- just because he knew I wanted it. Floored me.

[NJmaverick]

20. That was very thoughtful

[suninvited]

21. someone backed into my car at the dentist office

yesterday. She came in and found me and let me know what she had done. So many people just wont do that anymore. The damage was minor, but I am going to have to get it repaired, and I am sure it is going to affect her insurance rates later.

[Heidi]

22. It seems like people do a ton of nice stuff for me, way more than I do for others.

1. My friend, Davide, sent me an envelope FULL of airplane tickets, bus passes, etc., from his travels in Australia, for me to use in collage.

2. My friend/colleague, Rolph, emailed to let me know he's back from his very interesting holidays in the US.

3. CMW cooked dinner for us on his new grill.

4. My sister-in-law dropped by my studio just to hang out and talk a little.

5. The Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger snuggled my bare feet like they were his nirvana.

[NJmaverick]

36. Looks like you better get cracking

you know you don't want to mess with your karma :P

:hi:

[Ikonoklast]

27. Bought lunch for a sick friend.

Money's a little tight for him.

[NJmaverick]

31. I am sure that was greatly appreciated

Hope things turn out OK for him

[Ikonoklast]

45. Long, long story with him

He is one of the health care disasters you read about, even with a good health insurance plan.

Two years ago he was getting his affairs in order, as his doctors were baffled by his symptoms and he was dying. He had lost most of his body weight, couldn't breathe properly, had transient high fevers, skin lesions, and was losing muscle mass and bone density, and could hardly eat a thing and keep it down as his digestive system was shutting down.

The insurance company was balking at paying for any more specialists, as there were no results from any of the others and they had already spent very near a half-million dollars keeping him alive, just barely so.

Any way, there was a terrific fight between what the doctors wanted to do, as they saw my friend's case as a personal challenge, and what the insurance company was willing to further pay for. Some of the doctors worked for free trying to get a proper diagnosis, and he even had two more specialists fly in from around the country to see him, gratis.

Now, these guys weren't all perfectly idealistic here as they got to write a paper about his case and submitted it for review.

He was finally diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder of some type, the likes of which they hadn't seen before, and are still using him as a case study.

The regimen they have him on has stopped his decline, and he has come back from near-death, but he is far from healthy, and has bad days, sometimes weeks.

Oh, and his insurance company is dropping him at the end of next year.

He hopes like hell he lives long enough to sign up for any public option, as no health insurance company in this country will touch him for less than $3-5K a month.

God knows how much he owes already. He stopped caring about $100K ago.

[NJmaverick]

47. Oh wow, that is one heck of a story

I hope they finally figure out what's wrong with him. How old is he?

[Ikonoklast]

56. 52. And before this, never so much as a sniffle.

Healthy, robust, strong bull of a guy that worked two full-time jobs for a while.

Talked to him this morning, his one doctor seems to think he has an upper respiratory infection. With his compromised immune system, that's trouble.

[NJmaverick]

60. wow

this poor guy's case sounds like something for the fictional Dr House.

[TrogL]

30. bought pizza, calmed me down after a disastrous haircut

[Scout]

33. helped a woman and her three children out of their wrecked mini-van

on the expressway. i happened to be driving behind them, when the trailer they were pulling started weaving/swaying ... then it tipped on its side, and pulled the van over with it.

thank goddess all were wearing seatbelts and there were no injuries, barely any bumps, bruises or scratches.

[Inchworm]

34. 9 miles of data entry

Goin now to do some more.

I'm trying to make it easier for someone to do what they do. Once all the data is in it will be simple to maintain. It is the getting there that sucks. :)

:hi:

[NJmaverick]

35. I didn't know they measured data entry in miles

:hi:

[Moondog]

37. I convinced an old friend

to give the daughter of another old friend her first job after her graduation from law school. Ordinarily, this isn't that big a deal. This year, however, the job market for new grads is really awful, so it qualifies as "nice".

[Auggie]

38. Nice idea, NJmaverick

I'm a bit of shut-in working from home and have nothing to report.

[NJmaverick]

39. I am troubled by the fact that I have nothing to report myself

I am comforted by the fact that I will be volunteering 12 hours of my time tonight on my ambulance and rescue squad. In you case I am thinking there are good things that can be done via the internet.

[Courtesy Flush]

43. I tracked down my favorite addict to make sure she was OK

She's not in my caseload anymore, since I put her kids in foster care two weeks ago. No one has heard from her in a week, and I was really worried. I tracked her down and she's OK. Still clean, too. I let her know I still care about her.

[woofless]

44. I'm paying professional wages

to a couple local young guys to paint my house. I had a friend who is a pro bid the job as if he were going to do the work and then offered that much to the fella's. Works for all of us and puts the money right back in our little town. Feeling pretty good about that so far and the house is looking super.

Woof

[alarimer]

46. I did NOT punch my co-worker in the nose.

Though he more than deserves it.

(Kidding. Although I fantasize about doing that I never would. Probably. I'd most likely tell him to go fuck himself. I am looking forward to the day I can say that finally).

[NJmaverick]

48. You should do something more creative

like mess with his auto spell correct in Word. Have it automatically change certain words into others, for hilarious results.

[unpossibles]

49. I went into the city because someone left their phone at my apartment

And I knew they'd need it because their aunt is in town. Not anything special; I did not mind doing it, but it was pretty nice, and gave me an excuse to get out, so I dropped the phone off to them at lunch time.

[old mark]

50. Stopped myself from running over that grey haired lady.

She was carrying a duck......


markO8)

[NJmaverick]

54. Did you at least make an effort to free the duck?

[old mark]

57. She seemed to have the duck taped to her sweatshirt - and I was too busy

and didn't want to get involved.


mark

[Blue Diadem]

51. I didn't do much. I waited while holding the door open for an elderly

lady I'd seen coming down the hall at the Dr's building. She was using a walker and I knew she'd have to walk some 8-10 ft to the side of the entrance/exit and press the auto door opener to open the heavy door so I decided to hold it. She smiled and told me I didn't have to wait. I told her it was ok, it would save her a few steps and you never know how long those doors will stay open. She thanked me and said that door does tend to close fast and can knock someone a good one.

On your other question, my husband has been wonderful to me. He took me for my tests yesterday and then cooked supper so I could lay down.

[femmocrat]

52. We are helping out one of our kids.

He is moving to another state, so needs Mom and Dad right now. :)

[RandomKoolzip]

53. I stopped punching him.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

55. Does work count?

I did spend 5 hours on ONE Patient yesterday. I was so tired afterwards.

[NJmaverick]

58. It does if you go the extra mile and do more than you had to

:hi:

[Dora]

59. Maintained control of my emotions. nt

[applegrove]

61. Someone listened when I went on about a funeral I attended on Tuesday. Was nice to talk

about it. It was a great service.

[NewJeffCT]

62. Was a pallbearer at my grandmother's funeral yesterday

RIP Rose Formica, 7/16/1910 to 7/15/2009

Yes, she passed away one day before her 99th birthday.

[Blue Diadem]

64. My sympathy for your loss NJCT

RIP Rose

[NewJeffCT]

65. Thanks

She's at peace now. She was a terrific lady whose homemade spaghetti and lasagna was a highlight of our Christmas dinners for decades.

[Kali]

63. I did something for a neighbor yesterday that has the potential to save her a LOT of money.

I didn't really do it for altruistic reasons but it was a nice thing anyway.

My youngest son has learned to be so considerate in small ways - he always checks to see if I need an iced tea refill.:-)

(he may be running interference while the other one swipes food, but hey my glass is full!)

[EndersDame]

66. I went to the store and bought my SO his favorite beer

We were both feeling lazy and I went out and bought him his favorite beer and rented some Star Trek

[NJmaverick]

67. That was very nice of you

I hope he appreciates it:hi:

[bluedigger]

68. I got my ass out of the woods under my own power,

before I got heat exhaustion. Saved two coworkers some trouble there, I guess. Not a quality day.

[NJmaverick]

69. What do you do for a living?

how hot was it?

[bluedigger]

70. I'm an archaeologist.

We were doing a site visit in central Louisiana. Mid '90's (I guess), sunny and humid. I've spent most of the last two years sitting in a cubicle and discovered I have lost ALL my physical conditioning. At least I'm mature (ok, old) enough to recognize my problem, and care more about living than impressing coworkers.

[NJmaverick]

71. Cool I think archaeology is such an interesting and exciting field

what were you guys digging up?

[bluedigger]

72. Everybody likes it.

The pay sucks and there are rarely any benefits or job security. But you're right, it is cool, lol! I'm working as a civilian contractor, or as I like to call it, as a disaster capitalist, for FEMA in New Orleans. We were checking out an application for federal funding to increase the capacity of some drainage ditches up in the center of the state. Making sure they weren't going to blow through any sites. They passed. (That means we didn't find anything significant.)

[NJmaverick]

73. I never would have expected FEMA to be hiring Archaeologists

I learn something knew ever day

[bluedigger]

75. All (well, nearly all) gov't funding

that involves ground disturbing activity must be reviewed to ensure that archaeological sites are not impacted. It's called Section 106 review. There are about a dozen of us here in New Orleans. FEMA spends a LOT of money on construction related projects. Also quite a few environmental scientists for similar (NEPA) reasons. Best job I've had in a nearly 20 year career!

[crim son]

74. I think it was

when I remained calm, friendly and kind while the woman at the Customer Service desk revealed her deep ignorance about all things Service or Customer-Oriented. She knew she wasn't doing well, and got flustered which was painful to see, so I did what I could.

I was only out and about once yesterday, so there really weren't many chances to spread good will.