03/31/13 - Day 96 - Adult Easter Egg Hunt

I set up a easter egg hunt for my wife today!  This anonymous kindness attack was pretty specific to one person but she deserved it.  In the eggs I hid candy and random housework chores that needed to be done and promised to do them in the next week and half.  I told her to hold me accountable and I know she will. 

Money spent so far:  $379.44

03/30/13 - Day 95 - Ani-mall Pet Expo (free)

Today the Animal Protective League put on a big pet owners convention at the local fairgrounds.  It was a resounding success.  I didn't get to participate in in exclusively but I did enable some of my coworkers to volunteer which I felt was it's own act of kindness.  Many animals got adopted.  I was able to get over there during my lunch break and snap this picture of an alpaca!

03/29/13 - Day 94 - Good Friday Music (free)

Today I contributed in a small way to a Good Friday church service.  I have been able to sing with a small chamber choral ensemble that meets in a nearby town and this Good Friday service was special because we had a guest director.  He is the director of choral music at the college I attended and was my choir director back when I went to school.  Not only did I get to help people commorate Good Friday but I got to reunite with one of my old instructors. 

Money spent so far:  $366.98

03/28/13 - Day 93 - Childhungerendshere.com (free)

Today I asked a coworker for a tab that I saw on a peanut butter jar that she had brought in for her lunch.  It has a code on it that when submitted to this website:  childhungerendshere.com would donate one free meal to starving children.  Done!

Money spent so far:  $366.98

03/27/13 - Day 92 - Contribution to counseling

A good friend of mine works with young women and single mothers in South Korea.  One of her friends was a victim of sexual assault but couldn't afford to get counseling for herself.  My friend sent out a plea for people to contribute to get this young woman some counseling. 

My contribution was small but hopefully it helped.

Money spent so far:  $366.98

03/26/13 - Day 91 - Let people cut in line (free)

Generally I am in a hurry.  I try to slow down but it never works.  It seems like everyone else pretty much keeps the same pace.  I never know why I'm in a hurry to get places.  I just want to make sure I have enough time to not be late to where I'm going.  I used to (and still sort of) have a problem with tardiness.

But today I was at the gas station and I just let a couple people go in front of me.  Not in an annoying overly nice way.  I just wanted to let them go ahead because I could tell they were tired of waiting.  It was a busy day at that particular gas station and I wasn't in a rush. 

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/25/13 - Day 90 - Working for three (free)

Today my kindness attack was a little weird and on accident.  I basically had to work in my section for three people.  It was rough and I had a lot of help but still I had to cover my shift and the shift of two other people that weren't able to make it work because of family stuff. 

I had to slap a dog pretty hard in the face today also.  It was the only way to get him to drop the dog he had in his mouth.  He's a coonhound and doesn't understand that little dogs aren't prey.  I felt bad and he's okay as is the little dog he was trying to hunt down. 

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/24/13 - Day 89 - Cupcakes for Thanks (free)

Today my kindness act was really a thank you for a fellow do gooders act for me.  There was about a foot and a half of snow on the ground tonight around 9:30pm and I knew I would never get to work in the morning if I didn't go out and shovel.  I had shoveled about half of the driveway when a guy came buy with a little snow plow and offered to plow my car out. 

I offered to pay the guy but he said I didn't have to.  So I went in and got him a banana cupcake that my wife had made for thanks.  All this and I was able to get a car out for work on time. 

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/23/13 - Day 88 - Stop CISPA Petition (free)

Today I signed a petition to top CISPA or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.  It is an act that would essentially give large corporations and ultimately the government access to private users online information. 

The government does a shitty job at most business it sticks it's nose and money grubbing hands into.  So keeping them out of private citizens private business seems like a no-brainer. 

Sign here:  Stop CISPA!

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/22/13 - Day 87 - Offered help to a friend (free)

My wife has a friend that has been going though some tough stuff.  She seems to be handling it well but I offered my help anyway. 

Not with anything emotional really because my wife is much better equipped to handle that stuff.  More like manual labor type help.  We'll see what happens.

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/21/13 - Day 86 - Lending an ear (free)

I knew this anonymous kindness attack would roll around sooner or later and today was the day.  My brother had something to really bitch about and I was the man he called.  I usually am.  This particular day it was about traffic in LA (where he lives.) 

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/20/13 - Day 85 - Conversation (free)

My wife and I went to eat at Cracker Barrel for breakfast this morning.  There was an older woman sitting alone and she struck up a conversation with us.  She was super sweet and really funny. 

I was singing some stupid song to my wife and she commented to my wife that it must be nice being serenaded over breakfast.  We laughed awkwardly.  She told us that she too was a singer and sang on some stages with some pretty big country acts.  Her name was Phyllis.

Our normal response, right or wrong, is usually to ignore people who infiltrate our conversation but I made a real effort not to do this.  She was an elderly woman sitting alone.  She was really sweet to the server and very nice to my wife and I. 

I asked the server after she had left if she knew her.  She told us her name and that she was suffering from cancer.  She said she didn't know her really well but that the manager did.  I am going to go back and give the manager a gift card to give to this woman. 

I regret not taking the time right then and there to get more information from her.  The whole exchange was quick and in the middle of a busy restaurant so it didn't occur to me until I had already left to offer a gift card.

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/19/13 - Day 84 - Offered a kidney (free)

A friend of mine was diagnosed with a rare kidney disorder.  It caused him to put on nearly 40 lbs of water weight in the span of two weeks.  I offered him my kidney.

Pretty serious shit.  But I've got two of them. 

Turns out he doesn't need a new kidney just medication so my kidneys are safe for now. 

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/18/13 - Day 83 - Smile Train Revisited

I am finally able to update my blog on the actual day of the act for a change.  It has been an insane week or two.  I have been working a lot.  My wife has been out of town and that really threw me off my game.  I just sort of stumble around the house when she's not here so I tried to keep myself really busy with work and other engagements.  It's a good thing.  But when I wasn't working or playing with the dogs or devising ways to be sneakily nice for people I was trying to get some sleep.  I still haven't managed to catch up. 

I decided today to revisit an organization that I had previously written about because I wasn't able to donate to them at that time.  It's actually a good thing I waited because now all donations are being doubled by some generous members of their organization.

Money spent so far:  $336.98

03/17/13 - Day 82 - Josh Garrels Music Tip

Josh Garrels is a musician that I know very little about.  But he is giving away 5 of his albums through one of my favorite websites noisetrade.com.  All the proceeds from the tips that people give him go to World Relief of Congo. 

I downloaded one of them called "Love and War and The Sea In Between."  I feel like I recognize some of the song titles so maybe I already know the record a little bit. 

Money spent so far:  $331.98

03/16/13 - Day 81 - Kegs and Eggs (free)

Today is the day my community celebrated St. Patty's Day.  A few members of my band supplied the music for a morning celebration called Kegs and Eggs.  We donated our services so that everyone could enjoy some live music while they were eating some free breakfast and green beer. 

Money spent so far:  $326.98

03/15/13 - Day 80 - Bowl for Kids' Sake Fundraiser (free)

Today my band and I all participated in the Bowl for Kids' Sake fundraiser for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization.  We had a goal of $700 and only managed to raise $150.  We also bowled horribly.  But I still consider it a victory.  It was also a lot of fun!

Money spent so far:  $326.98

03/14/13 - Day 79 - Family Video Raffle

I rent way too many movies from Family Video.  Today they were doing a raffle for lymphoma research.  If you donate $10 you get entered into a drawing to get half off movie rentals for a year. 

Done.

Money spent so far:  $326.98

03/13/13 - Day 78 - Foldit Cares (free)

I just recently purchases Flatout brand Foldits.  They are these long flat breads that fold over to make really easy and portable sandwiches.  They are delicious but I also saw that they have a program called Foldit Cares.  If you send them a picture of your favorite recipe using their product they will donate flatbread to Food Gatherers, a member of Feeding America on my behalf.  Here's my picture.  Super simple but who cares?  It tastes good.

 

Lunch of Champions

Nothing fancy here.

Take fold out bread.

Add two slices Mild Cheddar cheese,

Squeeze a little Simply Fresh Squeezable Chili Pepper and Italian Seasoning.

Fold Over.

Enjoy.

Money spent so far:  $316.98

03/12/13 - Day 77 - Laundry Marathon (free sort of)

My wife is has been gone all week.  She is visiting her sister and won't be home until Sunday.  Cleaning the house before she arrives home isn't really an act of kindness so much as a requirement so I decided to do even more. 

Our dirty laundry never seems to go away so I started doing all of it today.  Hopefully I will be done by the time she gets home.  We hardly ever do all the laundry at once so this will be a really nice thing for her to come home to. 

Money spent so far:  $316.98