18 Deeds

How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a weary world.

- William Shakespeare

Hey Friend!
I was inspired to make a to do good list!The list will be finished for the new year. I thought this would be a good way of staying focused on being a good light for the few weeks we have left in the year! :)Some of these are easy as eating fudge, but some I think I am going to find a  bit hard to do. :) We shall see how this goes!!

My "DO GOOD" List 

1.Put someone else’s cart away at a store

2.Go a whole 3  days without saying “no” to an opportunity (unless it is bad, then I am allowed to say no haha!)

3.Do a chore that I hate for someone else

4.Write a letter of encouragement to someone that I haven’t spoken to in a year

5.Hold open doors at every opportunity

6.Volunteer as much as I can

7. Give a gift “just because”

8. Have a conversation with a stranger

9. Do something nice for the grandparents

10. Give extra  clothes to charity

11. Offer my time to someone else

12. Give away something (other than money0- money is cliche') to someone in need

13. Pick up litter as I walk one day

14. Pass on a book to someone

14. Call someone who needs encouragement

15. Make someone laugh who is having a bad day

16. Purpose to pray for one new person each day

17. Surprise others by already doing their responsibilities 

18. Do something cheesy for the boy

These 18 things must be done before January 1, 2014. I will document my findings as I "do good" in small ways. Try to make your own version of "doing good", I would love to hear about it! Here goes nothing! :) 

- Your slightly nutty Hippie friend, 

Summer

Keep Calm and Carry On!

"I am  doing a group interview on the eleventh of October  at Central Mall  in front of Chick-fla  at 12:00 and would like to invite for the interview process. I look forward to Meeting you.Please contact me by phone if you can not make it."

Friend,

I dressed to impress, I sprayed my perfume, I checked my teeth, my resume was printed.. I was ready. "This is not a repeat of Eden Bubble Tea... This is not a repeat of Eden Bubble Tea..." was repeating in my head like a broken record as I sat down waiting for my third interview. I glance around.. 5 minutes early... I'm good! I begin to scan the tables. No one remotely close to the lady I was waiting for. I grab a chair in the middle of the small cluster of tables and sit up straight.( I read somewhere that if you look determined and sure of yourself that you will get the job instead of going for the kind and caring approach. ) A man sits down beside me at the other table and a lady at the other. I smile at the lady and she looks at me then at her sandwich. I walk over to her and ask if she is the lady I was waiting for. She laughs, and says no. I sit back down, notice that the Price is Right is on in the restaurant across the way. I watch a full show (seriously, how is that show popular?!) while continually looking around (the man is smiling back at me now- awkward! I wanted to tell him that I wasn't looking at him but it was hard not to because he was smiling at me) and realize... I've been stood up. I, Summer Sawatsky, have been STOOD UP. I giggled to myself, you really do have to laugh at these situations, what else can you do?   I gathered my things, and as I was leaving the mall I saw a big "NOW HIRING" sign that was outside what one would consider an "old lady store". The lady working there looked surprised that I  asked for an application. :) Haha!  When God closes the door, jump out the window right? ;) So, the real question is- does this count as my third interview if I wasn't interviewed? ;) 

Your hippie friend,

Summer   

Hired and Fired!

Dear Friend,
As some of you know I was very excited and very nervous for my new job at Eden Bubble Tea... it was my first day on Tuesday and I had barely slept thinking of all that I would be doing at this little shop! I arrived at 10 am and was the first person at the restaurant. I eventually saw my boss and her husband. We talked quickly about the day and got right to work.  I said a quick prayer of thanks for this job and that I wouldn't mess up too much on the first day. Things went well for the first hour. I swept, mopped the restaurant, and wiped down the tables. My confidence in how the day was going to go increased. Little did I know what would happen in the next few hours....
 Customers began to come in at 11 am and things quickly escalated. My boss, who was VERY pregnant got me to start on a few small jobs. I did alright at the beginning, but I had no idea where anything was so I asked where the ingredients were etc. and she snapped at me. I realized that this lady was most likely having a hard time as she was most likely tired from her pregnancy and did my best to get out of her way. There was another girl there that had been working there for a few years and the first thing she says to me is, " I am so glad that you are here! We need a few more hands here but *bosses name* fired the last girl we had on her first day because she accidentally tripped her." I looked confusedly at her and asked, "Was the girl in fault?" The girl responded, "No, it just made the boss angry and that made her mad enough to fire her." I was seeing red flags in my head but the moment had passed to chat as there were more customers coming in the door.
Quickly there was 15+ people that filed into the restaurant waiting for their bubble tea and sushi. I did my best to assist in how I could, still not knowing where things were. My boss came over to me and quietly hissed in my ear, "Hurry up!" Confused, I attempted to wash dishes and give the other girl the assistance that she instructed to me in a quiet voice so the boss wouldn't be upset. In my head I was thinking, "Don't feel guilty for not being fast yet... it's your first day...this lady is mad at something much worse than customer service..." The crowd left and I wished them a good day in a shaky voice. One lady said, "I haven't seen you before... are you new?" I told her that yes, it was my first day (I said first day loudly so that my boss might remember in the near future! ;) ) and wished her a great day.
Later in the day I dropped some slushie on the ground after serving a customer. My boss saw this and was agitated. "You are so clumsy! Clean it up!", she said.  I cleaned up the mess and began to wash dishes. Surely this lady could not say anything about my washing of dishes?! She was watching me in the corner of her eye and noted me holding a cup wrong as I put it away. She showed me how she wanted me to hold the cup in my right hand and had to admit to her that my right hand had mild cerebral palsy and I wasn't able to do it the way that she wanted, but that I would find another way to hold the cup that would work. Her eyes bugged and  her nostrils clearly flared. If I wasn't so worried about what this lady was going to do next I would have laughed at the sight. She asked me to come to the back of the restaurant. It was 2:30 pm. I had only been there for a few hours. She informed me that she was looking for someone more skilled and that could pick up the job faster. She fired me there on the spot. I called home and my confused father came and picked me up. I hopped in the car and cried. What a day! I was upset at myself. I should have been faster! But then I realized, I hadn't been shown clearly what to do and again, it was my first day. :)

I am so grateful now that I am not working at that place where there was so much tension and anger.  And, that day taught me once again how God has blessed me. He has blessed me with a family that cares for my well being more than the money that I earn,(my grammy was waiting for me right at the door to hug me!) for a kind boyfriend who listened to my day and stood up for me, and for wonderful friends that messaged me asking about my day but after hearing about  what happened, were there for me. I am such a BLESSED girl.

Never a dull moment, eh!? 

Your currently unemployed hippie friend,

Summer