Posts (page 2)
Well, when we set out on our shopping trip, I knew I wanted to do something but wasn't sure what it was. We ended up paying for someone's coffee at the Tim Horton's drive-through (again). In case you didn't see the comment in my first post about this, check out this article. Apparently, it's contagious. I don't think I started any chains, but wouldn't that be awesome?
At Barnes and Noble, we bought a book that was donated to help teach children how to read. At Hot Topic, I bought a tin of mints and the money went to the Hot Topic Foundation. If you are doing last minute Christmas shopping like me, it's easy to make a difference. Almost every store has an easy way to give.
The Sabres won and Max scored the winning goal! Go Sabres.
For Day 18, we did a very small thing, but I can't believe how much it has helped. We flipped our fan. We flipped the switch that makes it spin the other way and put it on the lowest setting. It's circulating warm air around and I swear it's working. It feels warmer in here and our furnace hasn't kicked on as much. I thought the moving air would just feel like a breeze and make it seem cooler, but nope! It works.
Today is day 19. I don't know what I'm going to do today. I keep wanting to do bigger and better things, but the smaller things are just fitting in better. We are going Christmas shopping today. Well, I know a lot of stores this time of year say, "Would you like to add a dollar to your total to go to some charity?" So, I can do that. And I can find another bowl of change to go to the Salvation Army. And that's a start.
Also... duuuuuudededuuuuu buuuuubuubuuuBAAAAA (That's fanfare music) I am on TIG!! Everyone remember when you read this, that it is NOT my idea. It is Laura's idea! She is the brilliant one, and I am just following along. Also, if you are reading this, I encourage you to join us for the last 6 days or so. You can just do little things and it counts! Go to the bottom of my page, on the right hand side you will see the 25 Days Badge. You can pick any 25 days you want, I suppose. It doesn't have to be this 25 days. Also, feel free to answer Laura's Meme-Tag questions from my last post. The further we can get Laura's meme to go, the more it will get people to think about giving and making a difference. Woo hoo! I can't believe I'm famous! (well, you know what I mean..)
Ok, I missed day 16. Day 16 was sort of a blizzard, though. Well, really it wasn't that bad. I just plain missed it. For day 17, I am bringing everyone I work with coffee. One of them heard about my obsession with paying for strangers coffee at Tim Horton's and said, "well, you could buy me coffee. You know me." She was joking, but I'll take her up on that.
I also clicked here, where all of the money given by the sponsors for our clicks goes to giving women free mammograms.
I was also Meme-tagged by Laura and her mom today. So, here goes:
1. In your opinion, what does it mean to make a difference?
The thing I like about the term "making a difference," is that it is so broad. Making a difference can be anything. The difference could be as simple as a smile, or as big as curing a disease. You could make a difference in a stranger's life, in your best friend's life, in you family's life, or your community or town or whole country, for that matter. Making a difference to me is whatever you do, today, that makes someone's life a little better.
2. What is an example of a unique way to make a difference?
I think a great unique way of making a difference is having a blog dedicated to just that. People like Laura, Jen Lemen, Sam, Stephen and the rest at Cool People Care, and a ton of others are making a huge difference just by sending their ideas out into the crazy internet world for people to read, get inspired by, and actually do.
3. Who has made a difference in your life this week?
This is hard. I think a lot of people have, in different ways. One person who did was the friend who I mended her jeans for her. She was so happy and appreciative that it made me want to patch a million pairs of jeans. Also, the new lady at work, who has let me vent to her and wants to make a change for the better at work. I'm sure there are a million others, I just can't think of them. The people at the Timmy Ho's drive-through, who are always nice and smile and who check my coffee now to make sure it is black before they hand it to me. :)
4. If Laura didn't have a blog, would I still be making a difference?
Yes, but not as often, and I wouldn't be thinking about it every day. I was already inspired by other blogs by the time I found Twenty Five Days, but that one just pushed me over the edge for the month of December. The other way this question could have been meant was, if I personally did not have a blog, would I still be making a difference. And I think I definitely would, because I don't always blog about it, but it is a nice place to come and share what I've done.
5. What is your favorite thing about the internet?
My favorite thing about the internet is the inherent freedom of it. People all over the world are on here, talking to each other, making plans, having ideas, selling things, buying things. And you have to take the bad with the good, but that's why parents filter out the good stuff for their children, and that's why adults have spam filters, pop-up blockers, and we only have to go where we want to. I can feel free to write whatever crazy stuff I want to and post it for the world to see it. The world is so small now, too. I just noticed watching the news last night that they are instantly showing viewers pictures of the storm as it is happening. And they have hundreds of them. Pictures of people's dogs playing in the snow, or their kids, or that big branch that almost fell on their car, etc. etc. Just a few years ago the news couldn't do that. Just a few years ago people didn't have digital cameras, and cable modems, quickly sending off their favorite shots. It's kind of a weird time to be living in. As a freshman in high school, I didn't know what the internet was. But then, senior year, we got the internet at home and at the school library. It was so new that my high school didn't even put filters on it and we could go to whatever site we wanted to. That is unheard of now. That doesn't even happen in people's offices now. It was mostly text based. Chat sites didn't automatically pop up with smiley graphics and sounds, you had to reload that page to see what the new and different strangers were saying to you. Now i would be lost without it. I would give up cable tv before the internet. Heck, I might give up my car before the internet! Well, that might be going to far.. ok, I could go on and on. I think the internet is pretty close to magical. It is new, and changing and bringing people closer than anyone thought was possible.
Now, in my head, I have millions of blog reading fans and I am tagging all of you to answer these meme questions. Reality may be a little different from that... Becky, are you reading at least? Do I have one lonely blog reader? TAG, you're it.
Today I had a tree planted in real life for my sister through Mokugift. It is a really cool site where they are planting trees all over the world for just 1 dollar each. You can even get some free ones by spamming you best friends (all for a good cause). It was super easy and took way less than 5 minutes.
I didn't get a chance to play for any FreeRice today. It's been busy. The storm that Laura mentioned is starting to hit. Hopefully it won't be as bad as they are predicting, but I hope the kids all get their snow day on Monday, too. Come to think of it, I wish adults got snow days...
I also donated money to my library today. Well, I was forced to donate money... Word of advice: Keep track of your library books. Be very careful with them. Turn them in on time. And whatever you do, do not take them on vacation!
Today, I finished mending my friend's jeans. (It took longer than I thought.)
I also opted out of junk mail. It won't get rid of all of it but it will reduce the amount of credit card and insurance junk mail I get, thus reducing pointless garbage. I get a LOT of them, and if this helps, there will definitely be less paper waste going into these garbage bags. Check it out here.
I also donated 3360 grains of rice.
Small things, but I'm still going!
Yesterday, for day 11, I found all of the change in my car and brought it into the grocery store to put in the Salvation Army kettle. It turned out to be more than a big handful and the bell ringer said, "all righty then!"
Today, for day 12, I give you this video from Youtube. Pascal's wager has pushed me over the edge on this whole climate change thing, I think. It doesn't really matter which scientists are right and which are wrong. It doesn't hurt to turn your lights off and drive a smaller car.
I have to go to work in like 2.5 minutes and I'm not even dressed yet. Today I vowed to only use 1 paper towel when washing my hands and to turn the water off while I scrub and back on to rinse. Speaking of work, I work in health care and wash my hands A LOT. So this should help.
Ok, it's been more difficult than I thought. It's partially due to the perfectionist in me. For some reason I have it in my head that little things don't count or that it will cost a lot of money. Also, between home and work, I am definitely caught in some sort of weird rut. It's a routine that's not necessarily a good one or a productive one. There has to be some sort of happy balance between selfishness and giving. And I also have to do some work on me. But I now realize that even if I only do the two things that I already did, I will have helped Laura out in her cause. Even two little things are a contribution. Even just five minutes.
Today I joined Free The Slaves. In just a couple seconds I signed up for email updates on the best ways to educate myself and help end the slavery that still goes on in this world. They will even update you on current laws and politicians to write letters to at opportune moments. It was free, it took a couple seconds, and it counts!
