Slightly Nicer

#17 Finding stuff on sale

Published November 12, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer Leave a Comment
Tags: Black Friday, Blue, Christmas and holiday season, CyberMonday, Deals, Feels, Finding, Good, Holiday, Kohl's, Life, Light, nicer, Red, Retail, Sales, Shopping, Slightly, Speacial, Tag, Thanksgiving, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart

Well, Black Friday is fast approaching and I know people can’t wait to stand in line to recklessly knock each other over to get to the ridiculously unfairly marketed deals. However, this is about more than the violent episodes that may occur on that one day sale. It’s about random days when you didn’t expect to run into those large red tags, or hear the happy voice of someone announcing “Today’s Blue Light Specials”.

Sales are a win/win situation for the consumer and the producer alike. Walking into a store to pick up something that you were gonna get anyway, sale or no sale and finding out that you just got 50% off is like a magic moment, that soon turns into a “Well, since that was half off, I guess I can get something else” moment, where you try to convince yourself that you have enough money to shop ’til you drop. Its great, right?!

#17 – Finding stuff on sale makes you feel less guilty and slightly nicer about buying it.

#16 Random “I LOVE YOUs”

Published November 6, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer 1 Comment
Tags: #16, Advice, Do, I, ILY, Life, Long-distance relationship, Love, nicer, Opinions, Random, Relationships, Say, Send, Slightly, Valentine's Day, You, Yous

Sometimes we say it when we hang up the phone, leave the house or on special days like birthdays and Valentine’s day. Is it all a force of habit? Maybe. Maybe not. However, it does get redundantly used and expected-and rightfully so of course.

To me, I Love You’s (ILY) are like a nation’s currency, the more we “print and circulate”, the value drops. So when we receive an ILY when we least expect it, from someone we least expect it from, it feels extra great, and sincere. Weather its a text message from a person you haven’t heard from in a while, a letter from a Soldier at war or, your toddler’s first time saying those powerful three words.

So say something special to someone you haven’t said it to lately. Pick up the phone, log onto Facebook or grab a pen. Feel free to make it your (their) own in a cheesy thoughtful way, like, writing it in their dirty car window, arranging it with their favorite finger food or, in any goofy “only-they-get-it” way.

#16 – Receiving (and giving) random I LOVE YOUs makes you feel slightly nicer.

#15 Getting the last “beverage”

Published October 8, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer Leave a Comment
Tags: Beer, beverage, cold, Drink, Last, left, one, party, Recreation, The, United States

Opening up the fridge at a party and discovering that you now have eyes on the last beer in the place may cause more than one thought to race through your thirsty mind. Relief: For the fact that you

can enjoy one more cold, thirst-quenching drink. Then, Disappointment: Realizing that there’s only one beverage left at the party.Either way, I think excitement will eventually overtake the disappointment, due to the fact everyone is envying you, the person with the last cold-one. So you take your slow sips, trying to make it last long enough for a) more to arrive. Or b) the party to be officially declared ‘over’.

#15 – Getting the last of the “beverage” could make the ending of a good-night feel slightly nicer.

#14 Telling the truth & having the truth told to you

Published October 6, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer Leave a Comment
Tags: #14, Abe, Fibs, Honest, Honesty, Liar, liars, Lied, Lies, Life, Me, Song, Tell, Telling, To, Told, Truth, Video, White

Honesty. It’s the best policy. There’s few things more nerve-racking than having someone lie to you. I think being on the receiving end of a lie affects more emotions than one would think. It could make you angry, sad, confused, irate and even happy (more on that later). It’s a direct insult to ones intelligence. The only reason a person would fib to you, is if they think that you’re not witty enough to realize that it’s a lie.

People lie about all types of things. What really causes me to become annoyed are Volunteer Liars (VL). They are the people who lie when there is no real benefit for the lie. It’s just empty chatter.

Example: You’re talking to someone about the recent bad weather. The VL walks in the middle of the conversation, telling you about a horrible-record-setting-storm that his/her 3rd cousin (whom, by the way, happens to be a blind, one legged, obese woman that plays for the Detroit Pistons) survived back in 1970.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit. But There’s no point in the lie, still the VL chose to eject it from their mouth anyway.

Okay… The famous “White Lie”.

For reasons we think are “right”, white lies are accepted amongst the general population. Probably because it’ll be more polite to lie during a certain situation, than to be honest. However, that all depends on who you’re dealing with. No matter what, “A lie is a lie, even if its white.”(watch the video below)

I do believe that things would be nicer if everyone told the truth, when they should tell the truth. I have no problem “pleading the Fifth”. Realize that pleading the Fifth leaves room for assumption.

#14 – Telling the truth & having the truth told to you, makes people seem honest and slightly nicer.

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#13 Winning (or losing) at competitions

Published October 4, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer 1 Comment
Tags: A, Be, Charity, How To, Life, nicer, Pride, Self, Slightly, Win, Winner, Winning

Winning is great. Let’s be honest, no one wants to lose or even more so-lose badly. The only case where losing is acceptable and makes all parties involved feel equally as great, is if it’s what I like to call A “Charity Loss”.

I define Charity Loss, when any given opposition feels bad about a clearly foreseen win that could take place and, instead throws the competition allowing the underdog to win. These are common when Parent vs. Child or should I say Adult vs. Non-adult “competitions” take place. All sides leave feeling great about what just happened. Which is, in my opinion, ideal.

Charity Losses in other cases (like the professional world) where the opposition is supposed to be as equally skilled as another is extremely rare and, if it does happen, an investigation will most likely follow.

When a person win at something its assures them of their confidence and/or patients. In other ways it’s like a reward for your hard work and time well spent. Not being over-zealous about winning would also help your image of any possible spectators and your competition.

However, I do think that winning is a perception and is valued most by the beholder. If one tries his or her best and knows that they’ve done so, they too will be or at least feel like a winner.

#13 – Winning in your own right (or losing) makes you feel slightly nicer about yourself.

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#12 Relaxing on Vacation(s)

Published September 3, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer Leave a Comment
Tags: Life, off, Stay-cation, Staycation, Time, vacation

Sir, Would you like a vacation? Why Not!?

At times our batteries needs recharging, sometimes that could be taken care of with a few extra hours of sleep, a day off, or better yet, a vacation!

On average I work 12 hour days, six days a week. By the end of the sixth day, I feel like I’m 15 years older than my actually age. That seventh day feels like magic, but after working this cycle for 7-8 months, that Seventh day was nothing. So, I took a six-week leave of absence from work, visited my hometown, family and friends in various places within the United States. It was great. Now, this is my first day back at work. (I actually have the energy to write this blog post!)

With the help of all that “free time”, I had plenty of time to think, and time to not-think. (hey, not-thinking is awesome, too!) I realized that maybe im working too much. (due to my outstanding work ethic, I’ll probably still work my arse off.) The great part is that im considering taking a year off in a few months!

None-the-less, im fully recharged and ready to hit the workplace hard.

Maybe you’re not a workaholic like myself, you still should treat yourself (and the fam) to a nice vacation… or stay-cation. you don’t have to travel the world and it doesn’t have to be six weeks. Maybe you could hit Vegas for a couple of days, go hiking on the weekend, check out the amusement park that you havent been to in a while or you could go to a spa for two days and read a book. You Deserve It! Treat yourself as well as you treat others!

#12 Taking a vacation helps your mind and body feel Slightly Nicer.

#11 Poetry/Spoken-word

Published July 12, 2010 Life , Slightly Nicer 2 Comments
Tags: #11, art, Childish, Life, nicer, Poem, Poetry, Recite, Slightly, Spoken, Word

#11 Poetry

Whatever your style is… the world needs it.

Poetry gives freedom a whole new meaning. Its truely a special gift. To be able to educate, inspire and move people of many ages, all the while leaving room for interpretations is a beatiful thing.

Weather you like jotting down your words in a notebook and keeping them to yourself, or you love performing and reciting your poetry to the world. Im conviced it does some for you/us.

I could go on listing some great poets from many time frames and ages. Im sure You have your favorite.

#11 – Poetry allowing one to express their thoughts in written, verbal, or even visual form makes the world more expressive and slightly nicer.

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