It was hard to get out of bed this morning, due mainly to a late-night closing shift that left me so tired I could hardly keep my left contact in place. But there was also a general unhappiness whose source I couldn’t quite place. I dreamt last night that Asa drove out here as a birthday surprise; I woke to find this not the case at all (much like my “fuck this country, I’m moving to Canada” dream from the night before—I was still in Santa Fe when the sun rose). I hate nightmares, but at least they’re over when you 
get up. Good dreams just lead to disappointment. There’s nothing to look forward to in the morning.
So I sludged out of bed with a “did someone steal from my tip jar?” attitude and I was fairly grumpy from thereon in. As a side note, I’m pretty sure that someone did steal from the tip jar because after a night complete with two music gigs and more smoothies and espressos and chais and dirty dishes that two people can handle, we each walked away with something like 16 bucks in tips. Who in their right (or wrong) mind would steal from a tip jar? I don’t think I can type WTF? large enough to express my anger, so I’ll just keep it in the same font size and leave it to your imagination. WTF? There, I made it bold. That should help.
Anyway, the point of this ramble is that after lying in my bed all day, I finally mustered up the energy to drag my ass to Wild Oats. This is a decidedly good thing, because the fridge was bone dry, and I was starving. Actually, that’s not true, it was filled with moldy cheese and rotten beets. And one egg.
When I got to the grocery store, I saw two gerber daisies smiling up at me brilliant in red and pink. I am a sucker for flowers. In general, I’m not very girly, I don’t think, but I do love flowers. They make me smile, I guess. So I grabbed the daisies and headed to the checkout counter—this is where it gets good—and the cashier told me he was going to give the flowers to me as a gift.
Okay, so it was a three dollar gift and the flowers are already partially wilted, but it sure as hell made me smile.
PS: That’s a picture of me and my dad. I used to like to zip up his jacket all the way, which would make him have to wince and lift his chin up, which was funny, because it would cause the worry lines in his forehead to form, and I always thought wrinkles were hilarious. So in that picture, I’m zipping up his coat. And that picture makes me smile, too.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Jay_galk25 // Aug 27, 2005 at 2:21 pm
I spend so much time pondering my bad dreams after their over, I never get the sense of it’s better than having a good dream though. After a good dream, disappointment is gonna always be, because what you wanted isn’t there and I know that feeling to well. I must say though, I love dreaming and the fact that I can remember them, one of the few things I actually like about myself hehe.
Jay “I Love Kat Rawr”
2 thinlizzy17 // Aug 27, 2005 at 3:21 pm
Free flowers will always make me smile! I’m happy that happened for you today, especially after someone stole from your tip jar. I hope that person has something mildly bad happen to him or her today. Some sort of skin rash or something as cosmic repayment.
ryc: I love the Sunday NYT puzzle, too. I’ve only ever finished one. And, I admit that I cheat (i always cheat on the acrostics, otherwise I’d never finish those, which I do occasionally). Now that I’m thinking about it I’ll have to get the paper tomorrow!
3 TimsHead // Aug 27, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Good dreams just lead to disappointment. There’s nothing to look forward to in the morning.Brilliant and novel observation, my friend. Many times have I dreamed about finding someone only to wake and realize I’d found no one. Knowing that a bad dream is over brings some comfort; knowing a good dream was but a dream brings only discomfort.Three cheers for a random act of kindness! Let’s hope you remember that far longer than whatever happened to your tips!
4 x_defying_gravity_x // Aug 27, 2005 at 5:29 pm
That’s adorable! (The picture that is)That was nice of the guy to just give the flowers to you…there aren’t enough nice people in the world today.
5 StigmataMartyr42 // Aug 27, 2005 at 8:55 pm
I hate having good dreams, especially when they wake one up and they realize that it was only a dream! Very frustrating indeed. Happens to me all the time, grrr. The story about you zipping up your dad’s coat reminds me of when my younger brother puts on my hood because he says it looks cool, but not lately because it’s been so hot.
I love fish tacos, especially from this one place called Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. Do they have those in Santa Fe? Just curious. So I leave for New York City on Monday and I am way friggin’ excited. I’m gonna be all over the place. Have any recommendations on where to eat as eating is a big part of my life, especially on vacation. Hopefully I will find some place where they serve fish tacos, lol.
Take care.
6 rubyblue123 // Aug 28, 2005 at 6:18 am
What a nice memory of your dad. My husband lost a chunk of skin under his chin from our daughter doing that exact thing and he managed to do it with a smile. I think it’s great that simple things make you happy - it’s possible for it to happen more often that way.
7 trcs // Aug 28, 2005 at 8:38 am
I love nice people. The smile you enjoy after encountering one is the kind that wakes your spirit up a bit.
8 human_interaction // Aug 28, 2005 at 10:21 am
I like the daisys.
9 fern_forest // Aug 28, 2005 at 11:07 am
i a huge sucker for flowers too. they make my day. i should go and buy myself some. great idea! gerber daisies are perfect and i love the cashier. love him. people who steal from tip jars should be punished by having to wash dishes in a smelly restaurant for no pay for a year. that’s just beyond pathetic.
10 Gnarlysurf // Aug 28, 2005 at 1:43 pm
Shalom! RYC: Hmm yeah that was kinda funny so I will give you some props for that - just don’t go making jokes too much for you might be confused with someone who is happy. Well…unless that’s what you are going for…happy that is. Ok nevermind. So this time I did read your post. :) I don’t know if I have any pictures that make me smile tho I do have my DVD films that I took while living in Paris. I used a regular cam corder and when I got back to the states my friend copied them onto 3 DVDs so that wouldn’t get chewed up as most VHS casettes do. Anyways they make me smile. Hmmm now I must go and find a jacket to see if all that buttoning up is really worth my wild. Just like the NY lotto…hey you never know.
11 Chekhovslittlebrother // Aug 28, 2005 at 7:10 pm
Sweet.
12 Gabe_Real // Aug 28, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Tremenda photo!Tremenda flowers and gesture!Positive Vibes on the things we hold dear (and the surprises along life’s daily journeys) that bring a smile to our face and a bigger smile to our heart and soul.Take care of you Laura,Gabe
13 Gabe_Real // Aug 28, 2005 at 9:24 pm
*And really, people that steal tips should get their hands cut off… (Or maybe something less severe than a loss of limbage - but I can’t really think of anything else and it sounds like a good punishment to me… Heh)
14 HaveyoumetGreg // Aug 29, 2005 at 2:49 am
It’s always nice when something happens to restore faith in the world. Even if it’s something small and inconsequential. I think that it not only helps the person recieving the act, but also the person doing the giving.
15 AZcowboy // Aug 29, 2005 at 6:14 am
How sweet you and your dad!
RYC: I’ve tried some of the local coffee shops and it just isn’t the same and costs the same or more. Not to mention Starbucks is on every corner so I don’t have to go looking or wait to get my fix…..
16 Rod_Lamour // Aug 31, 2005 at 6:59 pm
Beautiful my dear.