We are in Des Moines for a few days with my wife working with other teachers and state education experts, creating an online curriculum, and me screwing around.

#really

Yes, really. I’ve been getting runs in, getting steps in, and she’s been just working away on her computer with her kindergarten group. Actually, I’m really proud of her and her work because this is a HUGE step outside her comfort zone. I mentioned in my last blog that we’d been feeling old, this is not helping at all. BUT, she’s so happy with the help she’s been getting on this project. In the past, she’s not felt she gets the help she needs. Not with this project!

#helpingisagoodthing

But this is not the only time during this trip. We had a glitch in our reservation. Long story short, we called a number we thought was a directly to the hotel, but it wasn’t, so we paid much more. The receptionist was extremely helpful in getting the problem started to get fixed. We called the credit card and Paul (he only gave his first name) helped big time too. A big screw you to the spoof site we got nailed with during this trip. You people suck!

There were other nice people around too. We got on the elevator with a couple and just had a quick interaction, but it brought us joy. I got on today with a couple of service workers and they were flipping each other crap, then laughed as I told them that my wife was working so I was working out. I walked to the East Village and stopped at the StoryHouse BookPub, an amazing independent book store, and the owner made me freaking list of places I “had to go to” while I was walking around. And the dude (he was a dude) who made my cafe mocha at the coffee shop next to Raygun (well worth you time to have a virtual look), he was just a talker who made you feel right at home!

As my wife and I went on a walk, we talked about the fact that we are so conditioned to see people and just be on guard anymore. When people are friendly, smile, do something awesome, or just wish you a nice day, it’s so unexpected that it’s almost startling. From the great customer service I had at the book store to all the people who responded to my tweet about what to do while I was in the hotel, we were both struck with the amount of good will out there. Maybe it’s the week, maybe it’s where we are staying, or maybe we are going out our dang minds.

Ether way, nice, kind, funny people rule. Final answer.

So, make sure you choose nice. You never know when you might spook someone who wasn’t expecting it! 🙂