astrid and me had a day off – which we, quite frankly, needed. a long list of things to be done had piled up. so we started at the taxation office where i got the code to do my tax declaration online. the lady behind the counter was ok, though mechanical in a way – well she works in the taxation office, what can you expect, right? stop number two – my car dealer, i had forgotten to pay a bill (36 euro). the lady was really friendly, i even got a chocolate bar. though i got a little suspicious because back in the days when i drove my beloved skoda i never got a chocolate bar, and yes, it was from the same dealer. learning: driving an audi instead of a skoda gets you a chocolate bar. next stop: a coffee place near the university. bad bad bad experience. the waitress: unfriendly, uninterested, uninspired. i know it’s a hard job, but the way she waited us made us feel more as a disturbance to whatever business she had on her mind. the place was full of smoke – and i know i am pretty militant about smoke, but in the end i asked her if the air condition wasn’t working and her reply was “if you would have told me, i would have turned it on”. learning: when i go to a coffee place, restaurant there’s a couple of things i have to bring my checklist: (heating? check, running water? check, air condition? check). last stop – a sports store. since my old nike sneaker slowly started to smell like someone (or something) had died in them, i went for new ones. i tried exactly one pair whcih perfectly fit. in the 2-3 minutes it took me to decide, mr. shoeseller didn’t look bored, he didn’t look tired. he more looked like someone who’d rather commit suicide then serve one more customer. it might have been the day or an unfortunate chain of events – but in the end i kind of thought to myself – where have all the friendly people gone? people that show passion for what they do? happy people with jobs, people on a mission, people loving working, caring, serving, teaching, telling, talking with/to other people, their customers, friends, partners? whatever happens tomorrow, i will be friendly to whomever i meet – i won’t let the world get away with this one. will you join me in making tomorrow a happy day?
i believe.