Random Acts of Kindness

Hello friends,

I talked about the Pay it Forward issue just a few days ago, and today I did just that. Since I am out of my apartment in Sharjah and moved to Meadows in Dubai for a short while till my apartments in International City are ready, I thought I should say a thank you to two places near my home where I frequented on an almost daily basis.

First stop was Al Ahlam Net Cafe. I used their net cafe almost daily (for emails- chatting with a certain friend in Saudi, and blogging) and was always given a warm welcome. Sometimes he would even let me chat and not charge me. I said a huge thank you to him for his wonderful services, and his reaction was that of an awkward silence followed by a long time of " you-are-one-of-my-best-customer" kind of talk.

However, it was the second place where I got a reaction that left me stunned. I got a Thank You card and addressed it to the staff and serves at my local McDonalds. I thanked them for always serving me with a smile. For two years I had been coming to McDonalds right in front of my house on an almost weekly basis, and got to know all the people working in there, so much so, one of them even gave me two burgers when I ordered for one. So, I walked in and asked to talk to the manager, and told him that I wanted to thank him and the rest of his staff for doing a good job and handed him the card. His reaction, as well as that off the filipino servers there, was that of a long, shocked, stunned silence. They didn't know what to say. All I could say then was "thanks so much for everything, and I will miss coming here."

It gave a rush as I sat back in my car and realized how amaxing I could feel when I said thanks to people who I don't really know. It's the same kind of rush/ thrill I get when I am on a roller coaster. I am encouraged now to do more acts of random kindness now and enjoy the adrenaline rush I get from it.

Mansur