I smile as often as I can. Not only does it make me feel better, it also counteracts the frown lines that were fostered due to children. It also makes you look younger. Seriously, try it all day, and see!
Anyway, smiling can also be a not-so-good thing. I remember when I was working for Disney™, I used to walk around and ask the “guests” as customers are called, if they were finding everything they needed, if they needed help, or just pleasant chit-chat to cheer them up. One woman just did NOT like it. She took a complaint to the district manager and straight out accused me of stalking her and making her feel like a criminal. Thankfully, the manager knew me well enough to know that was complete road apples on the roadway, and told the woman that I was “in character” and that was part of my job. I always did wonder why the woman felt like I was treating her like a criminal. Usually, saying, “Hope you are finding everything you need, but in case you have a question, let me know!” doesn’t translate to “Are you shoplifting??”
Sunday was a day like that one. I was standing in line to check out of The Lego Store™, when the lady behind me asked what was wrong.
Me: Excuse me?
Lady: Are you feeling alright?
Me: Sure am, why?
Lady: Well, you’re smiling….
Me: Well, smiling is a good thing (smiling wider).
Lady: I thought someone was in trouble.
Me: HA! Wait… you thought I was plotting something?
Lady: Well, that’s how *I* look when I’m thinking of getting back at someone.
Me: ……Uh….no…. Not plotting anything.
I felt pretty bad for that lady. Seemed to me she never smiled for the sake of it, and attributed the act to nefarious doings. Don’t get me wrong. I do smile when I think of getting even with someone who has wronged me or mine. But that’s very rare. Smiling is a very powerful act. It can even break the ice!
But it can also make them wonder what you’re up to 😉
November 27th, 2012 at 9:43 AM
This idiot yesterday was crossing the parking lot the wrong way going fast I had to stop to let him whizz on by and instead of doing something not right myself I just smiled really big at him so big he had to take a double look at me probably wondering while he breaks the law why I’m smiling. It was the right thing to do and I felt great about it.
November 27th, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Kept him wondering 😀
November 27th, 2012 at 10:35 AM
I smile every time I think of Aggie.
And Joachina.
November 27th, 2012 at 11:45 AM
In a way, Joaquina smiles, too 🙂
November 27th, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Some peoples’ faces just naturally look like that….my boss smiles whether he’s happy or ripping someone a new one (kinda creepy, actually), whereas some of us just naturally look like we’re frowning all the time. Folks always tell me about that “it takes more muscles to frown” crap…I always respond with “Slacker”. That shuts them up in a hurry! As for the lady in the store, my response would have been “yeah, I’m smiling because I’ve got something to smile about! In about 30 seconds you’re going to find out exactly what that is…and you’ll probably quit smiling. Have a nice-ish day!”
Yeah….I’m such a people-person.
November 27th, 2012 at 2:34 PM
“Slacker”??? HAHAHAHA!!!!
November 27th, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Yeah, its always something like “it takes 40-ish muscles to frown, but only 4 to smile!” “Yeah…nobody likes slackers.” The “more experienced” people are able to freeze the smile on their faces…most just drop the smile and go straight to “uhhhh…”
November 28th, 2012 at 1:15 PM
How did I get so lucky!
November 28th, 2012 at 1:20 PM
You make him look good 😉
November 27th, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Love this!
November 27th, 2012 at 4:18 PM
Keep smiling!! 😀
November 27th, 2012 at 8:46 PM
You need a better plotting face. I recommend growing your eyebrows so you can twist the ends into little horns. In my case it translates into mad scientist, but on you…priceless.
BTW, WTF up with this…
http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=4506
November 27th, 2012 at 9:04 PM
A&M is overall a conservative school. The faculty and administration are, for the most part, liberal and for the most part, not Aggies.
For YEARS we have complained of a rising double standard where liberal groups get funded and conservative ones must raise the funds for whatever they wish to bring to the students. I recall the school funding Cat Stevens (or whatever Muslim name he goes by now), but telling the TAC that the school could not provide funds for (of all people) William F. Buckley because he would be speaking about politics. Yet Stevens talked about freedom for Palestine and how Israel had to be stopped. I was pretty liberal then, and I had HUGE issues with this crap being funded by the school.
The school has been consistent in its support of every single minority right, except this one. It’s about time they got spanked.
November 27th, 2012 at 9:05 PM
Also, that’s a negatory on the eyebrows. I have to fight to keep them separated as it is 😉
November 27th, 2012 at 9:16 PM
Shame..
BTW, you know who’s birthday it is, right?
http://sonofsoylentgreen.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/happy-birthday-jimi/
November 27th, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Smile, smile smile… it makes all the difference in hte world!
November 28th, 2012 at 8:06 AM
Indeed it does!! 😀
November 28th, 2012 at 6:53 PM
I am frowny when irked but when I am seriously pissed I smile and that is not a good thing. I also start speaking very quietly. Must’ve watched too much Clint Eastwood as a kid.
I can only guess that the lady grew up around people who were not the safest or stablest of folks.
At Disney… Were you toting a machete at the time? That can put people off.
November 28th, 2012 at 7:12 PM
I wish…. At the time, Disney pushed the whole “customer is always right” mantra 173%, so that woman could have been a career-ender, had the DM not known me so well 🙂