Small Gestures of Kindness

In my office I am unfortunate/fortunate enough to sit RIGHT under the AC which blasts cold air right onto my desk. Considering we live in a city with TEN months of summer it may be a blessing, but as someone once said to me, hot cities usually have excellent air conditioning my office gets really COLD! I'm one of those rare people that keep a shawl on me in JULY just because it gets so damn cold!

All that said, its a constant struggle with my coworkers - they constantly switch the AC on (with rightful reasons) and I constantly switch it off. Back and forth back and forth. We've all reached a silent understanding: They turn it on when I'm away and I turn it off as soon as I come back. Its a win-win situation. EXCEPT for in the morning when I also feel hot so I prefer having the AC on.

The dilemma for this time of day exists in the fact that since the AC blows directly onto my desk, my much needed morning cup of coffee or tea goes cold in TWO MINUTES FLAT! And everyone knows how precious that steaming hot cup of coffee or tea is to wake you up, clear your brains, and prepare you for that difficult day ahead. But when that AC decides to cool it down...its not much fun anymore.

So recently, right after I had turned the AC off I was telling a coworker of mine (Mr. X) who also gets blasted directly from the AC about how quickly my coffee cools down. Little did I know, another coworker (Mr. Y) who loves to have the AC on was listening as well. Today, I came in quite early and so had Mr. Y. I started drinking my cup of coffee (with the AC off of course). At one point, Mr. Y asked me - Sarah, are you done with your coffee? And I asked him, yes almost - why? Are you asking because you'd like to turn the AC on? And he says yes I would. I was blown away! He actually was considerate enough not to turn the AC on so MY coffee wouldn't go cold. And I hadn't even told him about the cold coffee dilemma, I had told Mr. X!

Even now, as I type this out I think how people have generally lost the ability to be kind and considerate for others. And I'm not talking about chivalry here. I'm just talking about putting the need of others before your own - just sometimes. We've become a generally selfish species and would be so much better off if we took care of our own kind.

So hats off to Mr. Y - I wish more people had your ability to be more considerate to the needs of others!