Engineering Smiles

I’m on a bit of a YouthWorks kick to start out my new blog, which is fair, considering YW’s pinnacle role in my life. I’m halfway through posting my summer recaps and am still unpacking so much since returning to southern California.

One of the first changes I noticed about me was my dealings with complete strangers. I’ve always been able to talk at the random cashier; suddenly I found myself wanting to talk with him or her. Wanting to make a difference in my own unique way.

My grandfather on my dad’s side is basically Mr. Talk With Anyone. My own dad has followed in his father’s footsteps, and lo, after 24 winding years, I might be progressing that direction as well.

To quote Darth Vader in the newly edited Return of the Jedi: “Noooooo!”

Nah. It’s cool. Really. I love the thought of becoming my fa —

Almost immediately upon returning to southern California two months ago, I started experiencing some memorable interactions. First was the Starbucks cashier. Then the Walmart cashier. Then the IHOP waitress.

All of them, conversations that went beyond a simple “hey how are you today” and a subsequent “that’s good.” For whatever reason I would naturally start talking about YouthWorks and how I was trying to readjust back to my old life again — to start a new one. And they would listen, ask questions. Engage with me.

This weekend at Panera, my primary writing locale, I was ordering a coffee and the middle-aged female cashier asked whether I wanted the standard mug or a wider, trendier one.

I’d never been offered the trendy mug before — always the standard. So I smiled and requested the trendy one. Hours later when I returned said mug, I just so happened to bump into the same cashier and she asked how my coffee tasted in the trendy mug. More smiles on both sides.

This is life; this is what it’s all about. Engineering smiles.

I don’t pretend to have my life all together here; in fact, it just might be messier and more “untogether” than it’s ever been. Especially in the relationships department. I’ve always struggled with relationships — friendship — as evidenced by my recent fear of man post. This struggle’s taken on new challenges since the summer ended.

And yet communicating with complete strangers now strikes me as effortless and enjoyable. Maybe because there’s no pressure to maintain the relationship. I see them once, then maybe never again. So why not make the most of it?

I love those cashiers. I was one of them for a horrid month at Kmart three years back, and I always appreciated customers being friendly with me. Always stuck with me. And so I’m trying to do the same for them. I look forward to writing more about my random interactions with the world.

Watch out world: you just might make it into my blog someday. Or maybe even something more.