One of the most memorable events of my life occurred last night when a complete stranger paid my bill

Something happened last night that has never happened to me before, and it was wonderful. My friend Adam is having a birthday today, so I took him and my friend Meg out to a fancy restaurant where we ordered a really nice Kobe beef ribeye dinner, mint-infused lemonade, creme brulee with a side of Chambord (a raspberry liqueur) and some chocolate mousse (Adam's choice). When it came time to pay the bill, the server said, "There is no bill tonight as the gentleman over there with his family heard that someone was having a birthday at this table and has paid for everything."

I was in shock. Our bill was well over a hundred dollars, and seriously, this kind of thing has never happened to me. Ever. He came over a little later and we thanked him profusely and his own table had six laughing people at it (he kind of reminded me a little of Tony Soprano). I couldn't figure out why someone would do something like this other than to be incredibly nice to another person or group of people through a completely selfless act.

The effect this event has had on me is that I suppose I should be less cynical. I've gotten into this pathos of behavior where I think everybody in this world wants something from you. Certainly, watching American Greed on CNBC has gone a long way to sour my trust in humanity. But what this complete stranger did on a modest Sunday night in December kind of blew me away. It was very classy and made me realize that there is much good in this world.

I think this week is the start of a great last quarter for 2014. I don't put much stock into the whole idea behind "everything happens for a reason," but I have to admit that my whole outlook on life has been reset and I hope that the "zen" lasts. In any case, it has become one of the most memorable events of my life.

Has a complete stranger ever paid your bill at a restaurant or bar without ever asking for anything? 

The Pay It Forward Blog Hop

First off, the winner of the signed copy of Monarch by amazing author Michelle Davidson Argyle is Jen Burke from Jen's Bookshelf!  I shall contact you a.s.a.p. to get your shipping details. In the event that she declines the book I shall choose another winner.

Today I'm participating in the "Pay It Forward" blog hop organized by super bloggers Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish.

Here are the rules:

1. List, describe, and link to three blogs that you enjoy reading.
2. Visit and follow blogs that you see people pointing to that are on the blog list.
3. Visit all of them if you can, but if you can't then that's okay too.

And that's it.

Here are my three blogs that I enjoy reading:

1. The Grumpy Bulldog Blog by Rogue Mutt. Mutt's blog approaches writing with brutal honesty.
2. The Non-Sequitur Ramblings of a Steph Schmidt. Steph's blog is full of squishy non-sequiturs that include tales of school, nerd love, and giraffe earrings of good luck ju-ju.
3. Thinking The Lions by Briane Pagel. Mr. Pagel's blog has a lot to do with his autistic children, named Mr. F and Mr. Bunches as well as experiments in devouring  nasty Twinkies. He can ramble on and on and knows little of the word brevity, but I suppose that has to do with his lawyer-ness. Perhaps he will learn someday that it is not quantity of words that count but quality ;).

Please visit and follow all three. I shall include the blog hop code for you if you wish to join along (oh and have a great weekend):

The coolest staircase in the world

Look at what a group of clever engineers did to get people to change their behavior and choose to take the stairs instead of automatically heading for the escalator.

It's a great lesson in approaching a problem (such as obesity and lack of physical activity) from a new direction.

Tomorrow, I'm doing the Pay It Forward blogfest that's being run by Matthew MacNish and Alex J. Cavanaugh. You still have time to join and it should be fun!

Also in the blogging sphere, I'd like to let people know that Rogue Mutt (a.k.a. Patrick Dilloway) has moved his blog address. It is now located here. If you don't read his blog, I think of course that you should because the discourse about all things writing can be refreshingly bold. Sometimes the comments are even more fun than the blog post. Have a wonderful "Thor's Day" my friends :).