November 15, 2018

Yesterday as I was on my way to a meeting my toque blew off my head because it was windy af and I had to chase it down the street like a chump

which wouldn't have been so bad, except as it was blowing away my toque blew into some dude's legs as he was also crossing the street, and you know what he did?

He laughed and kicked my toque off his leg and I swear I could have chewed him out for being a tool right then and there but I was worrying about catching up with my toque and also getting my hair, scarf, and glasses which slipped off my face as I was hustling in place

(I must have looked like a hot mess)

then as I was bending down to snatch up my hat my phone went flying out of my pocket and wouldn't you know it

the damn thing hit the pavement and the screen shattered into a bazillion horrible and depressing shards.

It was heartbreaking.

But I had to go to a meeting with a new client and my account manager so I had to keep my shit together even though I was freaking out internally because now I needed to get a new phone. There was no way I could use this broken POS. Ugh.

So after my meeting wrapped I headed to my friendly neighbourhood Rogers kiosk to get it replaced. As I was going through the transaction I mentioned that I was heading to Thailand in a few months and the dude said

oh no way, I just got back from Thailand and Indonesia!

and gave me a ton of tips and tricks to traveling through Thailand including making sure we do some scuba diving off the islands on the southern part of the country

(which we were planning to do)

and also to take as many night trains as possible since they're affordable and beautiful and offer lots of chances to actually interact with real Thai folks and not just dumb tourists like us. 

(we're now booked on a night train to Chiang Mai which I am PUMPED about)

"Sorry about this" he said "but it's gonna be $300 to buy out of your contract and get a new phone" and I said well, that sucks but OK. I'm not a baller but my corporation can afford it so I'll just buy it now and get money back on my taxes since it's a business expense.

And he said, oh you run a business, what do you do?

And I said I run a digital marketing agency blah blah and he said are you looking for copywriters? 

And I said, why yes I am

and he told me his gf was a CreComm grad and is a copywriter and is looking for more work and I thought THIS IS PERFECT because I have lots of work I need done and I'd rather pay someone to do it than do it myself because yr girl is busy af

so I left him my card and have a potential new hire without doing any work. 

What's weird about that whole exchange is that if I hadn't been chatty and pleasant and probably bordered on over-sharing what my company does, what our Thailand plans are, etc. 

(luckily for me I live in a city where everyone is unusually nice and talkative with strangers)

I might not have gotten those travel protips or had the potential to meet a new person who can help me grow my company and do good work for my clients.

The moral of the story I think is: be chatty and pleasant and good things will come to you.

It always seems to work out that way for me, anyway.