Several years ago, I was working in a garden center. We got our Easter lilies in the week of Easter. By Saturday, we still had some left. A lady came in and asked to see them. I took her to them and she seemed happy with how they looked. I asked her how many she would like and she replied that she would come back Monday when they would be half price.

At the end of the day, the owner came out of the office to leave. He saw that we only had a dozen or so left and told us to each take one, and an extra if we had someone to give one to. We ended up taking all that was left. I was glad to be there Monday to see the woman’s face when we had no half-price Easter lilies.

My friend’s boyfriend is deaf but prefers to read lips rather than sign. I was at his graduation party, and he was reading the cards and opening the gifts in front of a few of us. He came across one card from one of my friend’s relatives.

When he opened the card, James Brown’s “I Feel Good” started playing. Some of us chuckled, some of us danced and sang. The boyfriend asked what was going on. We explained that it was a singing card, and he politely chuckled and thanked the relative, who wasn’t present that day.

Another friend turned to me and said, “Did they really give a music card to a deaf guy?”

(I used to work for a medical insurance company. I answered phone calls and emails from customers who had questions about their insurance policy or reimbursements. In this case, the customer had a coverage of 80%, meaning that he had to pay for 20% of the amount himself. The following is an exchange over email.)

Customer: “I saw that 80% of my invoice was paid, but what do I have to do about the remaining balance?”

Me: “The coverage for this type of expense is 80%. This means that we have paid for 80% of your expenses to the hospital directly. The other 20% should be paid by you, yourself.”

Customer: “I don’t understand. What do I have to do?”

Me: “Since the coverage is not at 100%, this means that we cannot pay for 100%. We have paid our share to the hospital. The remaining balance of [amount] should be paid to the hospital by you, yourself. If you have already paid this to the hospital, everything is fine and no further action is required. If you want, you can give me a phone call or provide me with your phone number, so I can give you a call, so I can explain this to you by phone.”

Customer: “I really don’t understand. What do you want me to do?”

(He has given me no phone number and no other option than to send another email.)

Me: “The amount of [amount] has to be paid to the hospital by you, yourself. If you have already paid [amount] to the hospital, you should do nothing. If you have not yet paid [amount] to the hospital, you need to pay [amount] to the hospital. If you are unsure whether you have paid or not, please contact the hospital’s billing department.”

Customer: “I am [Customer]’s manager and I have been over these emails with him. We both do not understand what he needs to do.”

(Again, I was given no phone number. At that point, I decided to break the rules and put the email back in the general mailbox instead of my personal one to let someone else deal with it. The worst part is that these people work for the United Nations.)

We were given a kitten as a birthday gift. While we didn’t approve of the type of gift, the little one was more than welcome. He is a Blue Russian mixed with a Siamese, and they are said to be talkative, energetic, and smart.

We noticed he was smart when we tossed away his toy mouse. Without teaching him anything, he brought it back to toss it again. His favourite game was us throwing the mouse from the staircase so he could rush down the stairs like an oncoming train.

Of course, there was a moment where we couldn’t play with him. When I was ill, I was in bed and noticed the cat climbing up the second staircase, which is an open staircase. The cat dropped its toy through the open space, letting it fall down the other staircase. Of course, the oncoming-train-cat rushed down the stairs and did it over and over again.

And that’s when I found out my cat learned to play “fetch” by himself.

This story is part of our International Day Of Happiness roundup!

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It’s a busy day at the post office, even with all three clerks working. I’m currently third in line waiting to mail a few packages. I am sat next to the second in line, a middle-aged lady who’s been complaining about the lack of efficiency.

She won’t shut up about how she “had to take a number and wait ten minutes just to buy a packet of envelopes, then step out of line, put her letters in the newly-purchased envelopes and write the addresses — three in total — take a new number, and wait another ten minutes to get the letters stamped, paid for, and sent. I mean, it’s ridiculous!” Just as she says that last part, a young woman walks into the post office. She’s probably in her early 20s, wearing a black dress and heeled boots, listening to music. The middle-aged woman immediately shifts her attention to the new arrival, and starts to complain about “today’s youth.”

The young woman does a quick scan of the room before taking a number. Then she walks over to one of the walls, plucks down a packet of windowed envelopes, carefully opens said packet and takes an envelope. She puts her letter in it, and inspects the front before sealing the envelope. Then she sits down, with her letter and the opened packet of envelopes in her lap, pulls a book out of her bag, and starts to read.

The middle-aged lady, having stuttered out a few confused noises while gesturing towards the young woman, is finally called to the counter and complains, mostly about the actions of the young woman — “I mean, she can’t do that! Just taking envelopes like that? That’s stealing!” — throughout the entire transaction, wasting another five minutes before leaving in a huff, glaring at the young woman.

The young woman is eventually called up to the clerk next to me. She takes out both earbuds — where most younger people, in my experience, would only remove one — hands the clerk the letter and the opened packet of envelopes, pays for both, smiles and thanks the clerk, and leaves with the rest of her envelopes. The whole transaction takes less than 30 seconds.

“Lack of efficiency,” indeed.