Tippy-toed Flat-foot! in QUOTIDIEN

First: I AM SORRY for not having been able to note anyone. Reading has also been sporadic, lately. I'm getting used to this new 50 hr week.

I now have two weeks under my belt as this Concierge job, and I can't tell you how delighted I am. When I started, I was told that the people at my first, and largest building, were non-communicative, and disgruntled people. I accepted that as a challenge, but have found that it wasn't much of a challenge in that there is absolutely nothing wrong with these people. Seriously.

Last night, an employee was leaving the building - but turned around before exiting the second set of doors. I wondered if I had done something wrong. Why else would someone turn around and head straight back for my desk.

He introduced himself, Mr. 'Niceguy' we'll call him, a project manager for one of the largest phone companies in this country, and went on to say how gratifying it was to walk in to work and be greeted by someone pleasant. "...and I've watched you stand up and wish people a good evening. Most remarkable, to me, is that even when I go to lunch and come back, every time, you are up on your feet, greeting me or waving me on. Eighteen years, and this is the first time I've felt that this building was watched and CARED FOR by a Security Concierge." He asked me for my supervisor's name, and if I thought there was any way I could be there EVERY day.

I'm sharing this, not as a means of boasting (okay, maybe a little), but to tell you what this gentleman found so extraordinary: being treated with common courtesy, and a smile.

I am an extrovert. Remember? Labrador Retriever. Greeting people is my thing. Caring about what I do - also my thing. In my paradigm I was rewarded by this gentleman for doing nothing more than what I do when I walk down the street. I make eye-contact. I smile. I offer a greeting when it is appropriate (and in this place, it is)....and 90% of people will mirror that behavior. There is no Herculean effort, on my part. It's just that I've been given a forum to be 'fully' MJ - and how bloody cool that I'm getting paid for something so natural to me.

The surprise for me is in how dramatically these people are responding to it all; like starving people at a well-stocked smorgasbord. And when I come home at night, I am exhausted. Not 'me', but my body. The 'I' of me is jubilant and wants to hug strangers, which is generally frowned upon by society, as a whole.

From psychology of eye contact

•Eye gaze When a person looks directly into your eyes when having a conversion, it indicates that they are interested and paying attention. However, prolonged eye contact can feel threatening. On the other hand, breaking eye contact and frequently looking away may indicate that the person is distracted, uncomfortable, or trying to conceal his or her real feelings.

AN EXPERIMENT: Just for today try direct eye-contact with a greeting and a smile especially with people you're not usually inclined to do so with (can't fix that sentence), and see what kind of response you get back. I'm telling you - the feedback is FUEL, folks!