People do all kind of things for charity (yes, I haven’t written in the blog for over a month, sorry, let’s move on). As I was saying, people do plenty of weird and mental things for charity (oh come on now! I know I’ve taken a month but hey, I just didn’t have the writing bug. Can we get back to this post now?). So, people raise money for charity in the most inventive ways (for bleeping sake! I’m sorry mother/guinea pig/random person who found my blog by chance! I will try write more often!!).
So, the story goes: people – charity – random things.
Check this out, guys who get themselves in baths full of beans, shave their heads or
even go running around a close circuit to raise money… so there is no limit to raising money for charity and people actually do these things and worse in the name of good will. Kudos to them, I say.
Because people do the most random of things, I thought that today, at my usual supermarket, I would ask the cashier to give me my change in one pence coins. Not because I need them for a charity event or anything, but because my penny jar is almost full and I just can’t take it any longer. I want it full to the brim… The conversation went like this:
Her: £3.27
(I looked for coins in my pocket. Hand £3.50).
Me: Can I have the change in one pence coins?
(she stares blankly at me).
Me: It’s only £0.23, really… just 23 coins.
(she continues staring at me, puzzled)
Me: You know, £0.01 coins…
(she starts moving, slowly, still staring at me)
Me: It’s you know… I need 1 pence coins…
(she starts counting coins, still looking at me as if I’m an alien)
Me: (I think ‘I got it! Perfect excuse’) It’s for charity. A one pence coin charity collection thing…
(I think, ‘darn dude, you are good, you are clever. No one ever says anything like: ‘for charity? How stupid! Don’t you dare! I won’t help you’. I mean, people bath in beans, I just wants one pence coins…’)
(She stops counting, looks at me up and down. Continues counting. Gives me 23 coins. I smile).
Me: Thanks. You know, charity. So…
I leave, still feeling her stare at the back of my head…
What was that about!? Fair enough, I lied, it wasn’t for charity, it’s actually because I want my penny jar full, but nevertheless, you would think, you know, for charity, one would at least smile and say ‘oh how nice of you! you are collecting pennies for charity! What charity is it?’. If you don’t sound slightly interested when someone talks about doing something for charity everyone else looks at you like you have no heart for not caring for others…
But then it hit me. Maybe it wasn’t the fact that I was helping her by getting rid of her pennies, or that I was collecting £0.01 for a charity or the fact that she spent the whole of two minutes (slow woman, you see) counting pennies that bothered her at all… Maybe it’s the fact that she thought I was a cheap bastard that was just giving £0.23 for charity! I got the solution though. I’m going back tomorrow, with a £10 note, to buy a £0.43 Edinburgh Evening News. And I’m asking for all the change to be given in pennies. I bet she will smile then, knowing that we are doing something good for a charity organization… and not just my almost full penny jar…
You can have my pennies.
Consider it charity
I am so sorry I missed that…
Hey, here’s a thought. Why don’t you go to beggars in the street and request their pennies? For charity obviously…
So how did it go with the £10 note?
And here’s the charity song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ypCHRykUU
It just made my day
Well, have you thought about setting up a charity for poor PhD students?
Hey, I just shaved my head. Unfortunately I didn’t remember about your post so the hair ended up in the rubbish bin …