Where have all the happy people gone?

Resting afterwards
Originally uploaded by peejaygee

This is the first time I'm blogging after a 12 hour night shift, but I feel the need to put some thoughts out there this morning.

As I started to drive home from work this morning, I felt great leaving work behind; I had a good shift. I think I worked hard and provided really good care to my patients. But, the moment I leave the parking lot, I start to feel an overwhelming sense of frustration. What is it with the general public these days? On the way home, someone cut me off in traffic, I look around and see most people in a crazy rush to get somewhere that they don't enjoy going to in the first place, and when I go to Starbucks for a breakfast sandwich and a decaf coffee, I found the service to be not so friendly. Granted, I know the morning crew has to wake up pretty early (hey, I worked at Starbucks when I was going to university and hey, I just worked from 7pm-7am), but is it that hard to smile, make eye contact, say thank you or even just acknowledge me beyond finding out my order and taking my money? I remember when I used to work at Starbucks....I worked with a great crew. We had fun in the mornings. We had a lot of regular customers and you could tell that we genuinely enjoyed serving our customers. I know these days people often have a lot on their plates. I know what it's like to have a mortgage, barely get sleep between work and the kids and to have bad days (and I know there's a lot of personal suffering out there), but I find that more often than not, people are just not friendly anymore. Luckily, the people I've surrounded myself with make me feel good. It's just so frustrating most days to step out the door. Don't get me wrong, I'd go crazy if everyone were like Mary Poppins, but a little spoonful of sugar now and then wouldn't hurt.

Maybe now I'll have a peaceful sleep.......