Sign language song

I was riding the path into hoboken and across from me there was a woman who was listening to her ipod. However she had her eyes closed and the entire time it looked like she was translating the song into sign language. It was a pretty incredible thing to see. I wanted to give her a card but because I lost mine last week and I haven't had a chance to make new ones, I realized I didn't have anything to give her. Then I realized my friend always had some in his wallet so I steal one back from him. The card said " I hope you don't mind that I put down in words, how wonderful life is with you in the world." Quoting elton. We both get off at hoboken and I tap her on the shoulder and hand her a card. She smiles and says thank you. ... :)

Passed on

I gave a card a couple weeks ago to a friend. He came back today telling me that the cards were awesome. He passed them on to a friend, she passed it on and it went through about 5 people, now its somewhere unknown. Hopefully on to a 6th person... :)

Lost them again

I am amazing haha. I lost my packet of cards this morning. They fell out of my pocket as I was biking to school. Another batch of potential smiles, ending up in the landfill. Please find them and hand them out. Please please please :(

Prep work

I made the template for 70 more cards. Ran out of my last batch. I decided I would probably put the barcode in the space under the text in the front of the card. I'm gonna experiment with sizes and try to get a rubber stamp laser cut so that its not printed. Its all about the making it by hand aspect for me... :)

Union sq musician

As cold as it was today, I ended up in union square waiting for a class to meet. While there I ended up sitting down next to a guy playing guitar. He asked me for a cigarette as I was eating my coffee and bagel. I gave him a smoke and we got into a long conversation. He asked me what kind of art do I do, and I pulled out a card and handed it to him. He looked at it, and then started smiling and asked can I keep this. I said ofcourse and he put it in his guitar case. He played some beatles for me and then I had to go. We said our goodbyes with smiles.... :)

So through a little experimenting, I found out that if I change the colors of the code around, it still works. This is so much less obscene than if it was black and white on the brown paper that I make the cards on. Im gonna figure out how to do this soon. I need to figure out the ideal size so that it isnt so obtrusive, find out how if I should print it directly onto the paper, probably or onto a sticker paper. Also I am beginning to look into QRMe codes which are the same but they can be tracked so that everytime someone scans it, I know where they scanned it, that could begin to show me if these cards are traveling or atleast how often these are being scanned. If anyone has any suggestions, I'll be glad to hear them. Thanks... :)

Cute smile on the train.

So I get on the train with my friend, heading back uptown. There was a very cute girl sitting down as we get on. She kind of glanced up and smiled. My friend leaves and I'm riding a couple more stops uptown, as I'm getting off she is still sitting down, and I walk over and drop it on her lap and walk off. She was confused but was reading the card as the train pulled away... :)

Equal exchange

So I was standing outside a diner with my friends, we were smoking cigarettes and a woman comes up and asks us to buy a cigarette. Zack says sorry I just bummed this off of someone, which he did...me, and I reach over and hand her a cigarette. She thanks me profusely and asks if she could give me a dollar. Zack says no, but you have to do something for us now, she says sure anything, he looks at me and says "card" and I pull out one of the cards. He says "its true, but you have to pass this on to someone as well." She says absolutely. This is awesome.... :)

QR

So I'm now thinking of putting these custom barcodes on all the cards. When scanned in a phone with a camera and QR software, most phones have this now. The message in this one says " you really really do have a gorgeous smile, I'm not lying .... iwantasmile.blogspot.com".     try it out if you can

Staring

I was walking out of the parsons building, and I see to girls standing having a conversation in front of the door. I made eye contact with one of the girls without realizing it because I was staring, she was looking back as well. I walk outside and look back again and she was looking at me as well. So I reach into my pocket and decide I'm going to give her one of the cards. I look back into the building and all of a sudden she's not there. I look around and see that she and her friend had already started walking down the block. I literally start running, her friend here's me running and turns around, I ignore her and tap the other girl on the shoulder, she literally jumped like she was shocked, and in that moment of shock I smile and hand her the card, turn around and walk away... today has just been a good day :)

Wow

So me and my friend zack are sitting at this bar called spain. And all of a sudden a girl walks by us to go to the bathroom. My heart almost stopped, one of those girls that you don't want to rip her clothes off the second you see her but rather one that is so beautiful that you just want to be able to look at her forever. All conversation stopped as we waited for her to walk by again. She did and then zack said get a card ready. I took out one of the cards that said " hey stranger... you are just unbelievably, indescribably, undeniably beautiful... with an illustration on the back that said "I'm so embarrassed".... I have the card ready and she was getting ready to leave the bar, but she just wouldn't, she kept getting stuck in more and more conversation, I kept looking over to see if she was walking out yet, but she wouldnt . This little game went on for a while as people just kept on talking to her. Zack says "I've never wanted a girl to leave the bar so much in my life"... finally she walks out and I run out after her. I yell excuse me and she turns around. I tell her "you dropped this" and she says " o oo ok" and nervously takes it from me. I turn around and walk back into the bar before i could even glance a reaction. No matter how many times I do this, I somehow still get butterflies in my stomach every time... it doesn't get easier .... :)

I don't like it...

So today my friend who was at the bar last night after I left, told me about what happened to the card that I had given to Jen. Jen had apparently given it to her friend who was with her. And her friend had really liked the bouncer. So her friend took the card and with a pen, wrote down her name and number on it, and handed it to the bouncer. I personally don't like the use of the card in that way, it seems to eliminate its purpose. Although I know that once the card is in someone elses hands, I have no control over it. That's one of the things that I love about this though, is that its so easy to change and adapt. Make your own and use it for some other purpose, that's fine. As long as the bouncer smiled the card served its purpose, however the cards life ended there as it could no longer be passed on. That's what I don't like about the situation. I wish that these cards will travel and travel and hopefully some day one may end up back in my hands. Well... I know it won't be the card with hollys name and number on it unfortunately.... :(

Home depot receipt

So my friend zack, was riding the subway heading home. As he's on the train a girl walks in with a guy and they sit across from zack. They weren't talking, the girl was crying and it seemed to zack that they were a couple, and that they had just gotten into a fight. At least this was what their body language and zacks intuition were telling him. Zack kept looking at this girl, who kept tearing up and wiping her eyes. And then it suddenly hit him how much she needed to be cheered up. He opened his wallet to look for one of the cards but realized that he didn't have any. All he had was a home depot receipt. He took the receipt, grabbed a pen and on the back of the receipt he wrote, "you are gorgeous, please pass this on to someone you feel is gorgeous as well" and as he was getting off at his stop he walks over to her and sets it on her lap. The train pulled away and he couldn't see a reaction, but I do hope that she smiled. ... the "you are gorgeous" home depot series... haha...... :)

Absolutely incredible smile

I passed out 3 cards today. I'm only going to recount one of them though. So I'm at the bar, there is this absolutely gorgeous girl that's hanging out with her friends. I couldn't really stop staring at her for most of the night, she clearly noticed. Through some random short exchanges she ends up sitting next to me and my friends at the bar. She was with her friend. The beatles were playing on the speaker and we are all singing along. The fact that she loved the beatles made me ecstatic. My friends ended up migrating a little bit, one to talk with the bartender and the other to go smoke a cigarette outside. This girls friend was in the bathroom. I pick up my coat to go smoke a cigarette as well, but before I walk outside I start looking for a card in my pocket. I knew exactly which one it was that I wanted. The card said " you have an incredible smile.... can I please see it again?" I take the card and set it right in front of her. She really did have an amazing smile. I turn around and I start to walk towards the door. As I'm about to walk out I stop and just look at her, she is staring at the card, front and back and finally opens it up. I see this smile creep along her face, ear to ear as she looks up at me. It wasn't just a smile it was one of those gigantic open mouthed smiles. She was indescribably beautiful, I loved seeing that smile, it totally made my night. I walked outside and smoked my cigarette. I found out later that her name was Jen. We went out for a slice of pizza afterwards..... :) she made my night

Ice cream girl

So I'm standing with a friend of mine, and we see this ice cream truck that's on the corner. There's a girl working inside. My friend reaches into his wallet and pulls out one of the cards, he waits till she turns around and places it on the counter. Other customers look at him a bit confused. We walk around the corner where we can still see her. After about 3 customers she finds the card. Turns it around, looks a little confused. Finally she opens it and smiles. She leans out to start looking around, looks at the cards a couple more times and then smiles again as a customer walks in and she continues along on her day.... :)

Lucky musicians :) ... I love chloe

So my friend chloe, the one that told me she made a new friend because of my card, told me she passed out another one to a xylophone player on bedford. She said he was looking so sad, so she came up to him and handed him the card. At first he thought that she was handing him her number but then he started looking at it. She got on the train, the doors closed, but she looked at him through the window and saw him start smiling and then look up at her and wave. "Its so addictive" she said. I gave her another card.... :)

Took me 4 hours

Just finished 17 of them. Took me about 4 hours or so. I just like the way they all look together.... :)

The latest version

So I have to make more now that I lost the ones that I had. I decided I would add the "you really do have a gorgeous smile" on a red sticker that's on all of them. This differentiates it from the rest of the writing, and hopefully doesn't come across as advertising... :)

Missing!!

So somehow or other I woke up this morning and my packet of cards was missing. I felt a little weird. The cards are all stored in a little black packet from my phone. I most likely had them fall out of my pocket on my way home last night. If wandering the street on the uws you happen to see a black packet with little you are gorgeous cards, please pick it up and pass them out for me, it breaks my heart to see that many potential smiles disappear to the landfill..... :(

One of those weird new york moments

So my roommate had found a table and 2 chairs outside. The guy had just brought it out because he bought a new one. He called me so that I could come look at it and bring it home with us. We had no space for it at all but it was a very great set, it was a shame to see it go to the trash. So we are starting to pick up the table and the 3 chairs and my roommates bike, all of which need to be brought up 5 flights of stairs... no elevator. As we are trying to coordinate all of this, 2 girls walk out of the bar and see us trying to somehow carry all of these things, they start laughing. I look at them and say " you guys want to help?" They seem a bit taken aback at first but then say sure, where are you taking it. They asked what it was and mentioned how we were lucky because they actually needed something just like that. My roommate looks at them and says do you guys want it? We don't actually have the space for it, we just don't want to see it get thrown out. They say sure, that would be great. We ended up bringing the furniture to their apt, which was about 7 blocks down. While walking we talk and find out that one of the girls graduated from parsons as well, in the same curriculum as I'm in. She raved a little bit about how she was unemployed. When we get into their apt they offer us some cake, and me excedrin... I had a massive headache. As we were leaving, we didn't stay long, 5 min at most, I look at the girl and say "hey don't worry too much about being unemployed because you will still be making more money than me because this is what I do" and I pull out 2 cards from my pocket and hand one to each girl. Before they can say anything me and my roommate turn around and start walking out. As we are out the door one of the girls say "this is so cute, I love this" and I reply "then please pass it on"....only in new york. :)

cited in the NYT

So somehow or other, my roommates had an article written about their tough struggle to find a job right now and I am in the article as well. Not that i am of any importance but what was great was that there was one small paragraph where "you really do have a gorgeous smile" is mentioned and explained.
"he and a friend had been handing out homemade cards to strangers to lift their spirits. One says on the outside, “I would be lying if I said ...” And then inside it says, “That you aren’t gorgeous, because you are. Please pass this on to someone you feel is gorgeous.” 
So now we have documentation in the NYT .. YES!!! hahaha. If you want to check out the article heres the link.... :) 

The one that didn't want to give it away... gave it away

So last week I mentioned this girl meg that told me she didn't want to pass on the card that john gave her. So I gave her another one. John came to me and said that meg passed the card on, smuggled it in with a birthday card to johns sister. And then explained that she had to pass it on, she couldn't keep it, and preferably pass it on to a stranger...... this card has already been through 4 people... :)

It was so hard

I was at a bar tonight, and just when i was about to leave i saw this girl walk in. she looked so familiar, i couldn't stop staring at her, and then i realized that she reminded me of the first girl that i fell in love with. i looked at her for a long time, and she gave me a look. i decided that i would have another beer. i stayed at the bar looking at her so intently, wanting to walk up to her and just say something, anything. but i just couldn't muster up the feeling to do it. then i saw her smile. it was one of the most amazing smiles that i had ever seen. i reached into my pocket and i pulled out one of the cards. i looked through all of them until i found the one that i wanted to give to her, just to her. the card said "your smile knocked me off my feet" and the closing illustration said " wont you please help me stand up. i said goodbye to my friends at the bar and as i was leaving i tapped her on the shoulder. i felt my insides well up with nervousness. we played a little move left move right game because she thought that i couldn't get passed her. finally she realized that i actually had something to say to her. and as she turned to look at me, she gave me this incredible smile, that literally made me melt on the spot. i looked her in the eye feeling absolutely elated and in heaven having been able to see that smile up close and i hand her the card. she looks at it and takes it, i smile and i walk away. i left the bar, but somehow or other my friend had just been coming into the bar and i went back in for another beer. i couldn't look her in the eye, i felt bad being back there, the point is to leave the bar. but i couldn't stop looking at her regardless. she was absolutely gorgeous, and she really did have a gorgeous smile... :)

Epic fail

Handing these cards out is not an easy thing, and I have already handed out close to a hundred of them. it takes a lot of courage to be able to walk up to someone and hand them a card, especially a perfect stranger. I was on the train heading to work and a woman in her early thirties walks in and sits down across from me. She was very adorable, something just made me want to give her a card. But being on the train made it a very hard thing to do, because its an enclosed space, I can't walk away after I hand her a card and the point is to walk away, to not demand an interaction from the person you give it to. But the train makes you stay. So I had to think about timing, handing it to her as I get off, or maybe as she's getting off. It made me worry a lot. Also there were many obstacles. Because the train is an enclosed space the people all see what's happening. Walking up and handing her a card would have made it into a spectacle, which may have caused uncomfort on the recipients side. Finally it came to my stop and I had the card in hand, but there were so many people in the way that I would have had to maneuver through holes to reach my arm towards her and hand her a card. I left with the card in my hand not having handed it to her. Its strange because the card was foor her. Its a missed connection if you will. I wasn't smiling when I left, nor was she... :(

I'm sorry I'm being a jerk

So when I was closing down today at the job, a girl walked in and was very confused all of a sudden. She started asking me why I was closing and when does the place close. I kind of looked at her confused and said well kind of now. And then she said well mr. Bartender can I get another miller high life please. I looked at her and said sure but you might want to ask the actual bartender at the bar that's through that door over there. She was really embarrassed. After I closed I went to the bar to get some drinks, and ran into her again. I knew some of her friends and we went out to smoke a cigarette. I started making fun of her a little bit, after we were introduced, by saying its great but you will forever be known as the girl who thought the grill was the bar, and the one who didn't notice all the furniture was different, that the people disappeared in 5 min, and that the bartender was a different person. She jokingly said excuse me slava, you're being a dick. I laughed. A little later as she was leaving I called her over and said " hey sorry I was being a jerk this is for you." And handed her a card. She just gave me a really sweet smile, but didn't read the card. I said goodbye and walked away... :)

from my boss to his boss

Yesterday night I was working, and my boss came up to me and said I really love those cards you hand out. I hate the free hug people because I always think they are gonna pickpocket me but I like your project. Do you have a card I can give to the owner, she's next door. Something that would be appropriate for me to give my boss. I took out a card with the words "I hope you don't mind that I put down in words, how wonderful life is with you in the world" by elton john. He said perfect and went to give it to her.... :)

But I don't want to give it away

A month or so ago, I gave a card to one of my coworkers john, he said he really wanted to give one to his gf at home. Today she walked into the restaurant and came up to me saying she really loved the cards but she was sad because she thought that it was just for her but john said that she had to pass it on. She said I want to keep it, I don't want to give it away. She said give me another one that I can keep. :)

"You really do have a gorgeous smile"

So I decided that I would try and make 1 uniform element on the cards so that people would possibly know what to look for if they decide to search online. I picked to write "you really do have a gorgeous smile" on all of them. In the image if you can see it its written in blue. Maybe this will work :)

brilliant suggestion

Was working at my restaurant today, and a customer id seen a while back comes in to have a beer and play ms. Pacman. We get into a long conversation on gaming, pong, pacman, donkey kong, etc... and somehow or other get into the talk of what I do. So I reach into my pocket and hand him one of my cards, he laughs and starts asking about it, how it happened, how it started, and how its documented. Talking about the documentation I tell him that hopefully enough people will get these that they will start asking questions about it, and look online. And then I tell him about the blog and how I document the process on my side. He then asks do you have like a catch phrase that people can type in, so that the cards are universal? I was shocked, because I didn't, the cards all said similar things but there was nothing identical on them. Now I'm thinking what I can add to the cards so that they all come together. I'm thinking something along the lines of adding the line "you have a gorgeous smile" at the bottom of every back page. Its still doesn't give a website, and doesn't ask for anything. I thanked him profusely. As he was leaving he said I'm gonna give it to the next person on the train I see with ipod headphones in their ears....:)