i think tipping in this country is getting out of hand. last week i heard this 'tipping etiquette' thing on the radio and i was like, no way. they were saying that you're s'posed to tip when you pick up carry-out. carry-out?! it's not like you served it to me, or drove it out to my house. they said that some ppl work only carry-out for very little money, so they depend on tips. well, i'm sorry, but i don't tip carry-out ppl and i won't start. i think that if your job is to package the food, then you're already getting paid to do that. plus, at most places, the person who hands you the carry-out is just the person at the front. i don't get tips for seeing patients, b/c that's my job. they pay for a service and they get it. i'm not like, where's my tip?! i am actually a decent tipper... but only to those i think deserve it. if i'm at a restaurant, did the waiter refill waters? ask if i want another coke? bring out fresh bread? if so, 20%. i'm not sure if i truly believe waiters should be tipped or if i just tip b/c it's expected, but either way, i reward good service. hairstylists, on the other hand, i think deserve to be tipped b/c they're doing smthg aesthetic. it requires their personal flair/touch, i guess. i tip them more than 20% actually, as long as they don't have an attitude. i once walked into this cheap place that accepted walk-ins, and the lady who cut my hair had this sour expression on her face the whole time. obviously she didn't get much. the only other time i don't tip much is if i get 3 inches chopped off after i clearly delineated the 1 inch i wanted off. that is a touch i could do without, thank you. gopooh and i usually don't use the valet, but when we do, we tip pretty decently, like $3 for normal stuff and $5 for nicer places. but y'know, we tip them b/c it makes things much more convenient, especially if it's cold out and/or i'm wearing heels. plus, they open doors. anyway, i had my very first french manicure today at spa julianna on recommendation. before she put the polish on i handed her another $10, and she promptly told me that 15% was already included. i knew that, of course, b/c they post it everywhere; i was just giving her an extra amount b/c i liked her. it was completely voluntary (well at least the amount over the automatic 15% was), and that's the way tips should be done.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
can you hear the trains? for those who aren't familiar w/ plymouth, the downtown area has 2 railroad tracks that these freight trains use fairly frequently... one on the north and one on the east. our place in particular is close to the one on the east. when we first moved into our condo, they drove me nuts. for the first few nights, i felt like i heard every single train that went by in the middle of the night. i kept thinking to myself, ppl say they don't notice these trains? what the hell?! but i can now see why ppl in plymouth don't hear the trains. after the initial adjustment period, the chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo! became part of me. i hardly notice them myself, and i definitely sleep right through them at night. well, this weekend two of my best friends came into town and stayed at our place. last night around 1am we were sitting in the kitchen scarfing down some pizza when a train went by. C said smthg like, "oh is that the train?" before i could say anything, G asked, "what train?" HAHA she'd thought it was just the wind! i don't think it's b/c C has much better hearing than G, but rather the difference in their locations. although both were originally michigan suburbanites, C lives in a super suburban town while G has a condo in downtown chicago and constantly hears hustle and bustle. i wonder now, if/when gopooh and i move to a more suburban place, will i find it just too quiet???
Sunday, February 04, 2007
it's weird to think that gopooh and i have been together for 4 years 5 months. in the grand scheme of things, it's not that long, but for a 28-year-old, it seems long. but it's flown by! this is an exchange we had tonight at his brother's house watching the superbowl. me: y'know what i was just thinking? him: what? me: i was only 24 when we started dating. isn't that young? him: no, not really. me: really? when someone's 24, you don't think he or she is young? him: well yeah now... but back then it didn't seem like it. me: well i was 24 when we met. what do 24-year-olds know?! him: what do you mean, what do 24-year-olds know? that's when i tapped him on the chest and said, "they make bad decisions!" and then we just both started laughing. i know, we're not always the normal couple about to get married. but we've been together for long enough that we know what we're getting into, and we still want to try this thing that most ppl seemingly fail. after living together for almost a year, i can now say that i'm no longer nervous about getting married. hey, gimme a break. i'm very much a "what if...?" type of girl. i like annoying gopooh w/ hypothetical situations. and smthg as definite as marriage can be hard for "what if" ppl! and him... well he denies being nervous, except before he proposed -- at least, so FAR, muhahaha -- which can be really irritating too. but we'll see how he handles the actual wedding day, eh?