Yawning Abyss-Mall
2009-11-20
It's my day off and I'm STILL awake at o'dark thirty in the morning. How sad is that? To my credit, I was passed out on the sofa last night by probably 7pm or thereabouts, and will probably sneak in a nap later today.
Warning: today is rant day - sort of.
I found this article this morning and my eyes boggled. The short version: the couple was arrested for refusing to pay a mandatory tip to their waiter/waitress, for atrocious service.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't mandatory tip an oxymoron? A tip, by definition, is a voluntary gratuity. It's based on service. How the HELL do you get arrested for not paying something that by definition is voluntary? If that sticks in court it'll be a travesty and a half. I already think the arrest was a horrific abuse of the system. And if the charge is blasted out of the courtroom by a judge with a brain, which is what should happen, I truly hope this couple sues. At the very least, I think it's a safe bet that the move will pretty much close down the restaurant, regardless of the legal outcome. Tell me: would YOU ever go there, knowing their policy? You couldn't drag me through the doors.
Tipping is uniquely American, by the way. Hubby said there's no such thing in Europe and other parts of the world. Imagine the international hoopla if an overseas traveler were arrested for not paying a "mandatory" gratuity!
For the record, I do understand that tips are critical for waitresses and waiters to survive. It's the one job in this country for which minimum wage is waived. I find that fact appalling, too, by the way. It's taken for granted, but when you think about it, we've arbitrarily decided that a large class of US workers don't deserve the same wage protections as everyone else receives. Think about that for a while and ask yourself why wait personnel haven't filed for discriminatory practices.
Then look seriously at what kind of wages the vast majority of wait personnel make and the answer is pretty clear. If you're a waitress, chances are you're among the poorest of the nation's employed, and hiring a lawyer is pretty far down on your list of priorities. Below rent and utilities and paying for a bus ticket so you can get to work and use food stamps to buy groceries for your family.
End of rant.
Did I ever mention that G is a pack rat? I love the man to death and these days the only time I lift a finger at home is cook, but so help me God, sometimes the man's overwhelming need for STUFF drives me batty. His peccadillo doesn't generally cost me much money, if any. Our grand expeditions to thrift stores and such typically cost less than $5, and it's a mighty rare trip that runs us more than $10. The exception was when we replaced our loveseat, the former of which was literally beginning to disintegrate. I was afraid to sit on our old one and lean against the arm, because the arm was separating from the frame. It was also filthy and marked with a couple of cigarette burns thanks to my oldest daughter. It was technically hers, and she happily reclaimed it, but both G and I were thrilled to see it go.
Aaaaanyway... I enjoy getting out every week for our "treasure hunts," if you will. It's as much an excuse to get out and about as anything else. Everything is spitting distance from home so there's not a lot of travel costs, plus G frequently finds items for resale. He's not been able to find any under-the-table jobs, per se, but jokes that he's the bed frame king. At the end of any given month, you can bet someone is moving out of an apartment and dumping an unwanted metal bedframe. G finds those, drags them to our porch, and sells them on Craigslist. Those little dribs and drabs of income can make a huge difference over time. Bonus points because whenever we need little stuff - bread, milk, tp, etc - G generally walks to the store and they're replenished before I even know we're out.
Bed frames aren't his only stock in trade. They just seem to be the most consistent.
G himself is vastly happier when he's able to contribute to the family income. He said when he goes back to work full time, he wants me to be able to retire. Obviously that may not be immediately possible, but with the way other things are going it's looking less and less like a delusional interlude. Before that time, though, I want us to be in our own home. I don't care if it's a house, a townhome or if we go full-blown trailer trash, but so help me God I want my OWN PLACE.
That too, has moved from the realm of "pipe dream" to, "if we do... then we should be able to do that by the time our lease is up here."
Still loving my job. My manager loves me; while I don't make the highest one-time receipts, my numbers are by far the most consistent for the team and constantly rising. This week three out of five days I did very respectable numbers, high enough to put me back to what I was making for my old company. With that level of income we should be able to dig our way free of debt in a little while, thank God.
For the record, what I owe doesn't include a single penny of credit card debt, and what G owes on old credit cards is negligible. We owe a few thousand dollars combined - enough to keep me awake at night, but nowhere near what the average couple our age apparently carries on their credit cards.
My sis had something like a $30K credit card balance at one point. I cannot fathom that kind of debt, especially on credit cards. It wasn't spent on froufrou. She had to put home repairs on a credit card, including a major repair when her now-ex-husband toppled in the bathroom and went through the block wall. He was a large man and it did a lot of damage. I suspect, though, that the wall was faulty to begin with. Big man or not, passing out in the shower (due to complications of diabetes) shouldn't result in a collapse of a slump-block wall.
Nor were their expenditures extravagant. It was repairs and very, VERY minor remodeling. They had to replace the tub surround after her ex fell, and they opted for tile vs. one of those plastic sheets that are magnets for mold. That was it - no fancy-schmancy flooring, no built-ins, no new vanity and mirror, no nothing.
Come to think of it, maybe I should reconsider that whole home-ownership thing.
Nah. My sis's house payment was still less than I pay for rent even with her credit card bills. Still well worth it. Not to mention with our own place we can paint our own colors, rip out carpet and put in tile, etc. Well, WELL worth it.
Okay, I'm off for the morning. Okay so technically speaking I'm just "off." Whatever. I'm outta here for the moment and hopefully I'll be able to start updating again soon!
Haloscan tanked... Its successor tanked... I'm leaving the Echo thingy up but not counting on it. Next up, using a whoooooole 'nother site for a blog. Stay tuned.
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