Tidbits #3

This has been the week before vacation week. And we all know how those are. They go by too quickly in regard to getting ready, but far too slowly in awaiting the departure day. Still, I've gotten most of what I needed to get done, so it's going well. And truthfully, I don't go on hiatus until Wednesday so there's still time to finish those other 'To-Do' chores.

My pre-vacation ahhhhhh for the week was tanning for the first time since early spring when the temperature didn't get above 50 degrees. I'm not really tanning to acclimate myself to a beach or anything, it's more for looking good. I hate looking pasty, but I truly derive greater benefits from laying under those hot lights of the tanning bed. I get my much-needed sunlight vitamin. I have a great distaste for those individuals who bronze themselves like they've been on vacation for two weeks in mid-January, so you will never see me overly tan, but I do like the extra boost of color come those frigid months. Yes, a tanning bed is a cheap luxury I allow myself in the bleak confines of winter in Wisconsin.

I had a very funny experience this week. I had gone out to the front steps to "save" the potted flowers I had from the harsh weather. There were blooms on it, and I thought if brought it into my unheated entryway it would bloom and last a few more weeks. It's a big pot. There's been a few spiders in it over the summer. I am deathly afraid of spiders and will turn into a gyrating, screaming mess if one gets on me. So I checked it over before heaving it up to carry it around the house. Once I was relatively sure it was clear of spiders, I maneuvered it up, but away from my body. I turned around to take it quickly, in case there was a spider I didn't see who wouldn't enjoy the ride, rising within the plant. Directly after turning around to walk away from the front steps, I tripped on a little stump that has been there since the day I moved in. The big pot of flowers I had in my hands flew forward and immediately flipped upside down. I fell forward with absolutely no grace. Fortunately, I didn't hurt myself and noone witnessed my idiocy. The flowers were a little worse for the wear, but they have bloomed in spite of their momentary unpotting.

I picked up a few extra shifts this week to make up for the ones I had to give away next week. People are really something, ya know? I had a table of five who had a birthday in the group. The birthday gal was a sweet 80-year old who had no idea she could get dinner on us since it was her birthday. Now, I'm not obligated to relate this information when unknowing people walk through the door and start discussing their birthdays at the table, but because I'm a nice person, I usually do tell them. Her i.d. proved she was indeed a birthday girl, so I took her meal off of the bill. As so often is the case with these free birthday meals, the tip stunk. I got 5% of the pre-free meal bill's total. As a server, all you can do is shake your head and wonder what is wrong with these people. But then, I'm of the mind that if someone else is buying, my server is gonna love his/her tip because that's what I do when I'm out. How insane is it to leave a $3.00 tip when you've just gotten a $14.00 meal free?

Usually we are just glad to see the cheap diners who pull this undertipping stunt leave. These folks tried to do just that, but ran into some car trouble. They came back in looking for some help in the way of a ride home. I have no idea why the car wouldn't start, but apparently jumper cables or using a cell phone to call a tow truck wasn't an option for them?? No less than three of my coworkers stepped up to the plate to offer a ride for these shitty tippers. I felt bad for them, but I was still a little peeved that this grandmother's kids/grandkids had all but shut me out from a tip (my wage!) after some really great service. They got home in an Audi that one of our more affluently-married waitresses drives. The whole incident made me wonder even more about these people. Are they so inept at their lives that getting the car started and/or fixed didn't cross their minds? Like I said, I don't know what was wrong with their car. It just seems to me that asking for a ride should have been lower on the list of options.

Things that make you go, "Hmmmmm!"

I'm vacationing soon and not sure I will post anything. Likely, I will not. I plan on putting up the thought-provoking piece that was published before I go because that should give you something to chew on for the week of my absence. I'm sure that spending time in the airports of America will give me some material to write about upon my return. The rest of today will be devoted to football, laundry, then work again. Thank goodness our bye week is over! Spending the day in Chicago sure made the bye week easier to handle. Now back to our regularly scheduled football debacles....