Tippety Tip Tip

A lot of you waiters and waitresses out there are probably going to hate this post....

....but not as much as I hate the idea of tipping. 

Now, I don’t “hate” tipping, just the idea of it. Every time you go to a restaurant, you’re expected to leave a tip in addition to paying your bill. Once upon a time it was 10%. What is it now? 15%? 20? Whatever the amount, I think it’s ridiculous. Back in the day a tip was only rewarded to those who provided above and beyond service, and by people who had the extra bucks to leave a little extra somethin’ somethin’. 

It seems that nowadays you HAVE to tip whether the service is great, good, or terrible. You wouldn’t believe how many times I hear “Wow, that was the worst service I’ve ever had. She’s only getting a 5% tip from me”.

If the service was bad, THEN WHY WOULD YOU TIP AT ALL???? That doesn’t make any sense.

I know that at some bars and restaurants, if the people you serve don’t leave you a tip, then you (the waiter/waitress) have to pay out of your own pocket. I sincerely think that shouldn’t be allowed, but I question people who agree to work at places with such outrageous terms. Your tip at the end of the night is a bonus; something you get in addition to your regular pay. Bonuses are rewarded for going the extra mile. Not for carrying out the duties of your job description that you’re already expected/paid to do. 

You know what’s worse than feeling obligated to tip, or having someone you're dining with add money to your tip because they felt it was too small an amount? Having the tip automatically added onto your bill! I was at a restaurant with some friend last week, and the establishment added a 25% tip onto the total of my bill. Ridiculous! Then while I was paying with debit, the machine had the nerve to ask me to punch in how much of a tip I wanted to leave. Seriously? I have to tip 50% now? Don’t they know I’m a poor student who’s just lucky enough to enjoy a meal out? Does this mean I have to intentionally order a cheap meal so I have enough money left in my wallet for a tip?

The bigger question is, why is it that waiters, waitress, and bartenders are the only people we tip?

I work in a plus size clothing store, and a few months ago an 11 year old girl came in with her dad to buy some new clothes for school. She was really shy at first, and told me she didn’t quite fit in at school because all of the other girls had nicer clothes. I felt for her, and spent the next two hours picking out clothes she would look adorable in. By the end of it, we were laughing and having a great time as she strut her stuff across the store in pieces of her new wardrobe. Her and her dad continuously thanked me for my time and help, and assured me they’d be back. They were about to leave the store, but before they reached the door, the girl came back and gave me a hug and thanked me one last time. 

They didn’t offer me a tip, nor did I expect one. I spent more time with this customer than I do with most customers, and put tons more thought into the garments I was picking out, because I know what it’s like to be an 11 year old girl; I knew this shopping trip was important to her. 

My point is, I didn’t go “above and beyond” in hopes of getting a tip. I did it because it was something I wanted to do, and hey, it’s the job I get paid for. 

I’m not saying I’m going to stop tipping (it’s “socially acceptable” dontcha know) and I’m not saying that you should stop tipping. But maybe you should consider also tipping the teachers giving your kids an education, or the nurse who makes sure you’re comfortable in your hospital bed at night, or the people behind the phones at 311 who get yelled at everyday by people asking silly questions all day. 

If you’re going to tip one group of workers, why not tip ‘em all?

My 600 Pound Life...

...is what I watched earlier this evening after I came home from the gym. It was airing on TLC and was followed by, My Half-Ton Mom, and Obese and Pregnant. Apparently TLC runs their programming in themes.

I’ve heard about the show before, and have seen clips previously, but I’ve never sat down and watched an entire episode. The one I decided to watch today was 2 hours long. It featured a woman who was once over 600 pounds, who underwent a number of surgeries to remove fat and skin from her body. She went from being over 600 pounds, to being 157 pounds. By the end of her weight loss she was definitely smaller, but had a lot of loose skin hanging from all areas of her body. Even with surgery, you can only loose so much excess skin.

The reason I sat and watched the entire episode is because there was one point where she got down to the exact same weight as myself, but still looked pretty big. 

She and I definitely have different body types, and because she weighed hundreds of pounds more prior to being my current weight, our bodies looked very different. But it got me wondering...am I big enough to be on one of these shows?

Once she got to my weight, she still had a ways to go. 

I’ve been a big girl ever since I was a kid. I was always bigger than my friends, and usually wasn’t able to have that fun childhood experience of wearing each other’s clothes. My weight bothered me every once in a while, but it never seemed like too big a deal (no pun intended). 

Although I was overweight, I always had a big group of friends, and was usually pretty active. I was on the volleyball team, the badminton team, and loved to play intramural basketball at lunch time. I did hate running laps in gym though, but most kids did. Being overweight never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do, and living a normal life. On T.V. and in movies they always had the character of the “typical fat girl eating lunch in the bathroom, no friends, and getting bullied,” ...that wasn’t me. And I wasn’t going to let that be me. A boy or two would make a rude comment here and there, but I dished it right back out in record time, and they stopped. Nice try boys. But Charmaine doesn’t play those games. You’ll have to try it on someone else (but it’d be better if you didn’t).

My point is, I’ve always been a bigger girl, and for the most part, I’ve been comfortable with it. Maybe even too comfortable. When I look into the mirror I don’t see a “fat girl.” I would never call myself fat. I see a voluptuous young woman with great curves, a body in proportion, and booty that looks fabulous in a pair of jeans with bedazzled back pockets. I’m not afraid to wear a short dress, a tank top, or a bathing suit at the beach. 

What I am afraid of is having a heart attack, or having a blood pressure so high that no amount of medication will fix it. I’m afraid of not living long enough to develop a career, get married, buy my first house, or have kids. I'd hate to deprive the world of my adorable offspring. 

It’s great that I’m comfortable and confident enough in myself to look this way, but I need to take care of my health. I was born with a heart murmur, which is fairly common, but it’s something that usually goes away into early adolescence. My doctor said it’s something we can look into, but only after I lose weight. Last year I dislocated my knee and called an ambulance because no one was home, and I couldn’t move. When they came (they were cute by the way) they took my blood pressure and it was 210 over...some number. Anyway, it was scary high and when I got to the hospital, they were more concerned with my blood pressure than with my knee. I was more concerned with walking, but hey, I’m no doctor.

I’m taking two medications for my blood pressure and it is going down, which is good. But do I want to be taking medications the rest of my life? The only thing that will permanently bring it down is a healthy weight-loss. It’s been 24 years and if I want to live for 76 more (I plan on living until 100), it’s time for a change. I don’t want to get up to 600 pounds, I don’t want to have fat and skin surgically removed from my body, and most importantly, I don’t want to die today. I’m too young, too funny, and have too much to live for.

 I mean, I haven’t even met Zac Efron yet. 

Seriously....look at him...

My future husband

Photography Page

Just in case you missed it, I've added a photography page to my blog. Be sure to check it out regularly for photographic updates.

Quite the Conundrum

I’m willing to bet we’ve all had the same problem...can’t get a job without experience, can’t get experience without a job. Someone somewhere is going to have to change this one day. 

I had a job interview earlier this week, and I was excited for it because this time it was a job in communications. The position called for a summer student to handle media/community relations, sponsorships, and odds and ends here and there. The company was looking for a student (who would be returning to school in the fall) to work full time during the summer months, and hopefully onto part time when classes resumed.

I felt as though the interview went well, and the interviewer seemed to be really engaged with my portfolio. By the end of it, I was rather confident that I had a fighting chance to land the position. But unfortunately, it was a no go. I was told in an email that my interview went really well, and that there was clearly a lot I could contribute to the company, but that they had decided to go with a candidate with more experience.

More experience? 

This troubled me for two reasons. 

1.       Because the position specifically called for student applicants, there is a strong chance the majority of applicants are going to have a limited amount of experience related to the position

2.       I was told that the company had interviewed other CreComm students for the position, and chances are, we all have around the same types of experience (probably the exact same)

Aside from the fact that I really want a communications job this summer, the result of this interview has gotten me worried for when it’s graduation time, and my fellow classmates (and friends) are applying for the same jobs, having had the same experiences. As I’m sure most CreCommers do, I would love to have a job landed before I graduate, and I’m scared that it’s not going to happen. The program does have a rather high success rate, but with any graduating class, there is always someone who’s going to fall by the wayside.

I don’t want to be that person!