Fish slap calm me.

[sarea]

1) Those with knowledge about the Anita Blake series: Do we ever learn all about Jean-Claude, and how he became the ultra hottie that he is?

2) This Sat. am going to dim sum w/ Scott and Linda and their friends, who are also a couple. I hate dim sum, and I hate being a Singleton amidst all the Smug Marrieds, but afterward we're going to Fountain of Beauty and I'm getting a massage and that's all that matters. I think it's been a YEAR since my last one, and my back has been bothering me lately. I'm hoping it's just the tightness of the muscles back there, and not that something is terribly wrong. How much is one supposed to tip a masseuse? I usually go about 15-20%, but some people say 10% is fine, or a flat rate rather than percentage. What say you? Can I also mention how much I despise the U.S. practice of leaving gratuity??? I wish they'd just factor it into their wages/prices, because I hate having to worry about it.

3) I'm using Bit Torrent for the first time, and I'm having newbie confusion. Some of the files are downloading as .mpgs, and some of them are downloading as .rm files. What I'd like to do is to burn them to a CD or DVD so that I can actually watch them on a DVD player, rather than simply archiving them as files. corianderstem has helped me out a ton, and I think I'll probably be able do that w/ the .mpgs no problem. But does anyone know if you can burn .rm files so that they're viewable in a DVD player, or do you have to convert them to .mpg first? And if the latter, how does one do that???

4) Watched 50 First Dates again last night for the first time since seeing it in the theater. I just lurve it. The ending makes it worth it every time, plus all the rest of it isn't as grating as I normally find Adam-Sandler-esque movies. Have also shamefully watched Coyote Ugly. Yes, it's terrible, but not Surviving Christmas terrible; it's more Get Over It! terrible -- rewatchable. Plus the music was great and I like Bridget Moynahan. Poor Melanie Lynskey, going from playing opposite Kate Winslet in an arthouse movie like Heavenly Creatures to playing these throw-away best friend roles.

5) Jade and I are switching Web servers, so our site will be down for a few days (possibly more if we can't be arsed to reupload everything immediately). That means our vanishingscroll accounts are frozen also, so you'll have to email us at our Gmail accounts if you want to reach us.

Comments

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Here, something to help you.

It's on the Internet, so it must be true.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Excellent, thank you.

And yes, it does cause me undue worry. I would just like to know exactly what I'm going to pay before I enter a restaurant/beauty salon/cab/airport shuttle/hotel etc. Is that so wrong???

I mean, I know we're supposed to leave gratuity for service, but like that really happens. I feel guilty if I don't leave at least 15% no matter what the service was like, because like in restaurants servers get taxed on their tips so it's like part of their salary. I wish someone would just take it out of my hands and just include it as part of the overall fee. It's nice when you go to a restaurant w/ 8 people or more, because they just put the tip in there and there's no having to factor it in when everyone's scrounging for their wallets.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Heh, you have reminded me of what I hate about going to restaurants with parties of eight or more (besides how chaotic it gets and loud and no one knows what's going on), which is that EVERYONE turns into some cheap bastard. I mean, seriously, we're all adults, but people are poring over the bill, figuring out their share to the goddamn penny. Fortunately, I've figured out which of my friends turn into aforementioned cheap bastards and can try to avoid going out to dinner with them. GOD.

But seriously, figuring out 15%? Not hard and I don't feel guilty about it. Waitressing is hard work, they're underpaid b/c owners do assume they're going to get tips and they get taxed on the tips, like you said. For me, 15% is standard, 10% or less if you blow, 20% if the service is so wonderful, my life is changed as a result.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I know re: large parties and cheap bastard friends.

It's NOT hard to figure out 15%, and that's my standard leave as well. Which sucks, because whether it's crappy service or not, that's what I leave, because they get taxed on it like wages. My point is, if that's the case, because waiting tables is hard work, then it simply ought to be factored into the food/bill anyway, without the customer having to do anything about it and so that parties of multiple people paying doesn't leave one or two people screwed. People can then pay exactly what they're owed, which they can figure out by adding up what they ordered. Rather than doing that and then doing the tip, which is normally where the cheap bastarding usually comes in.

Restaurants and hair salons and everywhere else that we tip now simply ought to pay their people what they're due, rather than depending on the customer to do it. I had a friend in college whose father DIDN'T BELIEVE IN LEAVING TIPS. Fucking pissed me off to no end, but at the end of the day, he goes to a restaurant and doesn't leave a tip no matter what, and the server gets screwed. So it would be better all around if the system were abolished, and do it like they do in the UK -- you pay what it says. Period.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Here's the thing with factoring it in (which I do think is a fine idea)--you can still get a system where you are expected to leave a tip. It happened to me in Italy. Gratuity was added in already, no matter the size of your party, but you were expected to leave 10% on top of that. 10% of the total, including the gratuity that was already in there. :-l I thought it was a joke but tragically, it was not.

Clearly, the solution is to give me all the money in the world and let me decide on its distribution.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

you can still get a system where you are expected to leave a tip

*sigh* Yeah, I can see how that would happen. Dammit, it should be like going to Nordstrom's and buying a purse. You look at the price tag, freak out, pay for the purse, the salesperson gets their commission, you walk out. The mall: one of the last gratuity-free frontiers.

Clearly, the solution is to give me all the money in the world and let me decide on its distribution.

But then you'll expect a tip for your services.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Dammit, it should be like going to Nordstrom's and buying a purse.

Yes, but then you'll be pressured into buying the most expensive item on the menu. The waitstaff will be all, "BUY THE LOBSTER OR SURF AND TURF," and you'll be all, "Uh, this is TGI Fridays, d00d," and they'll be all "FUCK YOU," and walk off and give you crappy service as result and you couldn't do anything about it since they're on a commission. Well, I suppose you could order salad and water but then you're just hurting yourself.

But then you'll expect a tip for your services.

Yes, but I'll deserve it, you see.