Timeline

I don’t see a reason that some people’s personal social accounts do not reflect their own thoughts and lives but shower bagatelles about their children on me — what their kids were eating, where their kids hung out, when their kids saw a doctor, etc. — as if these children were starring in a parent-sponsored low-budget flick or pop-up. One might say, “So what? Children are big part of my life. Their lives can amount to mine.” Oh, fine. Let’s just lay aside this toxic idea. But what on earth is YOUR life like? What do YOU think of the things YOU have just experienced? If you don’t care to let me know through your digital presence, why did you want me to follow YOUR account rather than your children’s, which of course I wouldn’t?

I do know many parents are child-centered in a positive way. A man who fathers three autistic kids (a friend of mine on Facebook) is seen encouraging his kids to communicate with audience on the net in a bunch of videos he has uploaded. Apart from that, he has launched and participated in an array of campaigns for fighting autism. Children are of paramount importance, and his own life has not become defocused and mundane.

A good friend from China is now traveling in Egypt, where he has problems with tipping in a restaurant. Yesterday his wife tipped a waitress $20, about 10% of the check. Then he spontaneously took it back and gave $5 instead. He was like, “I will not be seeing this waitress again in my life, so why should I tip her that much? Americans are famous for giving very generous gratuities, and that’s why they are welcomed wherever they go. But that sort of fame is nonsensical to me. I just hope to not defame Asians as a whole.”

Well, the fact is not about generosity or good fame. A waiter or waitress spends time waiting on patrons and expects to receive tips of a well-established range of percentages (normally 10% ~ 20% and up). That’s the way he or she makes a living. Yes, the restaurant usually pays a little, hence the importance of tipping. Put yourself in a waitress’s shoes. When you have spent considerable time and energy entertaining a table and end up getting almost nothing from them, what would you think of them? You may regret not being smart enough to wait on a “generous customer” and snub that table of shitty people. Whether or not you’re going to see them again, they are the shitty people you would whine about for days. How worse could a guy be when a shop assistant gives him a lot of sincere advice on buying only to find out he’s a shoplifter?

Bottom line: a good tip is important to service workers, so long as the service itself is satisfactory. It doesn’t have to be very generous, but please make it substantial, not like a 2.5%-or-$5-off-a-$200-check thing. If there’s a reason to undertip, state your concerns honestly. If you just hope to avoid leaving a tip, take meals home without having a seat in the eating house or enjoying any service. A fast food eatery or food court is also a good choice to get rid of tipping. Both local residents and travelers have to be tip-conscious where the tipping culture is prevalent.