Archive for October, 2008

« Older Entries

here’s a tip for you

Posted in capitalism, hoarding, love on October 31, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

as some of you know i am a waitress (no, that’s not me in the pic). i am not writing this because i am biased but you may not believe that anyway. beyond being a waitress … i try to be a good person. when i go out to eat (and this was also BEFORE i became a waitress) i tip at least 20% – at least. even for fucked up service. now that i am a waitress i tip about 30% – even for fucked up service.

yes, i will tell you why: it’s the right thing to do.

do you notice that the cost of gas has gone up? noticed minimum wage (not that servers receive this – they get less) has gone up? airline tickets? even prices at target? health insurance? everything?

if the standard of living is rising then the living wage of a server (TIPS) must go up too.

never mind the fact that no matter how shitty your service was … your $3 tip or your $8 tip didn’t really cover the cost of the labor involved. and you can fall back on your logic that it was the servers choice to become a server and earn tips … or you can simply do the right thing.

and i aint saying i ever for one second regret being a waitress … i’ll take your $1 tip and i’ll take your $20 tip … i did make a choice and i am happy to serve you … it’s just that as i wait tables and interact with you (the public) i am appalled at your poor home training …

i know times are hard and it appears some of you are still going out to eat but tightening the TIP budget however, if you can’t afford to tip right when you eat out… stay home. eat cereal. but don’t go to a restaurant and have a $55 meal and leave an $8 tip. it’s tacky, tasteless, and stingy. if you really needed that other 2-3$ then STAY THE FUCK HOME ;)

i know many will not agree with this … people like to hoard their money even though they can’t take it with them when they die … i just had to let the world know that times are changing and 15% aint shit.

just consider this a public LOVE anouncement.

1 Comment »

overeducated & underassimilated …

Posted in best of the best, black culture, black girls, blogs, love on October 30, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

i have a new favorite blog … it is discontinued (she stopped writing) but the archives had me cracking up!  i love this sister for writing the way she does … reminds me so much of myself in my youth … if i hadn’t fallen in love with the concept of love my blog would probably be a lot like hers … i love her cussing, her use of the word bitch, her blackness, her unapologetic humor … maybe it’s cuz i belong to that contingent of “overeducated and underassimilated” (her words not mine) … her blog makes me feel like i’m coming home, like i’m talking with my homies on the phone … i love it. 

Leave A Comment »

thats whats up

Posted in 2008 presidential election, american fiscal crisis 2008, barack obama, change, love on October 29, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

cute.

Leave A Comment »

jb update

Posted in life, life transitions, love on October 28, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

i wrote an earlier post about my friend, JB, who passed away … i just added this pic of the time he dressed up as a banana to the original blog … i dunno … i don’t think a man’s life is a trivial thing … so i thought i’d take the time to tell you about it cuz he lived and breathed … he acted a fool … he was real … he used to live here … look how precious he looks in the banana suit … i hope you all enjoy this little bit you know of him …

Leave A Comment »

forward me an angel

Posted in God, compassion, forgiveness, love on October 27, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

i know we all hate junk mail, e-spam, retarded forwards … but sometimes forwards aint random and messages are not generic … i got the following in an e-mail … in the midst of a time when i am very disappointed in the behavior of some folks who i have to deal with on a constant basis … and i don’t want to judge them … cuz … i am not the judge … and i want to believe HIS word … he sounds so tough, the Lord does, when he says: trust me, changes will be made … so today, before i go to work i am going to pray on these words and take them into my heart and i will believe them. you can also whisper this to yourself if you dare: “I AM the one who loves and accepts people right where they are.” powerful.

the e-mail message
subject: spiritual reading
October 22, 2008. You have slipped back into some judgments of some around you. You didn’t mean to do it, but there are things you observed. For sure there is some wrong or questionable behavior. You have spoken up, but don’t linger there, or treat these with disdain. Don’t separate yourself or reject them in any way. I am reminding you of this because this is not like you. You are the one who loves and accepts people right where they are. I want you remembering I am the only One who can change people. Your task is to pray and thank Me for moving in their lives. Trust me changes will be made.

Leave A Comment »

try to try

Posted in art, blogs, forgiveness on October 25, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

for the last two days i worked 24 hours total … two double shifts which were each 12 hours long … i came home thursday night and planned to blog … turned on the computer, logged in … but my brain was numb and incoherent … it kept saying the word bed over and over again … i was at work at 10:30 am and both nights i was home after midnight … i am not complaining i’m just letting you know what it is … it’s tiring :) my brain is still numb and this weekend is all about my daughter (who is writing her book as i write this) … and this means that my daughter comes before blogging … but this blog is a testimony to how i am trying … i am trying very hard to keep up my end of the relationship … i am trying to work and be a mom … i am trying to be disciplined in my art … i am trying to push past exhaustion … i am trying my best despite trials at work … i am trying despite low income and high demand (baby needs winter clothes, and we need a washer/dryer) … i am just trying cuz sometimes that’s all you can do. i’m taking things one day at a time right now … trying to keep pushing so that i can see the day when i have three hours to myself (i think it’s monday but …).

1 Comment »

the obamas balance the budget

Posted in 2008 presidential election, american politics, barack obama, black girls, economy, love on October 23, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

i am posting this interview of the obama fam which aired on access hollywood many months ago, for many reasons.  the first being sarah palin’s $155,000 shopping bill that was charged to the CAMPAIGN.  two is because you get to hear how the little obama girls keep it real (and how smart they are); “mommy is important too!”.  and for three, women and families need to know that yes, you can be fly on a budget.  i.e. michelle’s dress in this video is from the gap but what truly sets her apart is that she paired it with black leggings …  

1 Comment »

love the life

Posted in God, love on October 22, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

[i was just telling my brother how i sincerely love being a waitress ... i was so surprised at my own sincerity and the depth of my love for what i am doing right now i had to share.  in no particular order. ]

love the life by midnite

1.  it feels like honest work – i don’t really know what i mean when i say that but it’s something like this: it  … feels manual … but it’s more about the transactions of goods … it’s honest … i honestly work hard … i honestly do my best … and often (not always) when the customer reads your honesty they honestly want to reward you … no middlemen, no performance reports, no mid season evaluations, no limits, no bounds to all that honesty.

2. it ain’t called service for nothin — i truly feel that i am serving human beings … i put myself in their shoes and i say: “i wouldn’t eat off that spotty fork, i like clean wine glasses, i notice stains on tablecloths” and then i try to serve others as i would like to be served.  i also dedicate my service to God … there is something humble about bringing drinks to guests … and polishing that silverware – that one is truly powerful to me … it’s like time slows down and i feel deeply that what i am doing is out of love for the most high.

3. the hours — feels like my life is my own again

4. teaches patience & tolerance — now, this is a good thing cuz i am truly trying to learn these things.  if you don’t want to practice these things then you won’t interpret these as benefits.  i didn’t always believe in letting mean, rude, & petty people be themselves … i believed it was my right to check them and help them see the errors in their ways.  no more.  let them be, i now say.  and let me be more patient and tolerant for all people struggling through their own personality disorders ;) .  i was semi-joking but i am serious about being patient and tolerant of all personalities and there is no better place to confront crazy rude ignorant diabolical stupid people than in a restaurant.

5. the food – being around food, getting little samples, learning about new foods … i LOVE all that shit.  mmm i love love love to eat and i love to learn about what i am eating.  no, i don’t cook!  i just eat!   and boy, am i good at it!  i am also learning about wine … what was i telling my brother again … oh yeah, i know mad grapes, son …

6. cash in my hand?

7. being present — uhh i have tendencies to drift off from the real world and descend into abstract babble that folks can’t understand … or silence … either way i have never been very grounded nor accepting of the fact that i have to inhabit the planet earth … but waitressing demands you be present and accounted for while on duty … you have to be sharp, you have to pay attention to detail, you have to read social situations, you have to be focused, you have to remember lots of dumass shit … you can’t daydream (a hobby i excel at), you can’t stare off in space (a habit i picked up), you can’t slow down (i’m slow motion all day) … but i like it … the feeling of being present feels like i am truly alive and in my life every moment.  p.s. it’s also true that you must be in the moment and once it’s gone you can’t get it back, like reality tv, or live recordings, if you make a mistake you have to move on cuz you can’t get that moment back … you can’t unspill the water, you can’t erase a guest’s memories … you can let it go and learn.

8.  new people — you never know who you are gonna meet … there’s magic in that! 

9.  3 plates in two hands — i’m tryna learn that.

10. i like my GM (general manager) – what a nice dude.  that’s a blessing!!!

2 Comments »

black afrika

Posted in africa, america, anthropology, black culture, black history, black music, block parties, blogs, pan-africanism on October 21, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

as a student of culture … i believe that there are many different cultural & socio-economic groupings within the larger umbrella of BLACKNESS … having said that i am fascinated by the way africans (in africa and in america) often mirror each other … for one, afrikans in america and africa share a cultural history and lots of DNA so of course there are similarities … but also there are ways in which africans on both continents try to emulate each other’s culture based on what they see on TV or read in books etc … i ran into a blogsite from the motherland  (sneak pic to the right) … it’s all in swahili (i think) or some other language from east/central africa … and when i first saw it i was like this is so black … black like i know black … the kind of black that transcends nationhood!  this blog could be in english, or patois, or french … it’s really that black … i don’t know what the words be sayin but the pics remind me of a cross between jet magazine and don diva … with more nudity … DO NOT GO TO THIS SITE if you don’t want to see some private parts … it’s very african but reminds me a lot of black america … it is very riskay … and that part makes me think about AIDS rates in africa … but aside from that … it’s so hood meets talented tenth … and it’s funny … the theme song playing in my head as i look at this site has these lyrics: “drink up all my liquor … smoke up all my swishers … now cheese cheese cheese cheese” … i LOVE my people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leave A Comment »

happy birthday TO ME

Posted in love on October 20, 2008 by loveinotherplaces

yep.  i am 31 today.  i am not ashamed to say it.  i am proud to be who i am at 31.  i am thankful to be alive.  i am grateful for how i have grown in the past year.  lots of folks dog the 30′s but i don’t get it.  maybe it’s cuz i look 25 :)    oh well, i’m busy celebrating my life … so this is a short blog.  the end.  LOVE YA!

6 Comments »

« Older Entries