Mr Al Young Dot Com

Since I started working at BART again I often eat a nearby Chinese restaurant. On most days I prefer a hot rice or noodle plate over a cold sandwich and drink. On a recent lunch with coworkers the topic of “How much to tip” came up. Most people tip below the standard “15%” that is customary in American restaurants at a Chinese restaurant. They do so for 1 of 2 reasons:

1. They are cheap and will under tip at any restaurant.
2. Because they can get away with it at a Chinese restaurant.

I have a friend who always tips below the standard 15% at Chinese restaurants. He does so because of a combination of the above reasons. I on the other had always try to be as generous as possible when tipping at a Chinese restaurant typically in the 20%+ range. I do so not because I am normally a generous tipper. I believe you should tip according to service and if the service is sub par I will not hesitate to tip accordingly. Still, I try to tip as much as possible at a Chinese restaurant. I do so for the following reasons:

• It is Fair: If a waiter works at a popular high end restaurant where meals can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to even thousands with a big party and wine a waiter can make a very good living on tips alone. Even at a more moderately price but popular restaurants waiters can still make out very well. A waiter at a Chinese restaurant will work just as hard but will only receive pennies in tips in comparison to a waiter at a high end restaurant. Not only that a waiter in a Chinese restaurant will work under much worse conditions such as no heat or air conditioning for pennies in wages and tips.
• Good Karma: A lunch at a Chinese restaurant will typically cost you $5 or $6 dollars. Spend $15 dollars and you can have a feast. Its a cheap and filling meal. A sandwich, chips and drink at Subway will cost you $8 or more. The difference between tipping 10% or 20% is only about 50 cents. Not a significant amount for most of us and your meal would still cost less than you would have paid for a cold sandwich, chips and drink at Subways. However to a waiter making minimum wage or less with no health benefits an extra 50 cents from each customer would be a significant boost to their income so why not create some good karma?
• These are my own people: Not only is tipping well at a Chinese restaurant the fair thing to do, creates good positive energy and makes a financial difference in a waiter’s income, I am also taking care of my own people. Most waiters and waitresses at Chinese restaurants are Chinese like myself. I know of many people in my family who is working or has worked at Chinese restaurants in the past. I know of the low wages, hard work and poor working conditions. Conditions have improved in recent years but labor laws mean very little in Chinatown. So why would I stiff my own people over 50 cents?

Under tipping is the accepted norm in Chinese restaurants. If you tip 10% or less you won’t be faced with indignation from the waiter or questions of “Was the service okay?” in oder to guilt you into tipping more. A waiter at a Chinese restaurant will accept whatever you tip without question. However just because you can does not mean you should or it is fair. Consider this next time you eat at a Chinese restaurant. An extra 50 cents won’t kill you.

A blog is really a personal journal.  Even though others read it if they want, it is really written for you.  So you write about what on your mind or you think is interesting.  No one proofreads your work or critiques it much.  Not so when you are paid to write.  Taking a writing assignment for pay means you have to pay particular attention to spelling or grammar and your facts will be checked by an editor.  When taking on a paid assignment you don’t always know a lot about the subject, yet you are expected to write as an expert on the topic.  That means you have to do some research to get up to speed on the subject before writing about it.

Whenever possible I try to take assignments that I know at least a little about to minimize the amount of research required.  Obviously I would like to be able to do the least amount of research as possible so I can complete my assignment quickly and take another one job.  My writing jobs pays decently but only if I am able to do it fairly quickly.  If I have to spend a lot of time on research before writing its not worth my time.

I have written nearly 200 articles on the website Ehow on a wide range of subjects, some I know a bit about and others not so much.  Here are two articles I recently wrote that I seemingly know nothing about.

• How to Approach Beautiful Women

• How to Be Irresistible To Women

On the surface I certainly would be unqualified to write on such subjects, let alone have someone pay me to offer advice on these topics.   Yet with a little Internet research anyone can be an expert on anything in a short time.  As they say those who can’t do teach.  Drawing upon my personal experiences I already know what not to do.  With help from Google I have an idea of what to do and I am now an expert on the subject.  Not only an expert but a published expert.  If you search Google for the term “How to Be Irresistible To Women” my article is on the first page.

With football season now in full swing, I don’t need another reason to watch a lot of football, but I have one….fantasy football.  I would watch a lot of football anyways but fantasy football makes you obsessive about football.  I have only participated in fantasy football through my wife who was in a work league for many years.  Its a lot of fun but very time consuming.  Now instead of only watching games of your favorite team you now have a rooting interest in almost all the games.  So you are watching games or tracking your players on the Internet all day.   In addition you have to spend time preparing for the fantasy draft, setting your lineups, and making trades to improve your team.  Not to mention online trash talking.

I was invited to join a league this year, but I declined because of the time demands of being in a fantasy football league.  Instead I joined a Survivor football pool.  Survivor pool also called a Knock out pool is a very simple football pool.  All you have to do is pick the winner of one game per week.  Straight up with point spreads.  If you win you survive and move on.  If your team loses you are eliminated.  You can only pick a team once.  After you pick a team you cannot pick them again.  Sounds easy but it is harder than it seems.  I am in a pool f 400 entries and about a third was eliminated in the first week.  It will get harder as the season goes on if I survive since there will fewer good teams to pick from.  It is a good alternative to fantasy football.

The start of the school year is a little disappointing because it signals the end of summer. Soon it will be winter with colder days and rain. The fun and warm memories of the summer will soon fade into dark dreary mornings. Offsetting the disappointment of school starting is the excitement of a new football season also starting. College football started last week and the pros start their season this weekend.

I enjoy watching all live sporting events whenever I can. There is nothing like watching a game in person. Braving the elements and seeing your team up close while sharing the joys and disappointment with your fellow fans. Experiencing the tension and flow of the game collectively with 70,000 other fans can not be duplicated at home, even in High Definition.

While I enjoy watching all sporting events I particularly enjoy watching college football. Unlike other sports fans of college football share a stronger bond through their affiliation of attending the same school at one time. So on certain Saturdays in the Fall fans of all ages come together and join in cheering on their alma mater. College football also has the a rich history of traditions unique to each team.

I enjoy walking through the campus each Saturday with my son on the way to the game reminiscing about my glory days of college. Its also fun to run into old friends and renew acquaintances at the game. I used to have season tickets to the Raider games until the demands of fatherhood made it impossible to go to football games all weekend. So I choose to continue to watch college football games with my son instead. Its a much more family friendly environment and kids can also have a good time. I started going to the Cal games with my son when he was only 3 and now he has come to enjoy the games and our time together.

Last week we went to our first game of the year against Michigan State. It was a 5 o’ clock game so we had time to make our way leisurely to our seat and soak in the ambiance of the campus. With a new season comes excitement and hope in the air. The Bears started off the season right with a 38-31 victory. While its great to be 1-0, our enthusiasm is tempered by the fact we started well last year too before things fell apart. Still it is a new year and I look forward toward to Saturdays at Berkeley this fall.

The start of school is a sign that summer is over. No more vacations and leisurely days at the pool. Last week I took my son to school as he started first grade. First grade is not as significant an event as the start of Kindergarten but it is still a change. There are still some anxious moments as you have to adjust to a new classroom, friends, and teacher. You also have to eat lunch at school and go for a full day. A week into the new year the adjustment has been smooth and we are now in the swing of things. Here are some pictures from the first day of school.

I have been behind on my blogging because I have been working at a new job. A regular job. Not blogging from a cafe. A regular 8-5 job in a office and with a commute. I am working on a 2+ month contract position with my old employer BART. I’m back in the same office but not at my old desk. With the real estate market tanking I decided to take the job to get some income while my real estate projects are still ongoing. After nearly 2 years away not much has changed. It is still the same people in pretty much the same place. I am now back to eating at the same restaurants and coffee spot like I never left. When I was a full time employee it seemed like groundhog’s day every day with the same routine and people. However time away has given me a new perspective.

I now enjoy the familiarity of being in familiar surroundings and renewing old relationships. The job is new so that is a change. There are also many benefits of being a contract worker that I enjoy.

Temporary Status: Being a “temp” has its advantages.  It also has its drawbacks such as lack of job security and benefits but there are advantages to being a temp.  First any job is more bearable knowing that it is only temporary.  You know that there is an end to it.  Even though I enjoy it so far,  having a temporary job still gives me flexibility later on.

Hired help: Being a temp means you are hired to do a specific job in a certain way.  Basically you do as you are told.  You don’t have to go to staff meetings or worry about office politics.  Just do your job and go home.  If someone questions why you do things a certain way you just say “Hey I’m just a temp.  I did it the way you told me to do it”.

So for now it is enjoyable being a “temp” and being among old friends again.  I’m starting to get back into the old routine and hope to have time to blog more soon.

Wow time flies, summer is over and school has started this week.  Also as many of you as pointed out to me it has been some time since I posted anything on my blog.  Over a month and for a blogger that’s inexcusable.  I just have had not the time or energy lately.  I started a contract job at my old employer BART last month as I try to ride out this real estate slump.  Working at a regular 8-5 job has been a little tough getting used to again.  I am exhausted without my daily nap.  Like my kids I don’t really need a nap but I do better with one and I enjoy it.  For the past few weeks I have been working all day and falling asleep each night watching the Olympics.

Now with the Olympics over, school started and getting used to my work routine, I hope to have more time to post.   Even though I have not posted anything in awhile I have several posts that I have started that need to be finished and many more in my head that needs to come out when I have the time and energy.  I may be posting shorter, more random posts but more frequently.

Thanks to all my faithful readers who continue to check in to hear what I have to say.  Just a reminder that you can subscribe to this blog on this page either by RSS reader or by email.  By subscribing you will be notified whenever the blog is updated and you won’t have to keep checking in and be disappointed.

My post on the escalating price of airline travel got linked to a similar news story published on CNN online. You can see the article here. At the end of the article my article is featured in the section titled “From The Blogs”.

In the early days of air travel, airplane travel was a luxury reserved for the very rich.  Over the years airline travel was made available to the common people with air fares becoming more affordable.  Bargain airlines sprung up and it was cheaper to fly than drive.  Now with the gas prices skyrocketing airline travel may once again become a luxury item.

I was watching a news report on the struggles of the airline industry last week.  Fuel now accounts for more than half of an airline’s expense and they are losing money on each flight.  The loss ranges from a few hundred dollars per short flights to several thousand on longer cross country flights.  Obviously an airline cannot stay in business for long if is losing money on every flight.  They need to either increase revenue or reduce expenses or both.  Expenses are already being curbed.  On a recent flight I was not even given a bag of peanuts.  Everything cost money including a meal, pillow or blanket and checking in an extra bag.  Some airlines have eliminated the in flight movie system in order to save fuel.  Fares are also being raised in order for the airlines to squeeze out a profit on each flight.

We will be taking 2 long drives by car this summer instead of flying.  Even with the high price of gas it is still much cheaper than flying especially with a family.  Not only are fares rising, there will be less flights as airlines are going out of business and existing airlines reducing their schedule to stop the losses.  All these factors means you will soon be paying a lot for the privilege of being packed into a plane like sardines without any snacks.  That is if you are the few who can afford the luxury of air travel

Last month my son Marcus finished his first season of T-Ball and I finished my first year being an assistant coach. It was a good experience for both of us. For Marcus it was his first season of organized baseball and he did very well as one the top players on the team. The team consisted of 4-5 year olds but there is a big difference between barely 4 and in preschool and 5 and a half and in kindergarten. Its only 1 year but the difference in attention span, maturity, and skills is huge. Marcus went through his first year still enjoying baseball and is now ready for the next level. Some observations from my first season:

• Coaching: Coaching T-ball is not really about teaching the fundamentals of baseball although we tried. I think I spent most of my time trying to get the kids to pay attention and to look in the right direction while on defense. Many times they would be wrestling with one another or making “dirt angels” on the infield.
• Outfield: There is really no need for outfielders in T-ball. I think only a few balls went into the outfield all season. We just played a deep infield and still the ball sometimes went through because no one was paying attention
• Kids: At the T-ball level none of the kids really like baseball. They like being with their friends and maybe like wearing the uniforms but they don’t really understand or enjoy the game itself. Baseball is still too boring form them. Unlike soccer where there is constant motion baseball has a lot of down time just waiting for a ball to come to you or to bat. The kids get distracted easily and its a chore to get them to focus. Hopefully they will develop more of an interest in the game itself next year as they mature. The exception to this is Marcus who actually enjoys the game. Part of it is that he is a little older than the other kids and can pay attention longer. Also Marcus has been going to spring training and baseball games since he was 3. He even likes watching it on TV and listening on the radio. He also checks the score of the A’s game on the Internet first thing in the morning because the games end after his bed time. He may be the only kid on the team who actually enjoys the game.

I think it was a positive experience for everyone and I enjoyed working with the other coaches. Now its onto soccer. Here are some pictures of the season. For some kids raking the infield dirt was a highlight of the season.