ECSU.

I was informed that my blog was being added to Eastern's Visual Arts page, so I decided I should make a post with some relevance. Here are my notes from the day we learned about blogs. 

At my best.

A little over a year ago I was skateboarding down the streets of Sorrento, Naples, and Florence. Sure the surfaces were not ideal for skateboarding, but the scenery more than made up for it. Lately I have been so wrapped up in work, school, and trying to sleep when I am not doing the first two, that I forgot I had even been to Italy at all. It was such an abrupt trip and it was over just as quick as it had come together. It was planned in four days, I left in a month, and I was home after just 6 days. Such a small span of time made me feel so much better, and I think I need another one. I am posting this picture and these words to remind myself that rewards make the work easier. I miss Italy.

The Importance of Tips.

I have been working as an ice cream scooper in a casino for about five months. I really hate taking people's orders and listening t0 them change their mind when you are almost done scooping or just complaining in general, so whenever I get the opportunity I jump on register. Located on either side of the register there is a single tip jar. The jars have little hand drawn ice cream cones, faded writing, and some tape, not the most beautiful tip jars but they are efficient. I love to watch people tip. It is so important to some people that you see the tip leave their hand and join the other dollars and coin in the jar. If someone asks me for a bag or cover for their ice cream, they will wait until I have come back from wherever I went to drop the tip, even if I am gone for two minutes. I understand though, I do the same thing. What is the point of giving a tip if no one sees you do it? Does it even count? It makes you feel good, "I just tipped and put a smile on that worker's face, I'm a good person." I tip when no one is looking too, but I wait it out, they are still going to be happy at the end of the night when they count their tips, but I want to see it, I want them to know I'm a tipper and I want to feel good too.

 I learned early on that tipping is very important, but didn't really grasp how important it was until I had job where tipping made a difference. My first experience with receiving tips was working at a floral shop. I worked for my mom's best friend, she needed a delivery boy and I needed a job. I got paid minimum wage and it was a part time, high school job, so it wasn't easy to save any money from it. I was broke most of the time and the first time I got a tip I had a revelation; if I get tips, I can splurge on lunch. This was a huge luxury for me, being broke driving a green and pink flower van around wasn't the most fun or exciting job, it actually kind of sucked, and lunch could make or break the day. Unfortunately most people don't feel the need to tip the flower delivery boy, and why would you? Generally people are receiving gifts and you shouldn't have to pay a tip for something you didn't order. If a man ordered a dozen roses that he want to give directly to his lover, but didn't feel like driving to the shop, he might tip you, he ordered them and he should. A lot of the time you aren't even making a happy delivery; sorry about losing a loved one, sorry we put you in a shitty nursing home, sorry I slept with your sister, Merry Christmas! Nobody wants to tip for a sad gift, that they probably didn't want in the first place. Tips were rare and very appreciated, twenty dollars on New Year's Eve was the best and made up for the rest of the people who didn't tip that day. Long story short, I learned what it is like to not get tipped and it made me tip double.

In my current job tips are more frequent and more expected. I drive half an hour to get to work and my tips pay for my gas. I continue to be a large tipper, and my friends who have never worked a shit job continue to give me bizarre looks and ask me why I drop three bucks in the tip jar when they just dropped in their change. I also continue to wait and tip when the worker is looking, they need to know I am a good person and so do I.