World Series Preview

I'm having extreme trouble picking a favorite for this years World Series. America will be pulling for the underdog, the upstart Rays who have done nothing except lose up until this miracle year that they have had. I personally want the Phillies to win because I can side with how much the city of Philadelphia has been suffering. The city hasn't won a professional title sense 1983, and the worst part is that they have had plenty of close calls. The Rays don't have the same rooted fan base, in fact they struggled to sell out during the first round of the PLAYOFFS! If a team can't sell out during the playoffs I don't think they deserve to win. The same way Boston was destined to lose the ALCS because their fans started to walk out on them in an elimination game. The baseball gods let them hang around until game 7 then struck them down as soon as they smelled the World Series.

But strategically speaking, and all my personal preferences aside, this could be a great series and a very memorable one. Great clutch hitting, and players who love big moments on the Phillies, and tremendous pitching and defense for the Rays. The Rays dominate at home, but the Phillies were just as unflappable on the road this season. I see this series being decided by one thing, and that is Cole Hammels. The Rays are a young, fastball hitting team. They are very aggressive at pitches in the zone. Hammels will use his great changeup to use the aggressiveness of the Rays' hitters against them. Hammels will pitch 2 games, possibly 3. He will dominate in all of his starts and be named the World Series MVP.

The Dish on Tipping

You have a girl in your life and things are going great. You have everything in common right down to hating the crust on your sandwiches. Things couldn't be better, but then she drops a bomb on you. Her parents are coming in to town to meet you, and they want to go out to dinner.

You wear your best shirt, you shower and shave, and head on out the door to meet the parents. You have prepared yourself for this moment. You order a partisan cheese plate to start with, and the seafood cioppino for your own course. A bottle of sauvigon blanc is ordered, and tiramisu for dessert. Dinner is going great as you look smart and sophisticated. You do the honorable thing and decide to foot the bill. That's when something disastrous happens. The dinner isn't too expensive, the problem is what to leave for a tip. You don't want to look cheap and leave too little, but you don't want to look like a fool and leave too much. That is where this handy little set of rules come in to play.

First of all, I have worked in the restaurant setting for some time now, and understand how everything works and what proper service should be. I also know what tips are proper for the service given. Without further ado, the answer to the age old question of "How much do I leave for a tip?"

When you receive the check after the meal ask yourself the following questions:

• Was I needy?
• Was my server friendly?
• Did they get my side of honey mustard in a timely fashion?
• Was my server knowledgeable?
• Was my drink always filled?
  
• Did my dinner come after my salad/appetizers in a timely manner?
  
• Was I offered any specials?
• Was I annoyed by my server?
• Did I feel like a guest rather than a customer at the restaurant?
• Am I wowed by the service?
  

This is just a general list, and there are other questions that you can ask yourself.

Really think if your server deserved a tip worthy of a high percentage. Servers have fallen into a belief that they should automatically get a good tip if they work in a nice restaurant, and they also believe that they are in control of the dinner setting, and they are the boss. These beliefs are false. The guest is always in control, and it is your money that you are spending. Tips are earned, not just given away. The amount of the tip depends on how good the service is. That is a golden rule that people tend to forget.

The tip amount should be used as a statement of how you feel the service was, and don't be afraid to sway to either extremes. A smart server will take a poor tip, and improve themselves to become a better server. If your side of ranch never arrives, your coke is always empty, and there are shrimp in your pasta even though you make it clear that you are allergic, don't be afraid to leave a bad tip, or even stiff. The server deserves 10% or less based off that service. On the other hand, friendly servers, who remember everything, quickly respond to your requests, and do the little things such as having the kitchen split your chicken pasta in the back so you don't have to, deserve more. They understand that you go to dinner to enjoy yourself, not to hassle yourself. They deserve the 20% tip. If the service you received is in the middle of that somewhere, then adjust accordingly. For an average serving job, 15% is a default percentage.

Now you're at the dinner table with your girlfriends parents, pen in hand and the check in the other. The cheese plate arrived quickly, the sauvigon blanc was presented in the proper fashion, and everyone's meals came out the way they requested. How much do you tip?

Diehards

If there is one thing in life that you shouldn't do, something to stay completely away from, never become a diehard fan of any particular team. Unfortunately I'm a diehard fan of several teams, and it's a rough life. It's a roller coaster of a life, every high will be followed by a low, a very long and never ending low. My mood on Sunday's depends on how the Seahawks play, and my mood is affected every day over the summer by how the Mariners play.

It's only on a rare occasion where ultimate happiness is reached, and that's when your favorite team wins the championship. I've been close on a few occasions, but not reaching that pinnacle puts you in the biggest funk. All my friends wanted to stay away from me when the Seahawks lost the super bowl a few years ago. Even my girlfriend hated me because I had made a bet that I would get a mohawk if the Seahawks lost. Which brings up another point. If you're a person that has zero confidence, it's possible you will become the most arrogant person when it comes to your team. There will be non stop trash talking when your team collides with your buddy's team, and you will actually be confident that your team will win. Wins and Losses go out the door. An example of this is that my Seahawks have one win this year. That's right, ONE. My best friend's team, the Eagles, have 3 (the 3 losses weren't blowouts like the Seahawks suffered) wins, and they play in the toughest division in football. But when our teams collide, the Seahawks won't lose, it isn't possible.

Diehards always look for the small glimmer of hope in a bad season. Right now I'm thinking if only the Seahawks get healthy, and our defense returns to form, and if we (yes I say we sometimes when I refer to the Seahawks) begin to run the ball... The "ifs" never end. If we just score a touchdown and recover an onside kick, and score again, we'll be within one score. The previous sentence sounds crazy. But that was my precise thinking when the Seahawks were down at home against the Packers late in the 4th quarter by 17 points. You think about all the great comebacks that you see on Sportscenter, you think "Maybe we can be the team that pulls off the miracle comeback of the year."

All of the pain and suffering will be worth it when one of my teams finally win something. And when the Seahawks finally win the Superbowl, it will be the happiest day of my life.

Hmmmmm

This weekend I was watching a fantastic show, probably one of my favorites, The Deadliest Catch. and I had a "Hmmm" moment (By the way, these moments don't happen very often. They are often life altering and I have to find a suitable answer). The moment went like this "Hmmm, could I possibly do that for a living?" I seriously and honestly thought about it. Then about after 2-3 minutes of thinking of an answer for that question, my answer is a resounding no.

I have a tendency to like the finer things in life. I like standing on solid ground, and working inside where it isn't wet. I also enjoy warm, comfortable beds as well as a regular sleep schedule. On the flip side however I would love the adventure that comes with the job and having the ability to say "I have the worlds most deadliest job" At this point my mental debate began creating a headache, and I had to come to a conclusion. The kicker ended up being something very obvious, something that I should have thought of from the get go (This answer has nothing to do with the image above). I'm a very social guy, and being away from ladies for that long (months at a time) wouldn't be good for my health. I would probably start hitting on the crab, and grow attached to them, which would be rather embarrassing. So before I hurt myself thinking, I found a simple answer to my "Hmmm" moment. Life without women is like having a PBJ without bread... It just doesn't make any sense.

Complaining Sport Fans

Recently I have grown tired of all the complaining that goes on in the sports world, and I'm not talking about the players or the coaches griping about how the referees blew a call late in the fourth quarter that cost them the game. I'm not talking about players complaining that they aren't making enough money, or that they aren't receiving enough respect, or how athletes are under the public microscope. In fact, what I've grown tired of is independent of players, coaches, or front office executives. I have grown tired of the complaining that is heard everyday from the fans. Some fans can complain all they want, others just need to keep quiet.

One fan base in particular, the Boston area sport fans. They have won 2 of the last 4 World Series, 3 of the last 7 Super Bowls, and the Celtics are the NBA champs. Not forgetting to mention that the Bruin's made the playoffs, and the city even had a top 3 draft pick in last years NFL draft when Atlanta took Matt Ryan. When your area sport teams have been that successful in the past decade, no complaining, or"woe is me" attitudes. They lose their star quarterback, and yes the season is lost, but they have had more than their share of success recently. I don't want to hear that the play Brady got hurt on was dirty, and I don't want to hear blame being placed on a missed block. It happened so deal with it.

The Ironic thing about this post is that I'm complaining about complaining, but earlier when I mentioned that some fan bases have a right to complain... well I'm one of them. I'm a fan of the Seattle area teams. The Seahawks (Sometimes known as the Seachickens), and the Mariners (Sometimes known as being just plain pathetic). If I were to begin writing about the horrible things that I have gone through, then I would start to sound like I just lost the love of my life. I say this because I remember everything that has gone wrong, and I so desparately want things to be the way it should be.

One more thing, New York Football Giant fans, I don't want to hear a peep for the rest of my life, you pulled off the biggest upset in Football history, and destroyed a perfect season.

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