Tippin' my hat off to tips!

Crazy thought, can we institute gratuity on every single Restaurant tab?? Is that too much to ask? I mean, Europe did it. Seems to be working out pretty well for them. Here, not the same. My tour with Applebees has officially ended and i can tell you one thing, I dont ever plan on serving another table for the rest of my life. 3 years was enough. The endless hard work for what some days didn't even equal minimum wage. I know, maybe I was in the wrong restaurant. Applebees isn't high class food after all. But it's still food. And it's still a servers livelihood.
Not even proposing we make the gratuity percentage that high. 18% seems pretty custom for many places who "grat" tables of 8 or more. Pretty sure we would see a lot less turnover among servers if that was the case. And I know that an instituted gratuity wouldn't lessen the business of a restaurant. We all know that we are all still driving ourselves to Outback regardless of their gratuity policy.
Sadly enough, Mother Theresa isn't the one tipping all of our check tabs. So we have to understand that some people wish not to tip for their own reasons. I understand this. But a server shouldn't be making 3 something an hour if thats the case! Am I wrong here?
Obviously pigs will fly and Ricky Williams will pass a drug test before any of this gratuity business happens. But maybe we all need to think about that a little.

A Gentlemen's Game

Someone asked me yesterday what my favorite sport to play was. I said the unthinkable. Yup, without hesitation, I uttered golf! A sport to some, not to many! Now, I know what you're thinking---it's not a sport. I ask simply, why?
Cause you don't have to have an athletic body to play? I know we have seen the 350 pound offensive lineman that plays for your favorite NFL team down 16 burger king whoppers per sitting. Trust me, most the golfers who play on the PGA tour are in just as good of shape as the majority of NFL players.
Why do I like to play golf so much, you ask? That's easy. And I'll explain it with more ease than the 3 foot putt I missed on the 18th last week.

1. It's challenging---It's the first sport I have ever played that has frustrated me to the point of throwing my entire arsenal(golf bag/golf clubs) in a duck pond. Yup, it's hands down the most challenging sport on earth. Think I'm wrong? Go shoot some basketballs, catch some football, hit some baseballs. Then go play a round of golf. Tell me which one was easier and not as frustrating. There is always a weakness in your game when it comes to golf. You are never satisfied. You are always working on some part of your game. You will die trying to work on your short game, drives, putting! That alone makes the sport challenging.

2. you can suck at it, and still win---Little Johnny hit a 107 at Pebble Beach golf course yesterday. Today, little Johnny hit a 105 at that same course. Guess what, little johnny sucks, but still goes home a winner for beating his high from yesterday. Everyone I know that plays golf takes more pride in beating their own scores than anyone they are playing with. I golfed with a manager of mine last week...lost by 8 strokes. But guess what, I had my lowest golf round ever. Lets just say I had a victory dance after that round.

3. you can play by yourself---Don't have friends that like sports as much as you? Can't find someone you can tolerate for four hours? Hate losing to other people? Golf is your sport then. That's right, you can play against yourself. It's one of the few sports that requires no defense from an opposing player. How someone else plays has no effect on your score. Its you versus the golf course.

4. You'd lie in any other sport other than golf---For some reason, lying about your score in golf is just not the same as lying about what the score is in your pick-up basketball game. Integrity is the sports best feature. Your conscience wont allow it any other way. You bogeyed the 5th hole but Mark's scorecard has you paring the hole. Without fail, you are quick to explain that you did indeed bogey the hole. It's the easiest sport to cheat at, yet the hardest sport to actually do so.

5. The cart lady---On every golf course that matters, a beverage lady rolls up in a cart filled with refreshing beverages and food...every four or so holes.

Truth is, Golf is the only sport where I always have a chance to win. It the only sport where no matter how bad I play, I can always do worse. It is a sport where the most feared opponent is me! Its the only sport where I can play so bad and yet still play it on a regular basis.
It is best defined as an endless series of tragedies thought over by the occasional miracle.

Sports, sports, sports

I realized something today. If sports didn't exist, my boredom in life would multiply times a million. My day yesterday consisted of watching the cubs beat the diamondbacks(no surprise), watching Sergio Garcia win(finally) the players championship golf tournament, and then playing 4 hours of volleyball. Yup, that was my day! Sports. On average, I spend more time a day focused on sports than I did in an entire semester on school work. No joke.

I love sports. I'm not gonna lie...the majority of my blogs will ponder things relating to sports. I say this cause I truly feel one can learn so much about life through sports. The gratification of winning, the misery of losing, and everything in between. That alone is a huge stepping stone for someone in life.

I've come to realize that most of the time, you don't win sports. Whether its cheering on your favorite team, playing against a league full of teams, or coaching a team. But that's what makes winning so much better. It's rare. And you can associate winning and losing with anything. I am winning at watching sportscenter everyday. I am losing at running 3 miles everyday. One things for sure though---the more rare, the more better. Oh to the day the cubs finally win the world series.

I look at yesterday for example. I watched Sergio Garcia win the players championship. The same Sergio who has been deemed "the best player to never win a major." He loses a lot. Can you blame him? Its golf. You have to play better golf than 140 of the best golfers in the world over the course of four days. Not easy. I have problems beating one guy in a casual round of golf.

Anyway, he finally did it. And I'll tell you what, I bet it was one of the best days of his life.
Winning in sports will bring just as much joy to one as anything else in this world. I truly feel that way.

That is why sports is so amazing. That is why I play it and watch it. Its the constant want to win in life. Even though many of us come up just short a lot, if we keep trying, you can't help but one day succeed and win. I know it sounds stupid, but its the truth.

I played volleyball yesterday and I can say it was the most fun I have had playing volleyball in a while. It was competitive. That is what i like. I feel I am still at an age where winning means a lot to me. I am competitive at rock, paper, scissors---let alone an actual sport.

I'm gonna be honest, I hope I never lose that competitive spirit either. I think its an asset through life. Some look at it as a bad thing, but not me. How can one be successful in life without competing his or her way through the obstacle at hand. I think my success in getting a job, winning a game, or being noticed by a boss comes from my competitiveness. But that's just me I guess.