http://smidj.tumblr.com/

Waterbeads. Feel cool and make a great phone wallpaper....

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:51:22 -0400

Waterbeads. Feel cool and make a great phone wallpaper. You’re welcome.

pleatedjeans: via

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:58:26 -0400

pleatedjeans:

via

"Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:40:40 -0400

“Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”

- Ricky Fitts - American Beauty (1999)

You’ll never enjoy anything as much as these two baby...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:14:16 -0400

You’ll never enjoy anything as much as these two baby elephants enjoy taking a bath.

thefrogman: [video] Kids can be so cruel.

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:23:35 -0400

thefrogman: [video]

Kids can be so cruel.

The TL;DR version of “If you can read this, flip me...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:19:00 -0400

The TL;DR version of “If you can read this, flip me over”
#Jeep

True words from a refugee of Russian communism.

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:22:05 -0500

True words from a refugee of Russian communism.

augustotter: dailydot: First rule of American restaurant...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:43:07 -0500

augustotter:

dailydot:

First rule of American restaurant etiquette: If you can’t afford to tip the wait staff, you can’t afford to eat there. Second rule: If you ignore the first rule and stiff your waiter anyway, admitting you’re a selfish cheapskate is better than pretending it’s somehow a higher calling.

guardiancomment:

Chelsea Welch, the US waitress who was fired after she posted a picture of a tip receipt on Reddit, wrote for us:

I was a waitress at Applebee’s restaurant in Saint Louis. I was fired Wednesday for posting a picture on Reddit.com of a note a customer left on a bill. I posted it on the web as a light-hearted joke.

This didn’t even happen at my table. The note was left for another server, who allowed me to take a picture of it at the end of the night.

Someone had scribbled on the receipt, “I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?”

I assumed the customer’s signature was illegible, but I quickly started receiving messages containing Facebook profile links and websites, asking me to confirm the identity of the customer. I refused to confirm any of them, and all were incorrect.

I worked with the Reddit moderators to remove any personal information. I wanted to protect the identity of both my fellow server and the customer. I had no intention of starting a witch-hunt or hurting anyone.

Now I’ve been fired.

The person who wrote the note came across an article about it, called the Applebee’s location, and demanded everyone be fired — me, the server who allowed me to take the picture, the manager on duty at the time, the manager not on duty at the time, everyone. It seems I was fired not because Applebee’s was represented poorly, not because I did anything illegal or against company policy, but because I embarrassed this person.

In light of the situation, I would like to make a statement on behalf of wait staff everywhere: We make $3.50 an hour. Most of my paychecks are less than pocket change because I have to pay taxes on the tips I make.

After sharing my tips with hosts, bussers, and bartenders, I make less than $9 an hour on average, before taxes. I am expected to skip bathroom breaks if we are busy. I go hungry all day if I have several busy tables to work. I am expected to work until 1:30am and then come in again at 10:30am to open the restaurant.

I have worked 12-hour double shifts without a chance to even sit down. I am expected to portray a canned personality that has been found to be least offensive to the greatest amount of people. And I am expected to do all of this, every day, and receive change, or even nothing, in return. After all that, I can be fired for “embarrassing” someone, who directly insults his or her server on religious grounds.

In this economy, $3.50 an hour doesn’t cut it. I can’t pay half my bills. Like many, I would love to see a reasonable, non-tip-dependent wage system for service workers like they have in other countries. But the system being flawed is not an excuse for not paying for services rendered.

I need tips to pay my bills. All waiters do. We spend an hour or more of our time befriending you, making you laugh, getting to know you, and making your dining experience the best it can be. We work hard. We care. We deserve to be paid for that.

I am trying to stand up for all of us who work for just a few dollars an hour at places like Applebee’s. Whether a chain steakhouse or a black-tie establishment, tipping is not optional. It is how we get paid.

I posted a picture to make people laugh, but now I want to make a serious point: Things like this happen to servers all the time. People seem to think that the easiest way to save money on a night out is to skip the tip.

I can’t understand why I was fired over this. I was well liked and respected at Applebee’s. My sales were high, my managers had no problems with me, and I was even hoping to move up to management soon. When I posted this, I didn’t represent Applebee’s in a bad light. In fact, I didn’t represent them at all.

I did my best to protect the identity of all parties involved. I didn’t break any specific guidelines in the company handbook – I checked. But because this person got embarrassed that their selfishness was made public, Applebee’s has made it clear that they would rather lose a dedicated employee than an angry customer. That’s a policy I can’t understand.

I am equally baffled about how a religious tithe is in any way related to paying for services at a restaurant. I can understand why someone could be upset with an automatic gratuity. However, it’s a plainly stated Applebee’s policy that a tip is added automatically for parties over eight like the one this customer was part of. I cannot control that kind of tip; it’s done by the computer that the orders are put into. I’ve been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the “Big Man” used as reasoning.

Obviously the person who wrote this note wanted it seen by someone. It’s strange that now that the audience is wider than just the server, the person is ashamed.

I have no agenda here. I seek no revenge against the note writer. I have no interest in exposing their identity, and, at this point, I’m not even sure I want my job back. I was just trying to make a joke, but I came home unemployed.

I’ve been waiting tables to save up some money so I could finally go to college, so I could get an education that would qualify me for a job that doesn’t force me to sell my personality for pocket change.

Everyone. I mean EVERYONE. Needs to read this.

If Scandanavian coffee is a cup of Johann

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:51:46 -0500

Is Italian coffee a cup of Giuseppe?

Well, at least you made it to the 9th.

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:28:06 -0500

Well, at least you made it to the 9th.

Love and best wishes from Mr & Mrs Smidj. Here’s to a...

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 20:37:43 -0500

Love and best wishes from Mr & Mrs Smidj. Here’s to a good 4th year and a 5th that’s even better.

Progress of Mann. - ImgurFor my son who is all about Team...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:21:24 -0500

Progress of Mann. - Imgur

For my son who is all about Team Fortress right now

Can you spot the error? One lost a hand, the other gained a...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:34:00 -0400

Can you spot the error?

One lost a hand, the other gained a heart.

source: SomethingAwful goons

Despite the fact that I’ve tried not to jump on the...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:16:27 -0400

Despite the fact that I’ve tried not to jump on the Gangnam Style bandwagon, I’m not going to deny my daughter’s friends and classmates at her high school from a dream-big, viral-worthy, excellent performance without at least a re-blog.

#FTW c/o 2016

That’s a good price.

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 10:56:54 -0400

That’s a good price.

Indecision 2012 … I can hear Jon Stewart now.

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:51:34 -0400

Indecision 2012

… I can hear Jon Stewart now.

To hell with motorcycle helmet safety. But one can never take...

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 19:04:11 -0400

To hell with motorcycle helmet safety. But one can never take dental hygiene too seriously.

Found a device that causes rain.

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 20:11:47 -0400

My barbecue grill.

Why H?

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 09:56:19 -0400

Pirates say yo-ho.
Cowboys say yeehaw.
When hailing someone, you say yoo-hoo or hey, you.
The internet started with Yahoo.
Jews worship Yahweh.
Outkast’s most popular song was Hey Ya.
What is it with this unusual sound combination?

That’s me in a couple years… Suspenders to keep my...

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:46:24 -0400

That’s me in a couple years… Suspenders to keep my elastic shorts under my armpits, socks as high as they will go, the brightest colors money can buy, and a tote bag containing very soft food products.