Right! Thanks for the reminder (even if it’s more pleasant to forget).

The right was pissed at Disney years ago though (I can’t even remember what BS for); they’ve weathered that storm before.

I did a bit of reading to confirm my understanding, which is that employers can pay below minimum wage when tips are regularly earned by that employee. So technically, baristas, fast food workers, counter-service workers, and the like could fall into that category, but since it’s not a cultural expectation that those employees are tipped on every transaction, I think it would be harder for an employer to justify the regularity of their tip earnings and therefore pay them less than minimum wage.

That’s why, in my personal practice, those tips are optional and based exclusively on above-average service.

When it comes to takeout from a restaurant, there are usually two types of places I go: 1) smaller, individually owned restaurants, or 2) large chain restaurants like the one my coworker had previously worked for.

In the first case, I leave some tip because it’s a small business and I’ve known people who own restaurants and realize how hard a business it is. In the latter, I tip because that coworker told me that her role was paid under the assumption of her receiving tips and I realized there is a service being provided.

Anyway, lots of people seem to be disappointed about my personal choice to tip some types of food service. I appreciate you engaging in a way that doesn’t seem judgmental or defensive.

I’m not clear what you’re saying the problem is. The fact that I tip because it’s expected?

Me choosing to follow the system that was in place well before I was born isn’t the problem. The law allows for food service workers to be paid less than minimum wage. If you don’t agree with that, petition the government or boycott restaurants until they change policy; don’t stiff low-wage employees.

They did their job, yet our government legally allows their employers to not pay them full wages for their work and instead depend on their customers to supplement their wages. If you had a job that was legally allowed to pay you under minimum wage because it expected you to earn money in addition to that, then I would expect you’d get tips too.

Until the laws change in a way that support food service workers better, I’m going to continue to do my part in contributing to their wages.

I meant a takeout counter like Chipotle or somewhere else that you order and get the food at the same time, not sitting and waiting for an order somewhere.

When I’m sitting down to a dinner, the bare minimum I expect is food served to my table in a reasonable time, drink refills, etc., but I tip for that service. When I’m at a bar the bare minimum I expect is to receive the drink I ordered, but I tip for that service.

Again, as I said, I would much prefer if tipping were not a part of our culture at all. But I alone will not change that just by shortchanging low-wage employees.

I worked with someone who changed my mind on this. She’d worked the take-out counter at a restaurant and she talked through the kinds of steps she took to ensure the meal was correct, containers were properly sealed, and they had utensils, napkins, sauces, and all the things the customer would need or expect.

Learning about the amount of time and care put in at that restaurant made it clear that it was a service.

I usually give 10% at restaurants with a similar service because of her. With takeaway restaurants where you just order at a counter, though? I generally only tip if the people working were super friendly.

I’d prefer to not have a tipping culture at all. But as long as this is the society we live in, I can afford to pay a couple extra bucks here and there to help people who generally make shit wages.

I think everyone here understands that. The person you were responding to used air quotes implying that’s what the right will view it as.

Many years ago I saw a TIFU on reddit about a person who mispronounced “banal” while on a call with many people. I will always be grateful to that person’s fuck up for correcting my mental pronunciation of that word, lol.

Usually I’ll answer product management because that’s what I do and I enjoy it (and I had no idea this career existed while I was in school), but reading this I actually think it could be a good fit for you, depending on how you feel about socializing with people.

I have an English degree but I also worked at an IT company every summer from high school through college, doing many different jobs with an increasingly technical focus. I taught myself HTML and CSS when I was like 10, but except for one high school class of Java I never got deeper into coding than that.

My interest in language and words combines with my technical aptitude in product management. I usually describe it as a job of translation, because I have to work with customers, internal users, business leaders, designers, and developers, and I need to be able to talk to and listen to all of them and understand their context well enough to translate to the other groups. I might need to tell the exact same story half a dozen completely different ways depending on my audience.

There are lots of different approaches to product management and every company does it differently, but some of the critical skills are being able to identify and deeply understand problems (of the business, of customers, etc.) and propose solutions to those problems.

It sounds like you have some technical aptitude but also interest in language and story telling (and a big part of product management is writing what are literally called “user stories”), so if you don’t mind the people interactions, it might work for you too.

I’ve been on or involved with Product teams for about 10 years now and had an actual Product Manager title for over 6, managing a team of PMs for the last 3. I feel like I found it by accident but I totally lucked into a career I actually love, so I’m happy to talk to people about it any time!

Stock photo since I’m not up for sharing my face 😆 I don’t have the blazer, but I kinda regret that decision now.

Company who made them is Betabrand. They’re comfy!

Someone else mentioned it’s houndstooth, but there’s a company out there who turned that pattern into “catstooth.” I own pants with this pattern and they make me very happy!

Isn’t that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, not Frankenstein?

You and I are on the same page. My only point was that there are unfortunately many people out there now who believe they have a “healthy” level of skepticism, but are actually misled, misinformed, and not educated enough to distinguish reality. And I named specific groups who frequently fit this pattern.

When skepticism is truly healthy, it’s great. But there are many people who are unable to identify what “healthy” means here. No where did I say or mean to imply that some skepticism is a bad thing.

Unfortunately this also gets abused by some people who believe they have a healthy level of skepticism, but actually are way off the deep end. Like anti-vaxxers, flat-Earthers, and other anti-science people.

So “healthy” in this context shouldn’t be defined by the individual.

I have a black cat and an Abyssinian, so I like to say can stare into the Abyss or scream (quietly) into the void any time I want, lol.

I’m sure you know this so I’m commenting for others.

Sodium chloride alone can really upset your stomach, and potassium “buffers” the salt in a way that reduces nausea risk. There are straight up condensed salt pills that work, but are more likely to make you sick.

I also didn’t eat a lot of salt in the past and had to train myself into it. In fact, when I first started seeing my cardiologist, I made a humorous list of all the conventional wisdom I learned wasn’t true for me.

PSAs: Salt is bad for you! Eat less! My cardiologist: Salt is good for you. Eat more. Like 7-10 GRAMS a day.

Popular media: Wearing a corset might make you faint! My cardiologist: Abdominal compression is good. Wear a corset, it’ll make you faint less.

Fitness guides: When you hit an energy wall, push through to build endurance! My cardiologist: When you hit a wall, STOP! You will pay for it if you keep going!

All health guides: The best drink for your health is water; always drink more! My cardiologist: Just water is BAD. Drink lots, yes, but be careful to balance it out with electrolytes.

Magazine headlines: Walking is the best exercise for health. My cardiologist: Walk if you can tolerate it, but that is not good exercise for you. Rowing, recumbent biking, and swimming are best for you.

Still makes me chuckle as I learn to listen to my body and not society.

Electrolyte drink mixes are my saving grace, and LMNT is my favorite brand by a long shot. I enjoy drinking LMNT while every other brand I’ve tried is a slog.

I try to have 2 a day in about 25oz of water each. Hot days with lots of activity, I may need 3.

I genuinely can’t imagine getting 5–10 liters of water a day, and I already drink so much more than most people I know!

My cardiologist called it “POTS or vasovagal syncope,” and said he could specify with a tilt test, but since he treats them the same he didn’t recommend the tilt test.

So I could just say “yes,” but instead I give a long-winded answer to say that it’s a technically undefined dysautonomia that I treat like POTS, lol.

I use electrolyte mixes, salt pills, and salt my food, with a goal of 7–10g of salt and 100 oz of water a day. It’s amazing how much better I feel when I hit both of those targets!