day started out pretty crappy. made the 3-4 hr drive back home from college, but made a stop off in San Francisco to get my car alarm installed. i was pretty grumpy by that time, i'd only gotten 4-5 hrs of sleep the night before because of my roomates.
while i was waiting for them to install the alarm, i walked around to find a place to eat. found a quaint little thai place that was nice, clean, and had a few people in it. i ordered lunch, and looked around. i noticed there were only 2 people in the kitchen, a man and his wife, both looking exhausted and overworked. i had to feel sorry for them, my parents used to own a restaurant and worked 12-14 hr days. anyway, i went to the back to wash up after lunch and saw the employee's only room, it was a private little room with the door cracked open. i saw 2 small kids in there, sitting on an old dilapitated matress playing games on an old television. that really struck me- my parents always brought me to work with them to their restaurant too when me and my little bro were young, they both had to work and couldn't leave us home alone, and there was no one to watch after us. i couldn't help but sympathesize with the family's situation, me having gone through the exact same thing just 10 years ago.
anyway, the check came, it was $7.50. i decided what the hell, and wrote down $20 on the credit bill, and started to leave. i guess it was almost my form of charity, the old woman came out and seemed surprised, asked me in broken english if i had done it right. i said yea sure, don't worry about it and left.
don't get me wrong, i don't leave a 200% tip everywhere i go, my last name isn't gates. but comparitively speaking, i felt kind of bad. i figured i could afford it (hell, i just spent $400 on a car alarm install) and was more well off then they were, and they'd probably spend $13 better than i would (prolly would have wasted it anyway).
some of my more skeptical and cynical friends called me a sucker, but i still smiled the rest of the day.
while i was waiting for them to install the alarm, i walked around to find a place to eat. found a quaint little thai place that was nice, clean, and had a few people in it. i ordered lunch, and looked around. i noticed there were only 2 people in the kitchen, a man and his wife, both looking exhausted and overworked. i had to feel sorry for them, my parents used to own a restaurant and worked 12-14 hr days. anyway, i went to the back to wash up after lunch and saw the employee's only room, it was a private little room with the door cracked open. i saw 2 small kids in there, sitting on an old dilapitated matress playing games on an old television. that really struck me- my parents always brought me to work with them to their restaurant too when me and my little bro were young, they both had to work and couldn't leave us home alone, and there was no one to watch after us. i couldn't help but sympathesize with the family's situation, me having gone through the exact same thing just 10 years ago.
anyway, the check came, it was $7.50. i decided what the hell, and wrote down $20 on the credit bill, and started to leave. i guess it was almost my form of charity, the old woman came out and seemed surprised, asked me in broken english if i had done it right. i said yea sure, don't worry about it and left.
don't get me wrong, i don't leave a 200% tip everywhere i go, my last name isn't gates. but comparitively speaking, i felt kind of bad. i figured i could afford it (hell, i just spent $400 on a car alarm install) and was more well off then they were, and they'd probably spend $13 better than i would (prolly would have wasted it anyway).
some of my more skeptical and cynical friends called me a sucker, but i still smiled the rest of the day.
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