This is for both the ladies and gents.

Ooooooooooooooh campers annoy me. Don’t get me wrong. As a restaurant customer, you are entitled to eat and relax at your own pace. But please, be reasonable about it.

If the restaurant is really busy and most or all the other tables are full, please leave. You’re taking up space that another customer would like and preventing them from leaving me another tip.

Most of the time, I don’t mind campers. They generally don’t require much attention. But they do require some. If I have a couple other active tables, it’s easy to swing by with a pitcher and refill your tea or water. The more tables I have, the less attention I can give each table. Even if you say you’re fine, I still have to come around occasionally and see if you want anything. And if you haven’t paid yet, that’s just more attention that you will need and less attention I can give to my other tables.

If it’s closing time (or after!), please leave. There are some tasks that can’t be done while you’re here. The longer you stay, the longer I have to stay. Would you want to work overtime at $2.15 an hour? We don’t get time-and-a-half (and if we did, that’s still only $3.27!). Also, depending on the restaurant, your waiter might be responsible for back-of-house stuff. But he can’t take care of it because he has to be out front watching your table. Even if he cashes you out, we can’t close the restaurant until you leave—someone is going to have to stay and lock up.

I admit, I’ve camped before. Get to talking and time just slips by. Or during finals, go and hang out at 24-hour places like IHOP or Waffle House. But money makes things better and I leave a larger than normal tip, usually 25% plus a dollar per hour.

Should campers leave larger tips? How much?

1. What do you consider an adequate tip for a waiter who provides adequate service? 
2. What do you consider adequate service?
3. Did you know that minimum wage is different (lower!) for waitstaff than it is for other jobs? Well, in the USA, anyway.

This is the first of an on-going series: Behind the Apron. Through Behind the Apron, I’ll be sharing insights I’ve gleaned while working as a waiter. It’s no Waiter Rant, but hopefully you’ll learn something giving and receiving good service. Feel free to ask a question, offer advice, or give suggestions.

(via hellaleta)

Here’s another post about introverts. 

Hello. My name is Jon. You may know me as ‘Milton’. I am an introvert.

I figured I should tell people what it is I’m doing this summer. I am participating in the Khmer Language and Culture Study Program through the Center for Khmer Studies. Basically, it’s a beginner-level Khmer language program geared towards academics, but participation is pretty much open to anyone whose work will benefit Cambodia and the Cambodian community.

It’s an intense program: 8 weeks of class with 4 hours of class per day Monday through Friday with additional activities in the afternoons and on Saturdays. There’s also a homestay out in one of the provinces and attendance/participation at the annual CKS conference in Siem Reap. And in addition to our regularly scheduled activities, we also have to produce a smallish research paper while we’re here.

Yes, there’s fun and games (especially when the class is sleepy and the teacher tries to wake us up), but it’s a lot of work. If you’re looking for a fun summer in Cambodia, this isn’t the program for you. 

If you happen to have a high proficiency in Khmer, and/or have studied it formally for at least two years, you should check out our sister program - ASK.

I admit I’m a picky eater. Makes it hard to be an expat. A guy can eat only so much fried rice, fried noodles, pho, pahbah, and lok lak. I’ve set myself on a quest to find the best burger in Cambodia. 

It started when I stumbled across a poll on Expat Advisory and a review of one of the restaurants (owner worked at In ‘n Out). I had never heard of any of those places, but one was near school, so I decided to check it out (see photo above). 

Saturday, an exploratory walk around the neighborhood brought me back to the T-Bone Steakhouse. I’ve had their steak before, so I decided to try the burger this time. Since I was eating alone, I had time to think, so I pondered: What makes the perfect burger?

The only essential components of a burger are the bun and the patty - everything else is optional and up to personal taste. Don’t like onions? Don’t put onions on your burger! In no particular order, here are my burger judging criteria:

• Patty-to-bun ratio - Is there more bread than meat? Is the patty nice and flat or balled up in the middle?
• Are the vegetables fresh or wilted? Uniformly sliced?
• Is the cheese melted? 
• Is the cheese stuck to the bun? (Better not be!)
• How’s the patty? Cooked well? Juicy? Holds together? Hand-pressed or machine-molded?
• Overall juiciness of the burger - Do I need a napkin (good) or a towel (bad)? 
• Taste - whatever else might be going on, does it taste good?
• Price - Was it worth it?

Did I miss anything?

I’ve been in school almost non-stop since I was 5. That’s 25 years. A quarter of a century. A third of my life expectancy. And I don’t have a whole lot to show for it. No wife, no kids, no career, no house, no major appliances. A hand-me-down car. FML.

Thirty days ago, all I could see was what my friends had and what I didn’t. LASIK may have fixed my eyes, but it really didn’t clear my vision.

The big day came and went without much fanfare. Had an eye check-up, then dinner and a movie with a friend. 

Maybe it was talking with that friend, maybe it was all the other stuff going on soon after, but something caused my mindset to shift. I started paying less attention to what I didn’t have and more attention to what I do have.

What do I have? 

Well, I’m typing this from my apartment in Phnom Penh. No wife/kids/pets means I have the freedom to travel pretty much whenever and wherever I want. I’m overweight but generally healthy. I have a tight group of core friends, and more friends than I can count spread across the US and across Asia. I have a family that loves me and people who may as well be family. I have that blessed assurance. I have hope. I have dreams. I have the rest of my life ahead of me. 

Sure there’s things I want to change, but for the first time in a long time, I’m actually happy. I feel good about myself. I’m enjoying my life. 

So I turned 30 years old 30 days ago. So what? 30 is the new 25!

Part of my class involves weekly visits to local NGOs. Our first was the Open Institute, which seeks to encourage educational and economic development in Cambodia through the use of of free, open source software in Khmer. They developed a Khmer Unicode font, a Khmer-language version of Open Office, a Khmer-language web browser, and a Khmer-language email client. And a training program (including training materials) on how to use all of this stuff. 

Because the software is free, it is available to everyone. No need to pay Microsoft’s licensing fees or to try and get a cracked version. And since it’s in Khmer, there is no need to know English to develop office and IT skills.

All software is available on their website (with a bit of clicking through).