Traviesa

I just found out I don't qualify for one

How come?

One of the questions on the calculator thing was are you or your spouse if filing jointly a non-resident alien...and that caused me to be disqualified. I always thought I would probably not get the amount that a normal married couple would get considering he is a non-resident alien but I didn't think we'd be disqualified altogether! Very disappointing...

I don't know your situation but just in case your misunderstanding things, you do know that a green card holder isn't a "non-resident" alien. If you already knew this, sorry I just wanted to help.

Thanks for your help! Javier's not getting a green card or a visa-he's staying in Mexico.

I just found out I don't qualify for one

How come?

One of the questions on the calculator thing was are you or your spouse if filing jointly a non-resident alien...and that caused me to be disqualified. I always thought I would probably not get the amount that a normal married couple would get considering he is a non-resident alien but I didn't think we'd be disqualified altogether! Very disappointing...

I just found out I don't qualify for one

I think if someone "risked his life to get here" then he knows he was breaking the law. I don't disagree that it might be cultural to migrate, but I do disagree that it is part of a culture to break the law. I think that is a very patronizing attitude.

I asked my soon-to-be ex-husband the question one time of why he thought he could break the law to come illegally to the US. And what he told me was, when you're coming to the US you don't really think of it as breaking the law-you think of it as going to look for work. I posted that on here a long time ago. I think when it was suggested that illegal aliens have some sort of evil intentions or are criminal minded. Of course he's only one. But just like so many cultural attitudes, I can't believe that one is unique to him. It's just not about breaking the law, even though that's what is actually done.

I am quite sure for many people that is how it happens, they don't have work, they see that work is available in the US, they go and find the work.

However, there is the question of entitlement. These people aren't 'entitled' to think this way because they are not US citizens. They should think of some way of changing the fact there is no workto be hard where they are rather than moving to where things are 'easier'.

It's easier to break the world up into segments when you realise that some people are entitled to things and others are not depending on the logistics of where they are born.

They should because we think they should. But they're not us. They don't think the way we do. Just like it might seem strange to us that people in various parts of the world eat what they do (Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel)-it's just what they do. Or how we think people shouldn't do things to mutilate their bodies (Taboo on Nat Geo)-it's just what they do. So besides the fact that I watch way too much TV, what it's made me realize is that different people think differently. What seems right or even obvious to me because of who I am, where I come from, how I was raised, etc. is not even a consideration in the mind of someone else in a different set of circumstances. We call it entitled because it infringes upon what we feel are our personal liberties. They don't see it that way-for them it's not about taking our pie, it's about sharing a piece of what to someone else must seem like a large enough pie. I am of the opinion, and Javier has said the same thing, that build a wall and they'll still find a way to come. It's just what they do.

I think if someone "risked his life to get here" then he knows he was breaking the law. I don't disagree that it might be cultural to migrate, but I do disagree that it is part of a culture to break the law. I think that is a very patronizing attitude.

I asked my soon-to-be ex-husband the question one time of why he thought he could break the law to come illegally to the US. And what he told me was, when you're coming to the US you don't really think of it as breaking the law-you think of it as going to look for work. I posted that on here a long time ago. I think when it was suggested that illegal aliens have some sort of evil intentions or are criminal minded. Of course he's only one. But just like so many cultural attitudes, I can't believe that one is unique to him. It's just not about breaking the law, even though that's what is actually done.

I was responding to how you said "fortunate...to have a degree." There's really no luck involved. A lot of hard work, yes...lots of sacrifice, yes. But no luck. Public education through the 12th grade is free in this country. We seriously take that for granted. If your family can't pay for college (like mine) it's very simple-you study the material, do your homework, and get a scholarship. Otherwise, there are educational grants and of course student loans for all. I don't know anyone who couldn't get a student loan. Those who chose to take the easy road were actually taking the larger risk. I don't have a lot of sympathy for that kind of apathy when there's another individual who risked his life to get here to do that job. Which one do I want working for me? The one who wants it and actually put forth the effort to get it. Reward based on merit, makes sense doesn't it?

don't you mean...reward for someone that snubs their nose at the laws of the nation?

I don't really look at it that way, and I don't really think they do either. There are certain laws that when you break them-you're going to be fully aware that you're breaking a law. Shoplifting is one I can think of. But how often do you and I speed without giving it a second thought? Unless of course until you see the flashing lights behind you. My point is-well I have 2. First one is that human beings began as migrant in nature. Not all people or cultures are like us, or put so much value on borders and property. Second one is that in a lot of these families it's expected or traditional like accounting runs in my family, to go elsewhere to work. They don't know anything else.

I was responding to how you said "fortunate...to have a degree." There's really no luck involved. A lot of hard work, yes...lots of sacrifice, yes. But no luck. Public education through the 12th grade is free in this country. We seriously take that for granted. If your family can't pay for college (like mine) it's very simple-you study the material, do your homework, and get a scholarship. Otherwise, there are educational grants and of course student loans for all. I don't know anyone who couldn't get a student loan. Those who chose to take the easy road were actually taking the larger risk. I don't have a lot of sympathy for that kind of apathy when there's another individual who risked his life to get here to do that job. Which one do I want working for me? The one who wants it and actually put forth the effort to get it. Reward based on merit, makes sense doesn't it?

While I can somewhat agree with this, there is another way to look at things:

school is not the end all be all.

Education happens in the real world.

I have subscribed to the world of apprenticeship, etc.

Learn while you do.

I have never liked the public school system...it leaves a lot to be desired.

Only really good "sheeple" get through it unscathed.

Digest and spurt out, quickly...on to the next semester.

Bleh.

(I do not mean to offend people who graduated from college and university, please take this in the spirit in which it is intended)

Not offended necessarily, but I do take exception to your "sheeple" comment. One thing I have always prided myself in is my tendency to question the issue, look at the facts, and form my own opinion. That's why I didn't vote in the primaries-won't pick a political party. I have strong convictions, but they're my own, not what anyone told me to believe. And college may not seem like the be-all and end-all, in plenty of situations it's not. But here's a real world example-I followed in my mother's professional footsteps and became an accountant. She's been in the industry for over 25 years, me almost 4. How do I make very nearly as much as my mom? That piece of paper. It does make a difference.

Is there really such a thing as an "illegal" human being?

But is it okay for them to prosper at somebody else's loss?

The argument can and does go both ways.

Who benefits at *their* expense to drive them our way?

so keep letting the blue collar Americans take it on the chin?

Again, its a two way street.

So keep letting the pre-illegals take it up the wazoo.

Problem is, um, that there's causation involved and God forbid we actually did something to really prevent the problem from becoming, a problem.

And, no, I do not favor screwing our workers over unless there are lines that I have apparently written in invisible bits and bytes here. Legislate all you want to punish, but fact of the matter is that if you prevent the problem in the first place...

you can stand on your soap box all day it doesn't change the facts. the worlds poor is not the US fault or burden. 1 time....look at the illegal immigration issue from the POV of a blue collar worker. you can't deny its a problem, its hurting everyone & letting it continue is not the answer.

Again... more invisible lines to read here.

We are not discussing the world's poor- at least I'm not. We're discussing the cake we like to have and eat on someone else's plate. THAT is called causation for them to come and eat our pie.

nothing is invisible. you don't care about illegal immigration because it doesn't effect you or your paycheck. crystal clear.

now look at it from a persons POV that isn't a fortunate as we are to have a degree & does manual labor for a living.

Sorry to butt in but...we all make choices in life. Opportunites are abundant in this country. Outcomes based on an individual's own decisions should not be blamed on anyone but the one who made the decision.

sorry but thats BS! the blue collar worker in America has no say in what laws are enforced. they are being hurt by choices made by others. some people can't go to college because of family issues or maybe they can't complete the courses...but, screw them too right?

I was responding to how you said "fortunate...to have a degree." There's really no luck involved. A lot of hard work, yes...lots of sacrifice, yes. But no luck. Public education through the 12th grade is free in this country. We seriously take that for granted. If your family can't pay for college (like mine) it's very simple-you study the material, do your homework, and get a scholarship. Otherwise, there are educational grants and of course student loans for all. I don't know anyone who couldn't get a student loan. Those who chose to take the easy road were actually taking the larger risk. I don't have a lot of sympathy for that kind of apathy when there's another individual who risked his life to get here to do that job. Which one do I want working for me? The one who wants it and actually put forth the effort to get it. Reward based on merit, makes sense doesn't it?

Is there really such a thing as an "illegal" human being?

But is it okay for them to prosper at somebody else's loss?

The argument can and does go both ways.

Who benefits at *their* expense to drive them our way?

so keep letting the blue collar Americans take it on the chin?

Again, its a two way street.

So keep letting the pre-illegals take it up the wazoo.

Problem is, um, that there's causation involved and God forbid we actually did something to really prevent the problem from becoming, a problem.

And, no, I do not favor screwing our workers over unless there are lines that I have apparently written in invisible bits and bytes here. Legislate all you want to punish, but fact of the matter is that if you prevent the problem in the first place...

you can stand on your soap box all day it doesn't change the facts. the worlds poor is not the US fault or burden. 1 time....look at the illegal immigration issue from the POV of a blue collar worker. you can't deny its a problem, its hurting everyone & letting it continue is not the answer.

Again... more invisible lines to read here.

We are not discussing the world's poor- at least I'm not. We're discussing the cake we like to have and eat on someone else's plate. THAT is called causation for them to come and eat our pie.

nothing is invisible. you don't care about illegal immigration because it doesn't effect you or your paycheck. crystal clear.

now look at it from a persons POV that isn't a fortunate as we are to have a degree & does manual labor for a living.

Sorry to butt in but...we all make choices in life. Opportunites are abundant in this country. Outcomes based on an individual's own decisions should not be blamed on anyone but the one who made the decision.

It makes me really sad that a thread about people being nice to each other has to be locked. But it does not surprise me. It's much more fun to be sarcastic and make little comments about other people because you just can't help but despise them. I won't say hate because having thought on it a little more, hate is a very strong word. Despise is more accurate because it describes the general disgust that people here feel for other people. It is evident in lots of posts, not just on one single subject. The world is turning darker and darker the longer I live and everyone seems to want to revel in it. So much so that when some light is shined like in this instance it's very quickly diminished. Well you all enjoy yourselves. I find it nauseating to even be around here-not sure why I came back in the first place.

First of all, it never said the 3 children of his girlfriend were his. It says he has 4 children with his wife and his girlfriend has 3. Now, 4 children may be too many kids. But let's all remember most hispanics are catholic and they don't believe in birth control.

I was going to point that out but then I thought to myself, what's the point? They'll just find something else to go on about. Hatred can't see reason. And karma's a b!tch.

Sure is! Glad my karma's clean.

How is that when you sit there and post little sarcastic comments about what people should or shouldn't do in their own families? I mean, it's pretty obvious that you are so blinded by hatred that you can't post a single nice comment on what the guy did. If hatred isn't bad karma, I really don't know what is.

You judged first, not me.

Judged in what way? I said it was honorable what the guy did. I gave credit where credit is due. You came onto this thread and did you post anything positive at all? It's a thread about a nice thing that a human did for another human. If you can't be happy about something like that, what in the world can you be happy about? I can't imagine what it's like to be so cynical all the time.

First of all, it never said the 3 children of his girlfriend were his. It says he has 4 children with his wife and his girlfriend has 3. Now, 4 children may be too many kids. But let's all remember most hispanics are catholic and they don't believe in birth control.

I was going to point that out but then I thought to myself, what's the point? They'll just find something else to go on about. Hatred can't see reason. And karma's a b!tch.

Sure is! Glad my karma's clean.

How is that when you sit there and post little sarcastic comments about what people should or shouldn't do in their own families? I mean, it's pretty obvious that you are so blinded by hatred that you can't post a single nice comment on what the guy did. If hatred isn't bad karma, I really don't know what is.

First of all, it never said the 3 children of his girlfriend were his. It says he has 4 children with his wife and his girlfriend has 3. Now, 4 children may be too many kids. But let's all remember most hispanics are catholic and they don't believe in birth control.

I was going to point that out but then I thought to myself, what's the point? They'll just find something else to go on about. Hatred can't see reason. And karma's a b!tch.

I think it's honorable how he basically gave up his chance to improve the situation of his own family in favor of helping someone else.

Wow how quickly this one dropped off the first page.

Since I got my Pampered Chef trifle bowl I have made several (margarita cheesecake, and pumpkin cream) with plans to make many more. I'm not as familiar with the traditional British trifle but I have a friend who was stationed with her husband in England for like a year and she's familiar with a lot of things British. I'll give her a call and see if she knows.

I ain't tipping 100

At the grocery shop I tip 2 when they bag and take to the car and help me. When I'm buying just a few items i don't usually tip. yesterday I put 0.50 at the girl's tipping box.

they have a tipping box at the grocery?

at the express line they do. At the commissary.

Note: baggers are not paid a wage at military commissaries. they work for tips alone.

Just in case someone here is not familiar with the military.

Yeah, I mentioned that. I never would have guessed that but my friend who takes me to the commissary told me.

I pay the tip in cash if at all possible.... CC tips are typically claimed for taxes, while cash tips "disappear".

Not so much anymore. When I worked at Memphis BBQ just out of college we had to enter our tips in the POS but it didn't ever say anything if your tips were low. Several years later, the POS tells you if it "thinks" you haven't entered enough tips based on your sales. Sometimes I would have to enter more tips then what I actually got in order to be able to clock out. I remember one day in particular I kept adding $10 more and $10 more until eventually I had doubled what I actually made and then it let me clock out. Not fair, but whatever-I just wanted to get out of there.

I also thought of a red hammer. Wonder why that is...

I also want to say Mr. Big Dog I don't think you're one of those kind of customers. I'm pretty sure if you were my guest and I was your server you would think my service warranted a good tip. I don't really think you're expectations are unreasonable.

This made me remember something else about Applebee's. Whenever I would clock out at night I had to enter my tips into the POS system. If your actual tip amount was lower than what the system "thinks" it should have been it won't let you clock out. So there were some times when I had to put in more money (up to double) what I actually made in order for it to allow me to clock out. This is for tax purposes, but it's not fair because I had to pay taxes on money I never actually got. And that's because of people who have that mindset that tipping is optional. Sorry but it's not optional and if you don't want to have to worry about leaving a tip here's a solution for you---eat at home.

A person that believes that it's the customer's fault is IMHO not well suited to work in service oriented jobs. Most certainly not in jobs where a tip constitutes a significant portion of the pay. So, if you want to do just the bare minimum and not worry about coming up short at the end of the night, here's a solution for you - don't work as a server.

Ok with all sarcasm aside, I'm being very real here. We worked our asses off at Applebees. I saw people who had previous experience at Red Lobster, Outback, etc (places who are much busier, slightly pricier, and expect a slightly higher level of service). It wasn't just me, and please don't suggest that I did a bad job. We would regularly get things like $3 on a $50 check, all the while you're thinking to yourself I did a really good job at that table and they really liked me. The fact is some people are impossible to please, some people honestly don't know how to tip, and (specific to this particular area where I live and work) some people are just cheap. They don't mind spending the money to come out and eat but they won't leave a tip. I remember this other girl and myself who are particulary sensitive would be running around fighting back tears because we were treated utterly unfairly by a table where we did a really good job. Things like that weren't the exception, they happened frequently, and is a large part of the reason I stopped working there.

The only server I feel bad for is the one who is in this country illegally. My heart bleeds for them and I tip them generously. The rest of 'em... pfffft!

Don't you mean the dishwasher? They don't get tips silly!

I think it might be helpful if I put this in real terms. Note, that this is just my personal experience and I don't speak for every restaurant...this is just the way things were done at Applebees:

Expected check average (total sales divided by number of guests) was around $13. Mine was never below $15. Basically, I made the company money...good for me.

These are the service steps:

Greet the table within 2 minutes of them sitting down.

3 minutes to fill the drink order.

5 minutes from the time it is ordered to have the appetizer on the table.

14 minutes from the time it is ordered to have the meal on the table.

Check back after 2 bites or 2 minutes, whatever comes first.

Provide refills and perform "bev nap mechanics"-let me not even get started on that.

Allow the guests to set the pace of the meal.

Settle the transaction within 2 minutes of the customer paying.

Seems simple enough. And in a perfect world, everything could and should happen exactly as stated above..

BUT

How do I greet you within 2 minutes when the table whose order I'm taking makes me stand there for 3 minutes (or longer, yes it happens) as they ask a million questions and decided what they want (this is after I asked them if they're ready to order and they said YES).

How do I bring your margarita to you within 3 minutes when the bartender is outside smoking, down at the other end of the bar chatting about what's showing on the big screen TV, or tending a busy bar?

How is your meal going to get to you in 14 minutes when the kitchen is short staffed to the point where the manager is on the line and we have NO EXPO meaning I have to dress and garnish the plates myself, carry them out 2 by 2 (since we weren't allowed trays) or hunt down another server to help me carry them out?

And how am I supposed to settle your transaction when as I'm walking to the POS the other table stops me and says their WELL DONE steak is not well enough done so can I please take it to the kitchen and burn it (yes this happened) and that takes priority because now I have a guest with no food in front of her.

So here's where I stand...you leave a crappy tip or no tip because my service was not up to standard. Was any of the above my fault? However, because the hostess double sat me (she will be getting a portion of my tip), the customer with no courtesy, the lazy bartender (who's also getting a portion of my tip), the managers' inability to properly schedule workers, mangement's brilliant notion that trays are a waste of time, and the kitchen's inability to cook a steak...I would pay for all that! And then on top of that, I'll be taxed on the money I didn't make.

I copied this off of Wikipedia:

In countries where tipping is the rule (for example United States), complicated social rules and etiquette have developed over the exact percentage to tip, and what should and should not be included in this calculation. In other cultures where tipping exists it is more flexible and no specific assumptions of the tip amount exist.

Some establishments pool tips and divide them to include employees who lack customer contact. At some restaurants, agreements among the staff require the servers to tip out members of the support staff (kitchen, bartender, and busser) at the end of their shift;[8]; this means that servers pay a certain fixed percentage of their sales (most often a portion less than 15 percent of total sales) to the other staff. Thus when a patron leaves a small tip, it results in the server having to receive less from the tipping pool than other staff. [9]

Tipping is not expected when a fee is explicitly charged for the service. For example, a service charge for all patrons that is automatically added to the tab with no tipping the rule in Brazil.[10] Bribery and corruption are sometimes disguised as tipping. In some places, police officers and other civil servants openly solicit tips, gifts and dubious fees using a variety of local euphemisms. For example, a traffic policeman in Mexico might ask a commuter to buy him a "refresco" (soft drink), while a Nigerian officer might expect "a little something for the weekend."[11].

This made me remember something else about Applebee's. Whenever I would clock out at night I had to enter my tips into the POS system. If your actual tip amount was lower than what the system "thinks" it should have been it won't let you clock out. So there were some times when I had to put in more money (up to double) what I actually made in order for it to allow me to clock out. This is for tax purposes, but it's not fair because I had to pay taxes on money I never actually got. And that's because of people who have that mindset that tipping is optional. Sorry but it's not optional and if you don't want to have to worry about leaving a tip here's a solution for you---eat at home.