Independence Day

First, wish all a Happy July 4th Independence Day! 

I have decided to declare my independence from my current job.  It seems I do not have any life, besides work,  most of this year.  I need my life and sanity back.  Although my relationship with my boss has been getting much better, but that has been taking way too much of my sacrifice to achieve that. 

Hence, after months' of soul searching, I will be writing an email to my boss, right after this blog, that my last day of work will be July 31.  She would be pissed if she finds out that you, my Xanga friends, know about this before she does.  

Wish me luck, and crossing my fingers regarding my decision on becoming an independent consultant!

Eat out Tips

I got the following list  from Yahoo, and want to share with you.   Do you have other eating out tips to share?

1. Avoid eating out on holidays and Saturday nights. The sheer volume of customers guarantees that most kitchens will be pushed beyond their ability to produce a high-quality dish.

2. There are almost never any sick days in the restaurant business. A busboy with a kid to support isn't going to stay home and miss out on $100 because he's got strep throat. And these are the people handling your food.

3. When customers' dissatisfaction devolves into personal attacks, adulterating food or drink is a convenient way for servers to exact covert vengeance. Some waiters can and do spit in people's food.

4. Never say "I'm friends with the owner." Restaurant owners don't have friends. This marks you as a clueless poseur the moment you walk in the door.

5. Treat others as you want to be treated. (Yes, people need to be reminded of this.)

6. Don't snap your fingers to get our attention. Remember, we have shears that cut through bone in the kitchen.

7. Don't order meals that aren't on the menu. You're forcing the chef to cook something he doesn't make on a regular basis. If he makes the same entrée 10,000 times a month, the odds are good that the dish will be a home run every time.

8. Splitting entrées is okay, but don't ask for water, lemon, and sugar so you can make your own lemonade. What's next, grapes so you can press your own wine?

9. If you find a waiter you like, always ask to be seated in his or her section. Tell all your friends so they'll start asking for that server as well. You've just made that waiter look indispensable to the owner. The server will be grateful and take good care of you.

10. If you can't afford to leave a tip, you can't afford to eat in the restaurant. Servers could be giving 20 to 40 percent to the busboys, bartenders, maître d', or hostess.

11. Always examine the check. Sometimes large parties are unaware that a gratuity has been added to the bill, so they tip on top of it. Waiters "facilitate" this error. It's dishonest, it's wrong-and I did it all the time.

12. If you want to hang out, that's fine. But increase the tip to make up for money the server would have made if he or she had had another seating at that table.

13. Never, ever come in 15 minutes before closing time. The cooks are tired and will cook your dinner right away. So while you're chitchatting over salads, your entrées will be languishing under the heat lamp while the dishwasher is spraying industrial-strength, carcinogenic cleaning solvents in their immediate vicinity.

From Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter (Ecco/HarperCollins)

I do not have much time lately to eat out or compose sensible blogs.  Here is a piece just to tell you I am still alive,  .   Hopefully things will change soon on the work-life, and I will have time for my blog-life.  

Learning to survive a nightmare

Since I completed all the milestones at work two week earlier than the deadline, I sent an email to my boss for a monthly review on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, I relaxed over the weekend somewhat. Did laundry, grocery shopping and catching up with Xanga blog reading, and of course sleep.  Also watched part of the LA Laker / Houston Rocket basketball final.  LA beat Houston by 19 points.   This is the first and only ball game I have watched this year.  Since I am from LA and my boss came from Houston, what a sweet revenge.   

I also start reading and digesting advise from Chris and Matt (Thanks, guys!).  I went to two bookstores and could not find the books recommended, so I bought a book called "Monster Boss - Strategies for surviving and excelling when your boss is a nightmare".

At least, it seems there are many monster bosses besides mine, and there are people suffering monster bosses just as I am.  Glad to know I am not alone!  After answering a series of questions, the book labeled my boss as a Bigfoot, Dracula, and Argus. Hope these picturs are not giving you nightmares! 

Now I just have to learn how to slay the monsters or tame them.  Back in my mind, I am ready to resign and become an independent consultant.  I have enough money for a conformable life and I am working just as a hobby anyway.  This incident is almost like a ego trip for me to learn how to deal with difficult bosses, and show her I am not as bad as she thinks.  In the second case, it maybe a lost cause already!  We will see during Tuesday meeting with her. 

This is a challenge that make life interesting as long I do not get eater by the monsters! 

stressed, and barely alive

I have so busy lately, it is not even funny.   The only good thing left is that I am still alive.

New lady boss is very demanding and pushy, wanting more, more, more, and more.  Expect 24/7 work.  A deadline of September becomes past due in July so she could please her boss.  It is hard to understand what she wants, as she wants me to guess what she wants.   She imagines that if I am not at the desk, I would not be working on the project.  She does not think I need sleep or bathroom breaks.   I need to vent here before I become insane. lol  Imagine me coming up for air now, just enough time to write something so you know I am alive, and then go dive into work again.       

Suggestion on how to balance work and life, or how to satisfy a lady boss are welcomed.  See you later, my Xanga friends! 

Earth Hour

I joined the Earth Hour effort this evening.   Not that I am totally convinced of Global Warming, but because I am totally convinced that we should not waste the energy.   Use it wisely, that is my motto. 

To be honest, I missed the start as I was reading Xanga blogs, hehe.  That is a good excuse, right?  As soon as I realized it was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m. and lasted for an hour, I turned off all the lights in my condo, put my PC to sleep mode, and turned off all electric heaters in the condo.  Then spend the time looking out the window.

Sad to notice that most people in my neighborhood kept their lights on, and there were thousands and thousands of cars on the freeway.  We in US are wasting so much energy, it is a shame.  I also noticed that SF bay area can be a little too cool and wet for me from LA.  The condo was cooling off fast without the electric heaters.  I put  on extra clothing for that hour.

I think the Earth Hour is just a symbolism, I believe in continuing effort to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint.  That is the right thing to do!  I have replaced all my light bulbs in my condo to LED lights, which use only about 10 percent of regular lights.   I am looking into double-pane windows, and replacing the old power hungry refrigerator.  I walk to the nearby shopping mall instead of driving.  I did look into public transportation to work.  But man, that adds two extra hours of commute time each day.  I need to continue to drive to the office, and may be start to look for carpool.

Did you participate in the Earth Hour?  Have you taken any measures lately to reduce energy consumption or carbon footprint?