What goes down must come up...

[nyankoframe]

Day 5 involved no pictures (since my rechargeable batteries are flat and apparently my charger doesn't want to work, even though it's rated for 100-240V AC, 50-60 Hz), but it did involve a lot of nice scenery.

After another somewhat sleepless night, I woke up this morning around 10 am, and messed around a bit at home before leaving around 12 pm. I decided I needed a change from walking the last few days, and so I decided I would cycle to Redmond Town Center. Since, you know, it's kind of far to walk there and I'm living life in the fast lane...

After a brief (but slightly tiring) detour, as I was about 1/3 of the way down NE 51st Street and remembered I'd forgotten my cycling helmet (which is required), I finally cycled down NE 51st and entered West Sammamish Lake Parkway, heading towards Redmond Town Center (and SR202, if I remember correctly? Or something... Anyway, that doesn't matter :P). It's a nice, scenic route, with a turnoff to Marymoor Park (which apparently has a free Wi-Fi hotspot sponsored by Microsoft, though I didn't try that out, as well as various annual companies' picnics), and the best part is that it has a clearly marked bike lane with instructions. ^_^

The ride to Redmond Town Center itself was quite straightforward, and the drivers were again courteous and didn't horn at me too much. I really love cycling in Eastside. :P I set myself up pretty quickly with a T-Mobile prepaid card for 150 minutes of airtime (that should last 60 days until I get a permanent line), and can also send and receive text messages. If you want my number (or address, though that'll be changing relatively soon...), leave a comment; if I know you from AIM, MSN, ICQ, IRC or somewhere else, then you'll get my number on one of those services - if not, sorry!

A short walk (and re-chaining my bicycle) later, I had a relatively affordable lunch at a Thai restaurant. I ordered a mixed rice (rice, vegetables and chicken with chili sauce) and requested for 2 stars (in other words, not that mild). I think, based on what I had, even 1 star might have been enough. :P The meal came up to about $9.78 after tax, and I added a tip to make it $12 in total. I don't know whether I tipped them too much or too little, because.. well.. I'm not used to tipping. ^^;;; (In Singapore, a 10% service charge is added at restaurants, and most of that money doesn't go directly to the person who served you) If I did tip too little, I'm sorry... though I originally wanted to tender $15

The ride back down West Sammamish wasn't too bad, but the ride up NE 51st Street was, to put it mildly, very tiring. :P I couldn't believe that the gradient could be that high, and at several points had to walk up the street pushing my bicycle. I did eventually reach the top, though, and then cycled around to NE 31st and 28th Streets to see the buildings where I have to report to next week.

And after that since I didn't learn my lesson I'm a glutton for punishment I needed the exercise (^^;;;;;; ), I cycled down NE 40th Street, which featured several hills and a few intersections, and then cycled back up, slowly. Along the way, I called itsacz and arranged to meet him for dinner tonight, after he uses my scanner. Maybe then he'll understand why I'm strangely excited. :P

I do need to build up my calves and thighs in particular, though... I can barely walk around without feeling aches and pains ^^;;

Comments

Way too verbose, but it's something I've thought a lot about for no particular reason.

[relsqui.livejournal.com]

That's a good tip for that price. :) Pretty much the minimum polite tip is 10%; if I remember correctly, servers are taxed with the assumption that they make 10% in tips, so they're actually losing money on anything less than that. For a regular meal, it's uncommon to tip higher than 20-25%, but for something very cheap, I'd rather leave at least a dollar or two than use a percentage. (Dunno if that's universal or not.)

Something to watch out for: Most restaurants will add a gratuity for large parties, e.g. parties of six or more get charged 15% automatically--presumably because they'd be especially screwed if those tables stiffed them. Anyway, it's easy to not notice and then tip anyway out of habit, and a lot of places will let you do that without pointing out the (potentially expensive) mistake.

Rambling and paranoia aside, most people use "double the tax" as a rule of thumb, since it's usually printed there on the check and doubling is easy. :) In California, that comes out to 16% plus a little, but I don't know what Washington sales tax is. Find out before using that. ; )

[haplo3k.livejournal.com]

As someone who used to work for tips: assume 15%. If the service was, "Eh," tip 10%. If your service was awesome, tip 20% or higher.

If you're ordering pizza, tip at least 10% or $1, whichever comes first. (I delivered pizza and could tell stories!)

[edible-llama.livejournal.com]

Two stars is not mild? :P Two stars out of how many? Sounds pretty mild to me. Then again, this is coming from the Arizona girl who is in love with spicey foods. ^^;

[itsacz.livejournal.com]

You'll find that this region is quite hilly. Makes for interesting cycling.

[nakaemi.livejournal.com]

Well, I never calculate tips. I just depend on how much I have since tipping is supposed to be optional, not an obligation. So I only have $2 additional to what I paid for the food, that's what the person will receive. LOL In Japan, tipping was forbidden. No idea why, but okaasan always told me never to try it or I would offend someone as if the person was a beggar. Cultural differences, I guess.

You know, some days ago my little brother was going to get a haircut and I asked him if he would go on his bicycle. He asked if I was insane, but I told him he used to go on his bike. He then told me that *then* he was in super shape, but that if he tried cycling up the street we live *now*, he'd end up dead. LOL

And you invited Cz on another date! How cute! I'm so happy for you! Hehehe! *hugs*