Dining out

Because the incredible Fooderati is so much more eloquent on this subject than I, here's an article that I thought was actually quite interesting, entertaining and highly relevant at the moment.

This post originally appeared on the Fooderati blog.

DINING ETIQUETTE
I've decided to go all Emily Post on your arses. Far too many times over the past few months have I been privy to crazy dining stories. Working in the restaurant industry gives you an insider's perspective to diner behaviour - the good, the bad and the really really stupid.

The following is a list of essential knowledge for anyone who likes food... and consuming it, er, not in your home. i.e. Everyone.

1. DO NOT book multiple restaurants for the one event and then decide later which one you want to go to

Restaurants are lean businesses. It may surprise some people to know that restaurants aren't cash cows with shedloads of money churning out like so much sweet, sweet dairy product.

Booking allows businesses to plan ahead when it comes to staffing, food ordering and general financial management. By booking and then cancelling multiple restaurants, you're really screwing the pooch, especially if it's a small restaurant that relies even more on each and every seat that's booked and filled.

It's been a hot topic of discussion within the restaurant industry for some time, but like any issue, rather than bitching about it, it can be dealt with successfully through communication. If you know someone who does it, tell them why it's not ok. Simple.

2. DO NOT book a restaurant and then not turn up

For the same reasons above, if a restaurant is expecting you, it isn't simply a case of calling someone else to replace you. Deciding you don't feel like eating out that night isn't an adequate excuse. In the same way you make a dentist appointment and stick to it, however much you wish you didn't have to - you're making an agreement with a business that you should honour.

If you are ill, have an accident or some other kind of last minute emergency - call the restaurant at the earliest opportunity and give them a heads up. Ignoring follow up phone calls or messages is a great way to get you black listed and restaurant folk have long memories. Not to mention the fact that it's bad manners and just plain rude.

Some restaurants have started to address this issue by taking a credit card deposit at the time of booking, with no-shows charged a cancellation fee. You'll see this become more prevalent if this type of behaviour continues to grow.

3. DO give plenty of notice if you have dietary requirements

While most restaurants these days do their best to ensure there are adequate menu options to cater for all manner of dietaries, don't assume this is always the case.

If there is something really specific you can't eat, call the restaurant and tell them. Even if it is a restaurant that doesn't take bookings, it always pays to ask whether they can cope with your request, rather than turning up on the night and getting pissy because they can't help you. You'll be surprised that given enough notice, how easily a polite request will be catered for.

4. Don't be a douche bag

Restaurants sell booze. You might get drunk and have fun. Weird, huh? But there's a line between enjoying the company of friends and pissing off the people around you. Whether it's loudly recounting last weekend's loose bender to anyone within earshot, pulling out a fuck-off DSLR in an inappropriate environment, or banging your cutlery on the table because you feel like pretending you're 5 (Bentley Bar, last Saturday night, no joke) - have some respect for those you're sharing a room with when you're out and about, it's really not that difficult.

There are plenty more gripes had by restaurants and I could go on, but at the end of the day it's about manners and respect. Restaurants are in the pleasure business, that much is true. That by no means, however, delegitimises their role in society or importance in the economy. As financial times get tough, we owe it to ourselves whether as diners or restaurants, to behave decently towards one another so we can see through to better days.

Pointless

I recently started carrying around a little point and shoot camera again. I know, I know. I have a camera on my iPhone, but sometimes I feel like I need better quality than what that can give me, even with the funky filters of Instagram. Yep - wannabe photog right here. I blame my photography-obssessed father.

I was feeling quite chuffed with myself about having this camera in my handbag today, as I decided I needed a photo for a work project I'm doing. I set up the photo, pulled out my camera and... the lens got partway out and stayed there, even though the activity light was working when I pressed the power button. CRAP.

A quick trip to the marketing team and some digging around for spare batteries quickly diagnosed the issue: it was the batteries running really low, not the camera*. Which led to my face looking something like this (but with more work-appropriate clothes on at the time):



I mean really, what is the point of carting around a camera in my handbag if the batteries are going to be flat a mere week or two after a charge?

(*Marketing did try to convince me that I just needed a new, more awesome camera. I quite like my little "wooden spoon" PowerShot A480 as my just in case portable camera. Thoughts anyone?)

Three months is a long time

I mentioned a shopping ban recently. Oh yes.



Well I do want, really. But my shopping-loving self is screaming inside.

I was inspired by the lovely Cclarebear, who fairly recently went through her own shopping ban. In her case, her lovely other half had promised her a high-stakes prize.

I, foolishly, organised no such thing.

On the first day of health kick (which I am still doing, thank you very much... except for the exercise as I currently have a sinus infection AND tonsillitis), I decided on a whim that I should immediately address the shopping habit I'd developed while I was forbidden from maintaining my usual routine. I can be so spontaneous sometimes.

Being on myriad antibiotics on and off for several months, no exercise, feeling sick and unable to cope left me eating a lot of junk food and resulted in me feeling (and looking) a bit of a mess. As a defence mechanism, I started going to the shops and buying little things. Lip glosses here. Eye shadow there. Nail polish too. I was amassing more makeup and skincare products in an attempt to perk myself up and feel better about the fact that my skin and body were protesting to this cruel and unusual punishment. It was starting to add up and it was stressing me out.

After being given the all clear and giving myself another month to recuperate, I decided enough was enough and started the initial health kick to rebalance things. And to make it twice as hard, I also imposed the following shopping rules on myself to try and break the old habit:

1. 120 days. 30/04/2012 - 28/08/2012

2. No new beauty, hair, nail products or homewares.

3. Two exceptions: If the MAC palettes I have on order at the Chatswood store come into stock, I am allowed to go pick them up. I am also allowed one nail polish order in May after the Spiderman OPI collection comes out - that's something I've been planning for the past month!

*Note - this was written before I found out about MAC's changed animal testing policy. I'm currently deciding what to do about my backorder.

4. If I run out of something and need a replacement I am allowed to purchase it... only if there are no similar products that I already have that I can use instead.

5. If an appliance breaks I am allowed to replace it if it used regularly.

6. If I break the ban, I have to pay a $150 fine into my savings account immediately.

I hadn't thought about giving myself a prize if I make it through to the end of the ban unscathed. The question is... should I even do that, or does it defeat the point?

One awesome thing though - well before I started my shopping ban, I placed a pre-order at Darling for some of their AW2012 nail lacquers. They're due to ship sometime this week... so I'm going to get a nice little package of pretties while not breaking my ban! If that's not cause for a happy dance, I don't know what is...

Goodbye MCA

My return to blogging here used the title of a Beastie Boys album as the post title. An indicator, if you will, of where they sit in my head.

This weekend the world had to farewell part of the act that influenced my musical taste through my childhood, up until now. Goodbye MCA, we'll miss you. But you know you can't, you won't, and you don't stop.

A Return to Animal Testing?

It would appear I'm a bit behind the times on makeup news, but today I received a shock.



Estee Lauder (Who own MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox, Clinique and many other well-known brands) have recently changed their stance on animal testing, after many people began to notice that many of their brands are sold in a region that requires animal testing on cosmetics by law... but they themselves said they never test on animals. Their policy has now been revised to "[insert EL brand name here] has a longstanding policy to not test on animals, nor ask others to test on our behalf, except when required by law." Logical Harmony received this response both from MAC and Smashbox.

To be quite honest, right now I am pretty furious that several brands that had touted themselves as cruelty free to their consumers were actually secretly testing. On the flip side, if what they are saying is true, then they are only conducting those tests required to pass their products for sale in the particular region that has animal testing as a legal requirement.

I'm actually quite concerned about this, and I think it's going to take some time to consider what my next actions are. Do I stop supporting the brads as a whole? Do I just scale back my use of products made by them? Do I do nothing about my purchase behaviour and simply continue to petition them to do all they can to get the government of the region that requires testing to change it's policies?

I'm on a three month beauty shopping ban anyway (more about that coming soon), so I have some time to consider my decision. Any ideas?

If anyone wants to read more about this issue, you can also head over to read Phyrra's blog post, and also this article in the Independent.