I overtipped

I am no good at math. Never have been. Sunday, it cost me. I took Kathy out for her birthday lunch. We went to my favorite Italian bistro. We both had the lasagna, and the waiter noticed we were celebrating and brought us a big slice of chocolate cake.

The final bill was $53. I had a $20 coupon, and left $50 in cash. Which means I tipped more than 30%. SHIT! I didn't mean to do that! I think I probably should have left $65, not $70.

Oh, well. It all evens out. First of all, with the bitter cold, the restaurant was doing little business. So in reality, that $5 might have meant more to the server than to me.

And Kathy's present was a freebie. My agency bought a gazillion copies of this book, signed by the author, to give as holiday gifts to clients and vendors back in Christmas 2008. When we were packing for our office move in 2018, I saw a pristine copy in the "FREE TO GOOD HOME" bin and thought of Kathy. Naturally all of us in Chicago are proud of our favorite son -- especially in comparison with the petulant agent of chaos who followed him -- but Kathy really loooooves Barack Obama. So I snatched the signed coffee table book and squirreled it away, just for this weekend.

She loved the book and hugged me a lot. So I think I shall just consider the $5 my gift to the universe, and the day as a success.