Sunday, September 12, 2010

Robots are Poor Tippers *UPDATED*

During the recent home renovation, I found some dusty notebooks filled with half-completed ideas. One of my entries began with: "A robot is a poor tipper..."

Here's a completed, illustrated version of that idea, now dust-free! You can click the image to enlarge:

Comic: Robots Are Poor Tippers
Next week, I'll crochet a scene from this comic. Until then, please tip your server accordingly!

UPDATE - August 6, 2010:

Almost four weeks later, here is a yarn version of the robot and his server!


Was that photo worth the wait? If not, here's a bonus photo of the robot with his friends and associates:



Until next time, here's a link to a Restaurant Tipping Guide. Thanks for waiting!

32 comments:

  1. haha - love it. I was honestly captivated with the story to the end. Can't wait to see what you create!

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  2. oh wow I am really looking forward to seeing the crochet form of this, isnt crochet wonderful, I myself am in the process of blogging the adventures of Little Melanie -a crochet doll of my bestfriend

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  3. Love it. Can't wait to see what you so.

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  4. Looking forward to rich robot cuteness and the moral lesson we will learn about tipping:) I've done my share of waitress work way back when.

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  5. Yes! Please tip. We not only think of the tip.. We live on those tips!! And robots that don't tip, makes us go hungry!!! Love your blog and check every other day for new posts! Thanks so much!!!

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  6. I definitely hope there's a crocheted robot with a 1950s-esque hat!

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  7. Howie, you unknowingly started an interesting subject for comments!

    Even better than EXPECTING a tip waitstaff should just be nice, polite, helpful, and caring towards not only the "regulars", but the average customer as well.

    I once worked as a waitress in a terrible diner owned by a terrible man for terrible pay. All the customers were fairly crabby in response to the dumpy atmosphere. No one ever wanted to wait on one particular old crabby regular, so when I started there I was unknowingly put to the test as his latest "victim". Everyone snickered about him being "the little old man behind the wheel of the giant powder blue Cadillac".

    Well, I treated him kindly and fairly. I was concerned about his well being, took interest in him as a person, and actually looked forward to when he came in- even though he never left more than 50 cents as a tip (he was seriously "old school".

    Then, just like some crazy movie plot he suddenly stopped coming in and one day a lawyer came to deliver a certified letter to me. The old guy died and he left me a little chunk of money and some pieces of silver jewelry! The money wasn't a fortune, but the point was that he thought about me to do that. Everyone I worked with was so nosy to ask the amount (which I never told anyone). That was the only time anyone showed any interest in him! This is absolutely true. The rest of his money he left to various animal related organizations. He left nothing to his family apparently because they were always so greedy with him.

    So the moral of the story is: Just be nice to people no matter what, because you just never know! And you can make a friend for the rest of their life!

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  8. PaisleyJade: I'm glad you were captivated by the story… I had two alternate endings in mind (one where the robot tips $1 both times, and another where the waitress spills coffee on the robot), but this odd storyline made the final cut for some reason :D

    Neen: Wow, your friend is so lucky to be featured in her own crocheted adventure :) Will she defeat alien invaders someday too? ;)

    CHD: Thanks! I just hope the crocheted characters will resemble the cartoon characters :D

    Miss Julep: Yes, there are so many lessons to learn for both tipper & tippee :) When you did waitress work, you must have been a charismatic wonder to behold!

    Sparrow's Nest: *beep boop* :)

    Ciara: You make me want to make a protest sign that says "Robots that don't tip make us go hungry!" Thanks so much for checking my blog every day… I wish I had something yarn for you every day instead of every week or so! I do maintain a WooWork Production Calendar, which shows the days I'm crocheting and, eventually, when I expect to post something new on this blog :)

    Jillie the Great: Yes, that fedora hat will be critical to crochet!

    catharine.espinosa: Wow, thank you for sharing your wonderous and heartwarming story! I especially admire your example & message: be nice to people (which is a reward in and of itself).

    Like that kindly old man, I bet this robot was constantly snickered-at before he committed his heroic act. If you had been his customer, he likely would have given you that oversized cheque :D

    Thanks, Catherine! You're an inspiring role-model.

    Arlene: hehe The waitress in this comic does appear to have some ulterior motives ;)

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  9. YooHoo,Woo!!Where are you??

    Hope everything is okay. Haven't seen you in a while here. Looking forward to the crocheted comic.

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  10. Jacklyn: It's so nice of you to ask about my whereabouts! :) I am STILL working on crocheting the robot & the server right now, after racing to meet an illustration deadline in the past few weeks :) So that's why I've been absent, alas. But after I finally post the robot update (next week, I hope), I plan to make a couple bonus projects to raise my amigurumi-per-week average :D

    When I post something new, I also mention it on my Twitter account and the WooWork Facebook page :) Thank you!

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  11. i love your work! and how you make yarn looks another material,
    thanks for your work!
    FROM CHILE

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  12. I love your robot - he is far too adorable! Beautiful work :-)

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  13. Hahaha so great Howie! I just love the crabby look on the waitress's face! The story is great also, how long ago did you jot this little gem down?

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  14. You are too clever - he's such a cute robot!! (if robots can be considered cute).

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  15. Awesome! I love robots and this one is so cute and expressive... He almost looks sorrowful as the old lady stares him down.

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  16. SUADDA: Thank you!

    Alita: Thanks :) I was lucky to find a cheap grey yarn that had a bit of shine to it!

    Jessica: There's no love like robo-love! Thank you :)

    ~Feather.Wing~: hehe yes, Crabby faces can be entertaining to see sometimes! Hmm, the rough story idea was probably recorded around 2001 or 2002. At the time, I wanted to make a movie about a robot… and this was one of those half-baked ideas :D

    Serena: *beep beep boop* thank you!

    PaisleyJade: If robots could blush, this one would be doing so now! :D

    RollerScrapper: Thanks! It's a funny accident that the robot's head-bolts acted like expressive eyebrows in the photos :D

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  17. Hey Mr. Woo! Left you an award on my site.... Love your work!

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  18. $1 for a cup of coffee and refills is pretty darn good, i say!

    $10 is too much...LOL

    Your robot is awesome. I love robots too

    Hi Howie, Sorry to be MIA. We've moved to LA and it's been hectic. I learned to knit and Poisson is my 1st original knitted amigurumi. Hope to keep TR going

    Happy Halloween to you and MJ

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  19. Do you also post patterns?

    This Robot is...WOW! :O

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  20. Love it! Don't know how I missed this one, but I love the little waitress especially! She and the robot could be very cute regulars in your strips, they are so charming. I'd love to see them in some whacky adventures!

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  21. I can't tell but is your waitress's hair actually crocheted or is it a tiny pile of terry cloth? it looks so tight.

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  22. OMG! I love all of your works~! You are crochet god!!! \(^o^)/

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  23. Absolutely hilarious as usual! I look forward to reading up on what you are doing always! Keep it up.

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  24. Marcy: <3 :)

    Gege Crochet: Thank you! I've been following your blog for awhile :)

    TADA's Revolution: Congratulations on learning how to knit! High-flying Poisson looks wonderful! We can all relate to how real-life demands can take time away from our crafting time. A true artist then picks up where they left off, as you do so well! Long live TADA's Revolution!

    Kitty: Every pattern (if they ever existed) got destroyed in the building that the UFO attacked ;) Thankfully, the Robot spared the floor where my crochet hooks are stored!

    Annette: I'm happy that you liked the adventures of this mismatched duo! You've created a world of special characters on your blog as well! Congratulations on your winning Willie :)

    Amy Lynn: I've been hoping someone would ask about the server's hair, thank you! Her hair was crocheted with fuzzy TLC Amore Yarn, which is also the yarn that was on Chelsea the Chicken. The hair is a basic tube-shape, which was stuffed before having tiny crocheted spheres stitched onto it :)

    Anonymous: Thank you for the compliment! If I was truly a crochet god, I would miraculously untangle everyone's hopelessly-tangled yarn bundles ;)

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  25. this might be the cutest robot I have ever seen - and I have seen Wall-e :-D

    Though I am a knitter and not a crocheter, I wished you were a crochet god... which you definitely might be!
    Best wishes
    brifrischu

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