Everyone has a boss. Even if you “work for yourself,” you’re still an employee to your client.

A big part of maintaining the boss-employee relationship is to never allow a boss to think you dislike your work, are incapable of doing it, or–worse–consider it beneath you.

These sound like no-brainers, but many statements heard commonly around the workplace violate these basic rules. Looking for an example? Here are seven heard in workplaces all the time. They may seem ordinary, even harmless. But try reading these from your boss’s point of view. You’ll see right away why it’s smart to never allow these seven sentences to pass your lips:

“That’s not my job.”
You know what? A lot of bosses are simple souls who think your job is to do what’s asked of you. So even if you’re assigned a task that is, indeed, not your job, refrain from saying so. Instead, try to find out why your boss is assigning you this task–there may be a valid reason. If you believe that doing the task is a bad idea (as in, bad for the company) you can try explaining why and suggesting how it could be better done by someone else. This may work, depending on the boss. In any case, remember that doing what’s asked of you, even tasks outside your job description, is good karma.

“It’s not my problem.”
When people say something is not their problem it makes them look like they don’t care. This does not endear them to anybody, especially the boss. If a problem is brewing and you have nothing constructive to say, it’s better to say nothing at all. Even better is to pitch in and try to help. Because, ultimately, a problem in the workplace is everyone’s problem. We’re all in it together.

“It’s not my fault.”
Yet another four words to be avoided. Human nature is weird. Claiming that something is not our fault often has the result of making people suspect it is. Besides, what’s the real issue here? It’s that something went wrong and needs to be fixed. That’s what people should be thinking about–not who is to blame.

“I can only do one thing at a time.” News flash: Complaining you are overworked will not make your boss feel sorry for you or go easier on you. Instead, a boss will think: (1) you resent your job, and/or (2) you aren’t up to your job. Everybody, especially nowadays, feels pressured and overworked. If you’re trying to be funny, please note that some sarcasm is funny and lightens the mood. Some just ticks people off.

“I am way overqualified for this job.”
Hey, maybe you are. But the fact is, this is the job you have. You agreed to take it on and, while you may now regret that decision, it’s still your job. Complaining that it’s beneath you only makes you look bad. Plus, coworkers doing similar jobs may resent and dislike you. And guess what? Bosses will not think, “Oh, this is a superior person whom I need to promote.” Nope, they’ll think, “What a jerk.”

“This job is easy! Anyone could do it!”
Maybe what you’re trying to convey here is that you’re so brilliant your work is easy. Unfortunately, it comes off sounding more like, “This work is stupid.” Bosses don’t like hearing that any work is stupid. Nor do they really like hearing that a job is easy peasy. It belittles the whole enterprise. If a task is simple, be glad and do it as quickly as you can. Even “stupid” work needs to get done.

“It can’t be done.”
Saying something can’t be done is like waving a red flag in a boss’s eyes. Even if the thing being suggested truly is impossible, saying it is can make you look ineffectual or incapable. Better to play detective. Why is the boss asking you to do whatever it is? What’s the problem that needs to be solved? What’s the goal? Search for doable ways of solving that problem or reaching that goal. That’s what bosses really want. Most of them do not expect the impossible.

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Taking afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong is one of the few traditions left in the city from its colonial period. Once the hottest ticket in town for Governors, Generals and visiting royalty, the Peninsula Hotel remains the height of luxury in Hong Kong and Asia and the imperious Peninsula Tea Set has changed little in the last eighty years.

Set in the colonial styled Peninsula Hotel, all marble floors, gilded columns and expensive looking paintings, afternoon tea takes place in the palatial Lobby.

The high tea set itself is straight out of Alice in Wonderland and features Earl Grey, or your choice of tea, a selection of belt busting cakes, English scones and finger sandwiches all served on silver platters. It’ best shared by two. While you work your way through the goodies, you’ll be serenaded by a string quartet and fussed over by bow tied waiters.

Afternoon tea is offered at the Peninsula everyday from 2p.m. – 7p.m. The Lobby does not accept reservations and at weekends you may need to queue before getting a seat.

The Peninsula Hotel is one of the few places left in Hong Kong that enforces a dress code and you’ll be turned back at the door, if you’re wearing flip flops or, for men, sleeveless shirts.

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The terrifying moments on board the Louis Majesty, a cruise ship hit by 26-foot waves off northeast Spain, may be prompting second thoughts among travelers considering a vacation at sea.

Two passengers were killed and 14 people were injured when water violently crashed through the windows of some of the ship’s public areas this week.

The incident brought to mind scenes from “The Poseidon Adventure,” a movie in which a wall of water completely flips a cruise ship.

But could that actually happen away from a Hollywood movie screen? And how well are cruise ships equipped for extreme weather?

Experts said waves like those that struck the Louis Majesty are extremely rare and should be of little concern to the average cruise ship passenger.

“Cruise lines are operating on a weekly basis, they’re always at sea and there’s a very, very, very low frequency of these incidents happening,” said Cmdr. Buddy Reams, the chief of the Coast Guard’s Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise.

“We have a really rigorous safety protocol that we go through for each of the cruise ships that operate [in the U.S.] and it’s primarily because they’re carrying so many passengers.”

Several industry insiders weighed in on common questions travelers may be asking about the safety of cruising after this week’s incident.

How likely would it be for a cruise ship to encounter a wave that might tip it over?

Not very likely. In fact, Richard Burke, professor and chairman of engineering at the Maritime College of the State University of New York, said he would be as worried about it as an asteroid hitting the Earth.

“Encountering a storm at sea and having the ship moving around and possibly getting seasick, those things happen. But we’re talking about waves of extraordinary magnitude that are very, very rare,” Burke said.

The chances of a “Poseidon Adventure” disaster happening on a modern ship are virtually nonexistent, said Harry Bolton, captain of the training ship “Golden Bear” at the California Maritime Academy.

The only way that it could happen is if the ship were in extreme weather and positioned sideways to a 70- to 100-foot wave that would have the potential of rolling it over, Bolton said.

“I guarantee you’re never going to be in those kinds of waves anyway,” he said. “[Cruise ships] avoid bad weather like the plague. They don’t want the passengers in peril, they don’t want to risk any injury or accidents.”

How far can a cruise ship lean over to one side and still recover?

Pretty far, though most passengers will likely never experience the extreme.

Cruise ships can list a lot so they can withstand heavy waves, said Teijo Niemela, editor and publisher of the “Cruise Business Review,” which follows cruise ship design.

In extreme cases, a ship can actually list 60 degrees and recover, Burke said. (An angle of 90 degrees would be the ship lying on its side.)

“If you’ve ever been on a ship that’s listing 20 degrees, you almost can’t walk on the ship. Walking up a 20 degree slope is like mountain climbing,” Burke said.

“So if a ship heels more than that, your real problem is that you’re going to get thrown off your feet and a lot of equipment and furniture is going to break loose and go flying around. So the possibility of injury is very high when that happens. But the ship should right itself without any problem.”

The biggest roll Burke has ever experienced during his time at sea was 45 degrees, he said. “I really don’t want to go through that again.”

Cruise ships seem to be getting bigger and taller. Does that affect their stability?

It may appear that cruise ships are top heavy visually, but naval architects design them in such a way that all of the heavy liquids, machinery and the main engine are positioned very low, Burke said. So the ship’s center of gravity is also low even though it looks like the structure goes up high.

Modern cruise ships also have very intricate anti-heeling systems, Bolton said.

“It literally blasts water from one side of the ship to the other side so that you can take a ship that might be rolling 20 degrees and you turn on the anti-heeling system and it’ll knock that thing right down to a 5 degree roll. It’s incredible,” Bolton said.

Niemela, who has sailed on the huge new cruise ship Oasis of the Seas a couple of times, said it’s very difficult to feel any kind of movement on board.

If there is a tsunami warning, like the one last week around Hawaii, is a cruise ship in danger?

Not unless the ship is still docked in port. A tsunami would go by entirely unnoticed on the open sea, Burke said. But if the ship were still at port, an arriving tsunami would be devastating.

How are passengers notified if there’s an emergency at sea?

Before a ship leaves port, the crew holds a fire and boat drill for the passengers. They sound the signals that would call people to their lifeboat stations if there is an emergency so everybody gets to hear the sirens before the ship leaves, Burke said. They’re very loud and they’re located throughout the ship.

“It’s really important if you take a cruise that you participate in the drill and you do see where your lifeboat station is and you know how to get there,” Burke said.

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Like Google and Bing, Yahoo! has integrated Twitter into their search results. But that wasn’t good enough for Bartz and the gang. No, they wouldn’t be satisfied until people could conduct some serious Tweeting from Yahoo! itself. And so a deal has been struck.

If you so choose, you will be able to access your Twitter feed from Yahoo! including Mail and the Sports portal. You’ll also be able to Tweet to your heart’s content, directly from Yahoo!

Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president, consumer products group, Yahoo! decided the best way to give official comment on the matter would be through the delivery of a 140 character statement:

We’re turning the key to the online social universe — you will find the most personally relevant experiences through Yahoo!

Lest you think this is solely a boon for Yahoo!, remember that while Twitter is growing fast, they’ll still benefit from a boost of exposure to the millions of Yahooligans worldwide.

“The information in one single tweet can travel light-years farther with this Yahoo! integration,” said Twitter cofounder, Biz Stone. “Tweets in more places brings relevance where and when you need it most.”

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