Summer!!! Almost, but not quite.

ok.

so summer's almost here. meaning many things:

1. finals!!!
2. summer job!!
3. driving will re-open on july 3rd!
4. taste of lincoln ave
5. working @ danny's
6. vay-cay!!!

so.

SUMMER JOB.......................................................................................

this is the first time EVER i've actually looked for a summer job. i mean, i've always worked @ my mom's place for no pay ever since 2nd grade.

but i guess now i want more things--i want a flat iron (which i got), a new ipod (which i got)--i guess i just want to spend more overall.

but every single time my mom pays for something--food, clothes, ect. (esp. the clothes part) makes me feel guilty.

i mean, she woman works 12 hours a day weekdays + 10 hours on weekends. for herself. so she will never get a pay raise.

so i applied.

@ first i only thought of walgreens/cvs because there's one everywhere! @ my grandparent's place! @ my parent's restaurant! close to my place!

but they aren't known for paying well. but the convenience!! (no duh! that's why they're called convenience stores!) i can be anywhere, and it will work out. @ my grandparents'. @ my place. @ my parent's workplace.

and then i expanded.

to a plaza/shopping plaza near my grandparents' place: they have:

a chinese place (i have experience!! but i don't wait tables. i'm a terrible waitress. and they don't have computers--you have to memorize prices. and write down all orders. all day. no.)
a chinese buffet (i have experience!! but i don't speak mandarin. not really.)
an old country buffet
a borders
an office deopt
a famous footwear
a payless
and a sally beauty store

so yea. that's a LOT of oppertunities.

so i looked online @ http://www.payscale.com/ to see the average pay with my non-existant work experience and lack of hs deploma.

pay:

old country buffet: $6.25-9 avg. $7
borders: $6-9 avg. $7.38
Walgreens/CVS: $7-9 avg. $7.80
office depot: $6.75-10 avg. $8.06
sally beauty store: $7-11 avg. $8.55


wow!

i could not believe that sally would pay that much. or that borders would pay that little. and i called them, they're hiring!! but then i can only stay over @ grandpa's. yuck. all summer.

so i'd rather work @ the CVS then. close to home. no need to wake up w. my parents so they could drop me off work.

but!!! that's what i'll app for.

APPLYING

borders has an online app, which is nice.

walgreens also has an online app

CVS has an online app

old country buffet has a paper app you needa bring in

sally has a paper app you needa bring in

office depot has a confusing search engine for jobs that i refuse to use b/c it boggles my mind.

so... verdict: top two choices: either CVS or Sally.

i'll prob end up choosing Sally for sure if they do accept my app. but just not work all 5 days.

Finals!!.......................................................................

so... this time around... i'm actually scared of a LOT of finals.

my lit final: reviewing all the different genres of am lit + 7 lessons worth of vocab words.

geometry: review concepts. i HATE circles, exponents, and i don't know if i can still solve the orchard unit problem.

my chinese final: i ALWAYS miss ~3 questions on there. it's all written, so you have to remember what you have to say, and know how to write it.

my chem final: as always. but i feel like i've been sorta actually understanding chem lately. except now i hafta remember ancient stuff.

my choir final. it terrifies me. as always. but i feel like as long as i kno the circle, everything's cool. i mean, i've seen the notes i took, and i don't have a lot to review, and it scares me. maybe i'm missing something.

i'm SO happy i dont' hafta worry about APUSH+PE.

they way my schedule is planned out, i should only have two hard finals to worry about each day.

FREE Rewards Memberships that are WORTH it

i'm a wierdo, i know... i enjoy using coustomer service (i don't EVER hesitate to call, and i've noticed that i don't really get mad when i've been put on hold for 45 min), i obsess over contests and giveaways...

for my beloved COUPONS i found online, that will KILL your bill, go here. (they NEVER expire!!! they're manufacturer's coupons, so they put up a new one once it expires)

for magazine giveaways that are ALWAYS UP, go here. (every month, they put up new giveaways!)

for HANA MISIKKO FLAT IRON GIVEAWAYS, GO here, there, here, there, or there. (HURRY!! THEY ALL END before may 2010 ends!!)

so, back to the memberships.

• 
  
  CVS (ONLY members get their discounts/sales!! so if you don't have a membership, going to CVS will break your wallet--it's better to go  to walgreens, but GETTING A MEMBERSHIP IS SO EASY!! AND FAST! PLUS, CVS has this GreenTag where you can just bring in a re-usable bag everytime you shop, and they'll give you $1 CVS credit back for every 4 visits!! (that's $0.25 everytime you go!!)
• 
  
  American Eagle (frequent-shopping members get so many discounts! it is NOT a credit card!)
• 
  
  BORDERS i would never again buy books from Barnes and Noble at full price!!! BORDERS REWARDS IS AMAZING!! members get 25%, 30%, 33%, and up to 46% off items--they send you a new coupon EVERY WEEK!! (not to mention best-seller dicounts EVERYDAY, BOGO free/half off discounts, and other rewards from independent companies [nike, coach, lord&taylor])
• 
  
  COKE: (this membership would only help out those who buy Coke products in heavy bulk volumes--event planners, party-throwers, or other ppl who work in the hospitality/food industry that sells coke products--rewards are easy to redeem, and the rewards you get are actually substantial--magazine memberships, kitchen ware, ect.)

VERDICT:

1. 
   
   WALGREENS v. CVS: if you're too lazy to just fill in that form for the CVS membership, it's better to shop @ walgreens.
2. 
   
   WALGREENS v. CVS: if you DO have a membership @ CVS: walgreens v. CVS is a pretty even cometition--both of their prices are neck-to-neck.
3. 
   
   BARNES NOBLE v. BORDERS: borders wins hands down. barns and noble's membership fee is $25 per year, and it's a credit card, not a rewards program like Borders.