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[20 May 2003|11:29am] |
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mood |
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 busy |
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The past few days have been good and bad.
Went to the department store I worked at over Christmas to see if they were hiring part time weekends. They were, but only for a weekend rotator, which was 2-10pm Sat and 10-6 on Sun, every weekend. She seemed to indicate serious displeasure at every not being able to make a shift. She seemed very reluctant to hire me since I could not be there for inventory. She offered me $.50/hour less than when I was there at Christmas. I thought about it and said no.
Bombed my french final. I didn't study enough (my fault) so wasn't familiar enough with my material to carry on a decent conversation after he made me put my notes down. My brain froze and I couldn't think in english or french.
Started my lab science class at the state college. Thankfully it looks like I won't have to be there from 6p-10p twice a week. After a 2 hour lecture he releases us to go work on our labs. We can stay or go. They are all due at the end of the semester. I think I'll stay for a bit and work then go. I have my community college worktime to get my labs done.
Got my community college Friday and Sunday schedule for the summer. They are closed on weekends in July so there aren't many days to work. There are only 5 Sundays from now til the end of the summer, and we have to rotate who gets them. So I have two. I'm trying to swap my 2 August Friday nights for May or June Friday nights so I will be done with the college at the end of June when I'm also done with my class so can hopefully find a evening/weekend part time job for July and August.
Oh my is time flying by quickly!
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| Finally done |
[13 May 2003|12:25am] |
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mood |
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 relieved |
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music |
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My voice speaking french |
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It's way later than I had anticipated finishing, especially after skipping a full day of work, but I finally finished my 3rd project, an audio cassette. Well, mostly. The real work is done, but since I don't have a tape recorder, I recorded .wavs file, am burning it all on a CD and will copy the CD onto a cassette in the morning.
I didn't get to work on any of it at my PT job tonight because I had some other stuff to do plus they gave me a project. But it's done, and I'm ready for bed. Now I just need to figure out my final exam topic by 5pm tomorrow.
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| Making progress |
[12 May 2003|11:41am] |
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mood |
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 productive |
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music |
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RFI |
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Got two out of three parts done. The first is ready to be recorded, the second is sent off to be proofread. Gonna record the first and start to work on the third. Jotted down some thoughts last night. This part is hard because it's not supposed to be a prepared text. But I don't want to spend 5 min going "ummm....je ne sais pas...ehhh" so I have to prepare at least very good notes if not the exact text.
Still have no idea what I'm going to do for my final exam topic, which I have to tell him tomorrow. At least I can think and research that tonight at work.
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| Being a bad girl |
[12 May 2003|09:38am] |
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mood |
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working |
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music |
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RFI |
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Skipping my day job to finish my last french project. Going to my PT job tonight though. Gotta get to work.
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| Yay, money! |
[11 May 2003|08:03pm] |
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mood |
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 scared |
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music |
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Radio France Internationale |
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Got my paycheck from the community college, over 27 hours worth of pay. Now that makes me happy. Too bad there won't be any more Saturdays to fill in.
Not including the paycheck above, I've now got over $10,000 saved. Sounds impressive, huh? Of course, the only way I look at it is that I have $54,000 to go.
I spent all day with my friends yesterday and managed to have a good time and not actually feel guilty about not working. I don't feel that I 'wasted' the day, even if there was a long pause between two of the three activities for the day.
I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped for my last french project, which is turning out to be much more difficult than anticipated. And I haven't even started on my final exam yet. I might have to take the day off of work on Tuesday if I don't get enough done tonight. It involves making a cassette tape, so I can't work on it at work at the college tomorrow night. I still have no idea what I'm going to talk about for my final exam, and I need to tell him on Tuesday. Then have something prepared by Thursday. I'm getting scared!
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| When it rains, it pours |
[09 May 2003|11:37am] |
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mood |
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unimpressed |
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music |
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Sarah McLachlan - Mirrorball |
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Too bad there's so much acid rain.
I'm still sending resumes out for a part-time weekend job. The other day I actually got calls from four different places.
The first was from a call center northwest of where I live. They are looking for people to answer calls and book old people on trips. Doesn't sound so hard, I have enough experience in that sort of thing. Except they are only open M-F from 9a-9p. Since I just signed up for a class at the state college I am now busy Tues and Thurs. I'm really looking to fill the weekends, but he will call me towards the end of my class to see if I'm still interested. Not horribly convenient, since it's about 40 min from my day job, but not the end of the world.
The second was a language school looking for English teachers. I think that would be great since when I go to Paris and can't work legally, I can try to tutor by claiming I have experience. (Another option is getting a TEFL certificate but that's like $300 for the online course. I'm looking into getting my job to pay for that one.) This place doesn't pay that well, but they do have classes on weekends, though she was a little unclear on the schedule. After speaking to the woman on the telephone I sent my resume and hope they will call me soon.
The 3rd was from an SAT tutoring company. I had a phone interview and they wanted me to come in for an interview in person. No idea what they pay but the classes are all during the week from what I was told, so again I wouldn't be able to start til the end of June. It's something to keep in mind when I get to that point, but right now I want a weekend job.
Also, a local improv theatre is looking for people to work the box office during shows, Wed-Sun. The pay is crap but I can pick and choose my shifts for the month, so I think I'm going to try to sign up. I can't make their info session, but I'm going to email them. At least then I can do something on the Friday nights I'm not working at the community college and maybe fill some Sat and Sun evenings too.
Too much free time, not enough money. Sigh.
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| Give me money! |
[05 May 2003|09:00pm] |
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mood |
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 hopeful |
] |
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music |
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the hum of air conditioning |
] |
Back in January I decided to start looking into scholarships for school. I'm glad I did because I found 2 that were due by the end of the month. After that it was very difficult to find scholarships that I am eligible for. Most are for graduating seniors. I graduated from high school 8 years ago, so that doesn't work. Otherwise there are age requirements (what, a 25 year old suddenly has TONS more money than someone whose parents have been saving for 18 years?). The other problem is that many require the school to be located on US soil, which last I checked, Paris isn't.
If anyone knows any scholarships or alternative sources of funding that don't charge 8% interest, please do let me know. I think that I've applied to 7, some of which I knew were long shots. I know that the notification period for one has passed, so I guess I didn't win. There are 2 that I know will let me know by the end of May, so wish me luck.
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| Transfer credit |
[05 May 2003|05:21pm] |
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mood |
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 accomplished |
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music |
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Kansas - Wayward Son |
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I finally got some answers about my transfer credit today. Maybe it's just because I'm way over normal college age, but I expect that if you email someone, they will reply. Is that so unreasonable to expect?
This is somewhat of a big deal to me, since I'm hoping that I can finish in two years and a lot of that hinges on my transfer credit. I wrote to this woman on 7 April and hadn't heard back. I faxed her last Monday and still nothing. So finally I called.
The woman I was supposed to speak with wasn't available, so I spoke with another woman from the office who thankfully was able to answer my questions. I mean, why put down that I received 15.7 credits in Social Sciences but not bother to mention if I met the Social Science requirement or not? I also would like to take a course this summer before I leave but won't bother if I can't get credit for it. And since the summer courses at the local college start in 2 weeks, I really do need to know. She said it would be fine, so now I have to register for this class which starts the same night as my French final. It also means that I won't have as much free time for my yet-undiscovered 3rd job, at least not til the end of June, but at least I can work Sat and Sun, if not in the evenings.
I was hoping that I could put a lot of my programming classes from my old school towards a computer minor at this school, but was told that most classes for a minor have to be taken in-house, but I should speak with the head of the department when I get there and see what I can work out. I'd love to have a minor in another field since French is mostly useless, but don't want to have to pay for an extra semester for that purpose. On the other hand, it seems like such a waste not to get credit for all those computer classes I took. So I guess that one will have to wait until September.
My goodness time is flying!
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| Another job |
[03 May 2003|12:26pm] |
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mood |
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 contemplative |
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As I think I mentioned, I'm looking for another (3rd) job. I have one full and one part, but my part time job doesn't give me that many hours. I work every Monday night, then every other Sunday and 2 Friday nights a month. Sundays and Friday's are only 3.5 hours, so it's not much. I have Saturday free, and every other Sunday, or Sunday after 5pm. I sent out over 40 resumes, but only got 2 responses. It's hard to find something restricted to just those hours and even harder to get a job that will pay me a decent salary. I'm hoping to make at least $12/hr and realise that's somewhat of a dream at this point and will never be reality.
The first place that called me back was a security place which wanted me to work Sat and Sun. I said I could probably do that and went in for the interview. I spoke with 3 people, all who seem amazed that I had 2 jobs and was looking for a 3rd. I asked why and they said since I'd be the only one onsite, it was very important that I'm there and always on time. If I am late, then the person before me has to stay. If I have to leave early, I have to get the person after me to come in early to cover. If I can't come in, the management has to fill in if they can't find anyone else. I got the impression that they would get very angry if that had to happen. I just wasn't happy with the idea of it. I was hoping I'd be with at least one other person, not alone. And the salary range they gave me during the interview wasn't at all what I thought it would be. So I didn't go back for the 2nd interview.
The other place that called me back was a hotel, looking for someone at the front desk. She wanted Fri/Sat/Sun but I do have a full time job and couldn't do that. We agreed that I could work Fri and Sat and then I'd work Sun-Thurs at my FT employer. The hours at the hotel would be early enough morning so I could go to my evening job if I was working that Friday. I figured I could switch a few Sundays for Fridays to keep up my FT hours and not lose any time at either employer. I went in for the interview which I thought went really well. She emailed me a few days later and requested references. I sent them and they all replied to her. I went in for a 2nd interview with the General Manager and I think that went ok. It's now been several weeks and I haven't heard back. I'm starting to wonder if they just decided not to call me.
I'm both hoping yet dreading this call. I do want the money. I'm not thrilled with the idea of working 7 days a week but I feel I have to. It's decent money. But the thing is, they would want me to stick around for a long time. And I'm leaving the country at the end of August. They discussed a long training time, even longer since I was part time, and things like that. I somewhat feel that ethically I shouldn't take this job if they do offer it. But it may be a moot point if I never get offered it.
I may have to attempt waitressing or go to the department store I worked at part time over Christmas. But I've never been a waitress and made crappy money at the store.
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| Am I crazy? |
[03 May 2003|10:20am] |
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mood |
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 confused |
] |
I suppose some of my reasoning for starting to write my thoughts is because my friend LC things I am in need of psychological help due to my obsession with working and money. I admit that I'm obsessed, but I don't think I need to see a shrink because of it. I did stop seeing my therapist a few months ago, before I got like this, but I still think it's justified.
I'm terrified of taking out loans. I took out loans when I went to school before, but when I dropped out my parents used the rest of my college money to pay them off. I've owed a couple thousand to credit card companies, but the idea of taking out a $12K loan scares the crap out of me. That's a LOT of money. I know that now matter how many hours I work I won't be able to avoid loans, but I want to borrow as little as possible. I'd also like to have enough money to enjoy myself. I'm going to be in Paris, I want to have fun!
So maybe it is a little overboard that I feel guilty about spending time with my friends because I'm not working. I suppose it's not as if I'm blowing off a job so I can hang out with them. It does drive me crazy to do nothing for too long. Like last weekend when LC and I had a lazy Sunday morning then went out for a late lunch. Then he wanted to go nap. I wanted to scream! I'd already lazed around for most of the day, it was now after 3pm and I wanted to either do something or go to my day job and get in a few hours so I'd be ahead for the coming week. I think I did a good job of keeping my frustration hidden and in the end we did go on a small hike, but I did tell him about it and he thinks I'm a bit loony now.
So am I crazy? I just want to make money. He thinks that making myself miserable for a few extra dollars isn't worth it and that I should relax and have fun sometimes. He's right, it has been a long time since I've purchased a CD, but I have lots of CD's and the radio and the Internet, so maybe I don't need to buy any. I don't know.
On a happier note after he lectured me on how I was miserable I went and took advantage of a free ice cream cone. I like ice cream. Chocolate-Peanut Butter. yum!
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| My rantings |
[02 May 2003|07:36pm] |
So I created this journal so I could write about things I feel like talking about and that my friends are probably sick of hearing. Why did I decide to put it online? If my friends are sick of hearing me talk about the same thing over and over, maybe by posting it for the world to see, someone will come along who's not sick of it and give me all sorts of wonderful advice. Not that my friends aren't wonderful and give me good advice, but well, sometimes you just need to ramble. Plus I don't need to justify my actions, if you don't want to read my journal you don't have to be here.
Let me back up a bit. I'm going away this fall to Paris to finally finish school. I'm really excited. Right now it seems very close and very far away. At this point I'm basically obsessed with money. I am paying for this myself, noone has been saving 18+ years for me to do this. I've been saving money since last September when I decided I was going to go. I basically decided about a month before then, but it didn't really sink in for a few weeks that I was really truly going to do this and money doesn't grow on trees.
So now I'm living rent free (thanks mom & dad-that extra $700/month has made a HUGE difference in my savings!) and working two jobs, full and part time, to save money. I'm also taking a night class, as I have been for the previous 2 semesters. However since I have 1-2 days off a week depending on the hours of my part time job I'm looking for another part time job. It's hard to find something where I can work the few hours I'm available and make a decent amount of money. But I'm trying.
More on that to come. I'm working all day at my part time job tomorrow and will have plenty of time to write then. C'est un boulot peinard.
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