Michigan's Missing Glove
Savings Progress (?)
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I finally signed up for a Way2Save savings account through Wachovia! Basically instead of having to remember to put money in your savings account – you know PYF and all that, it puts $1 in for every purchase you make with your debit card or through Wachovia Online BillPay, and it won’t overdraw if there are insufficient funds in your checking account. You can also set up an automatic monthly transfer of up to $100 from your checking to savings. It has the same withdrawal and teller fees as my old savings account, but it has a 5% APY the first year and a 3% APY the next two years after that. My old one was like a fraction of 1%. So, yeah. Yay! (By the way, if anyone I know personally signs up for a Wachovia account due to this Way2Save advert, please let me know before you do. That way, we both get $25 added to our checking accounts. Yeah, let me know.)
I don’t know if that counts as progress. It certainly is better than what I was saving before now. Also, Manswers on SpikeTV says panhandling can rake in big bucks, so maybe I’ll try begging, ha. Of course, this is the same show that suggest a correlation between breast shape and personality (which, on this show, always means “desire to have sex”).
…Yeah. Maybe I won’t panhandle.
Tags: begging?, fundraising, Manswers, pay yourself first, PYF, saving, Spike TV, Wachovia, Way2Save, WellsFargo
Do you feel like your friends are getting ahead while you’re staying behind?
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Happy 40th anniversary of the lunar landing! Yay, America! Learned that from the LA Times Crossword, and I’ve been fighting the urge to sing “We Went to the Moon” from the Even Stevens musical episode ever since.
When I wasn’t fighting that urge, I was having lunch and hanging out with my high school friends Spencer and Wyatt. I thought it might be awkward, having not seen either of them in quite some time, but the conversation just picked right back up like we saw each other yesterday.
Wyatt just got back to the States after spending a year in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. On Thursday Spencer’s leaving for the same program. I am SO jealous of them. The CBYX pays for practically everything except incidental expenses, and this experience will look so good on their CVs. WOW. Aren’t you jealous by now, too?
Speaking for those of us who have to pay for our trips abroad, here’s how my fundraising “progress” is going: it’s not. I have twenty-some dollars in my bank account right now. 
A recent personal decision I made may raise my funds a tad, but who knows? I’m giving myself until January to have raised a serious enough amount of money to consider an internship abroad before I start focusing more intently on something stateside. I really do hope things work out… That would look so great on my resume and improve my professional future so much, so … popping over to my Donations page would be greatly appreciated! 
Tags: 7/20/1969, abroad, Congress-Bundestag, donations, Europe, Even Stevens, France, FRIENDS, Germany, international, internship, Intrax Intern Abroad, Lunar landing, Summer 2009, Youth exchange
Pierced Frenula, Six-Toed Cats, and Other Things Having to Do with Thanksgiving.
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I went back to the store today to set up direct deposit paychecks, since yesterday I didn’t have my checkbook with me to give them a voided check. Now I have direct deposit paychecks! Yay!
I also introduced my grandmother to one of the assistant managers. That was interesting, and kind of cute. I’m not sure what my grandmother expected, but she was pleasantly surprised to meet a nice, polite young lady, who just happened to have her hair dyed three different colors and multiple piercings, including one captive ring on her frenulum. Like I said, it was a cute little situation. 
Speaking of work, though, the week I planned to visit my brother, dad, and step-mom in Florida includes the two tax-free days in Virginia (August 1 & 2 this year, if you Virginians want to take advantage). If you don’t know what tax-free days are, like me up until this afternoon, it happens all across America before the school year starts, with all school supplies and, I think, apparel up to $100 is free of sales tax. It’s apparently the second busiest time other than Christmas for retail, so I can’t afford to risk my job to go on holiday then.
My dad is happy about this situation because he would only have those two tax-free days off, since he already used his sick days this year. If I visit Jacksonville during Thanksgiving instead, he will have the entire visit off instead of just a fraction of it. We plan to go down to Key West, see the crystal blue water (Dad’s excited) and see Hemingway’s six-toed cats (Pat and I are VERY excited). … I dunno what Daine will be excited about, but, y’know, that’s my brother.
The problem … cuz there’s always a problem … is: how do I tell my tradition-adherent grandmother that I won’t be at her house for Thanksgiving? I believe the answer is somewhere along the lines of “Verrrry carefully….” Maybe I’ll tell her tomorrow. Or maybe not. It’s all about working up the courage to tell her and keeping control of my “emotional intelligence.” (Don’t ask me, Dad made it up. Sounds an awful lot like an HR team-building term for “anger management issues.”)
Anyway. We’ll see.
I love my job.
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I had new hire training at Hot Topic this afternoon. Everyone, from my manager to my fellow new employee Christy, was so nice. I’m really going to enjoy working there.
I arrived early (All the lights on Courthouse Road were green. What a rare occurrence!), so I started with filling out my I-9 and W-4 forms. (Oh, snap! I’m an adult, you guys! I have tax forms!) Then, one of the assistant managers led Christy and me through customer service training, also known as the “Hot Topic Experience.” I’m really great with the making customers feel welcome part of this, but I really need to familiarize myself with the bands and licenses whose merchandise Hot Topic carries, which won’t be so hard… with a mix of Pandora, Wikipedia, and Shockhound (a band merch and social network site owned by HT – I’ll link this blog to my profile once it’s created), I should be up to speed soon. But this is the coolest required assignment I’ve ever had: “Jessica, sit back and listen to some new music.” “Okay! Gonna work on that!”
…
I. LOVE. MY. JOB.
Tags: Hot Topic, job training, new job, Pandora, Shockhound, Summer 2009, summer jobs, Wikipedia
I have a job!
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Ok, so. I went to run errands with Mom this afternoon. Since they weren’t my errands, I didn’t bring my tote bag and therefore didn’t bring my phone. When we got back from Wachovia, Rite Aid, and McDonalds (I know, I’m such a hypocrite. I watched Super Size Me last night and still ate a burger), there was a voice message on the phone! I had this feeling it was about the job at Hot Topic, and … it was! Adrienne offered me a job and said she loved the interview thank-you note I mailed her. (It works a good amount of the time. Trust me. And the smart people at Monster.com.) I jumped and flailed, then called back and accepted! YAY! My first ever real job! With a 40% employee discount! (I’m getting new navel rings like whoa.)
I don’t start training until July, so I’ll only really be working a month this summer, but I’m working more intensively over Christmas break and whenever they book me during school. Hopefully during these times scheduling me will be infrequent since I would be facing an hour and a half commute each way, which, in the words of Chandler Bing, would be a “bitch of a commute” (not as much as New York to Paris, like he meant, but still). I’m not so worried about the brevity of my working this summer because Adrienne operates on a system where if Employee A sells more and is more responsible and eager to help out than Employee B, Employee A gets more and better hours (and therefore mo’ money!) … clearly I can become an Employee A. Oh yes.
But yay! Yay, job! *dance of joy and job-happiness*
P.S. Was that tattoo on the “Meeting Our New Neighbors” segment of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien for real? Because, seriously O’Brien, you could have gotten something baller like a Celtic trefoil or an image of Cuchulain or something.
Tags: Celtic, Chandler Bing, Conan O'Brien, Cuchulain, FRIENDS, Hot Topic, Irish, job hunt, Morgan Spurlock, Summer 2009, summer jobs, Super Size Me, The Tonight Show, triumph
Tutoring
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Sorry for doing the last post in Spanish, but I was reviewing so that I could adeptly tutor a new student this morning. If you ever want an English transcript of “The One en Espanol,” just ask. I’ll be happy to give it to you.
The tutoring session could NOT have gone better! Both the mother and the daughter are lovely people – the mom being flexible with scheduling as I asked, the daughter being attentive, intelligent, and outgoing (as I had very well hoped)! Since today was the first lesson, I didn’t really have any exercises planned, just going over my tutee’s problem areas in Spanish 2. (She will be in Spanish 3 and starting high school in September, and her mother wants her to keep a good grasp on Spanish over the summer). We reviewed her biggest problem area (as best I could while making up examples at 10 in the morning), which only took until 10:30, but her mom was paying me for the entire hour, so we played Spanish Hangman, worked on the conjugation and usage of the preterite and imperfect tenses, and discussed certain review sites we enjoy. My new student is a joy to work with. I kept apologizing to her that I didn’t have more work planned for today – now that I know how impressive her work ethic is, I’ll have plenty planned for next Saturday!
Even if I don’t get an “official” job this summer, I think I’m going to love tutoring in Spanish again. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it!
The One en Espanol
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Mañana á las diez de la mañana le enseñaré español á una estudiante nueva por la primera vez. Me preocupa un poquitito porque no he tomado español hace un año. Claro, recuerdo algo de la lengua pero algunas veces he confundido el español con el francés. La semana pasada estudié la conjugación de los verbos y estoy bueno con la una vez más. La gramática de francés es mucho como la de español – entonces debo poder explicar cosas difíciles á mi estudiante nueva.
Diré á ustedes cómo mañana va. (En ingles la próxima vez, ¡le prometo!) ¡Hasta!
Musings from Jessica – Post #5 – 18 June 2009
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Not that you can see in the clip (I can only tell when I’m flossing), but I think my teeth are turning British, oh yes my teeth are turning British, I really think so. Shoulda worn those damn retainers longer.
Tags: Anna, Charlottesville, Dustin, job hunt, Kelly, Summer 2009, summer jobs
To “Those Wonderful People Out There in the Dark”
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I told my grandparents about my quest for cultural expansion, and they assisted me in getting Netflix (for all those wonderful obscure and/or old movies Blockbuster and the library never have)! Yay!
So tonight we saw Sunset Boulevard. What a great film with such wonderful acting! I think that upon touchdown in L.A., any and all airlines should be required by law to show all young aspiring starlets this film. They should know that a career can stop. And that it should be let go of, not held onto in a house “held in slow paralysis.” (Gah, and what great writing! The only thing I didn’t like was they stole the “pool thing” from Gatsby. You do not steal from Gatsby. *evil Norma Desmond eyes in the direction of the long dead Sunset Boulevard producers*)
Gloria Swanson was chilling as the infamous and goosebump-inducing Norma Desmond. She had wonderful quirks one would expect from a silent film actress: the overly expressive movements, the melodramatic eyes. I think the worst part was that her emotionally needy personality reminded me of someone I (unfortunately) know. And there was this wonderfully creepy thing she did with her hands. Even when romantic with Joe Gillis (played by William Holden, who was fiiiiiiine – especially when topless), she curls her fingers one by one, very possessively, around his bicep. Like a talon. I demonstrated – quite poorly – on my mother, and even though the demonstration was poor, it gave Mom the shivers. And I know for a fact I’ll have to sleep with the lights on tonight.
Does anyone else think they should film a remake with Meryl Streep as Norma Desmond? She'd do a bang-up job. Only problem: how do you flatteringly ask an actress to play a delusional fading star?
In other news, one of Hot Topic’s managers called me this afternoon just before we left the house for a dip in the pool. They want me to come in for an interview on Monday at 3:15! I told her about my availability being only seasonal because of school, and while she said I’d have fewer hours than those folks who can work through September 7, I’ll be fine as long as I can work Christmas holiday as well (which I’d offered to do). Hopefully the … fifteenth? … time’s the charm! Just kidding. More like the second or third. I think I’ll nail the interview just so long as I don’t show up like this.
All right, Mr. de Mille ... I'm ready for my close-up.
Chilling.
Tags: Gloria Swanson, Hot Topic, job hunt, Norma Desmond, Summer 2009, summer jobs, Sunset Boulevard, William Holden
Sporcle doesn’t let you make your own quizzes.
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Yeah, it’s not cool. I spent the last hour making a “Match the musical to these three characters from it” quiz, and then I learned it’s a closed group of people making these things. I would have to wait several months before my quiz could even appear on the site. **FAIL** (If you want to take it, though, I guess I can make a quiz on Quizilla or something.)
I was getting pretty down on the summer jobs thing until today. You remember that “[possible] YAYE!“? Yeah. I got to the interview, after waking up early and dressing up (big requests during the summer), and a minute into it the interviewer informs me that they don’t hire seasonal help. … O.o … -.- … Couldn’t you have warned me one of the three other times we spoke? 
Today, though, we received a letter from my aunt suggesting I try volunteer work if the job hunt falls through so there isn’t a gaping hole on my resume. I’ve requested more information from both the Wilton House Museum and the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond. I’d be volunteering as a docent/guide or in some front desk/clerical/sales capacity if they want me for their teams. Also, I’m tutoring a student two Saturdays from now at $15 an hour. Don’t know how long the appointment will be, but I’m excited! Things are somewhat up for Jessica. She’s not so worried about the softcore rejection she’s been noticing hints of in various managers’ tones.
Tags: job hunt, Richmond, Sporcle, Summer 2009, summer jobs, tutor, tutoring, VA, volunteer, volunteer work, volunteering
