Why?

Even though I have no school spirit or allegance, I do still have friends at Cranford High School. My last "little one". My freind Zack is a senior this year, and I've been back to visit once already to see the fall show, and tonight is the choir concert. This is a little more intimidating for me because when I went to see the fall show, I went to the senior performance, sat in my seat, and said hi to him after the show. Tonight when I go I'll actually be going up onstage to join the other alumni and sing. Tonight there will be other people that I know there. People who aren't my friends, and who I know are judging me.

I've put on a lot of weight since graduating for high school. To the point where I'm getting disgusted with myself. I actually went out and bought a girdle yesterday because I can't stand the thought of going back to my high school and people seeing that I've gotten fat. I bought a new shirt that would hide my hips and my arms. I paid to get my eyebrows done and my hair cut. I'm planning out my day so that I'll have time to go home and do my makeup and hair before the concert. Even though I don't really have extra money to spend, I'm going to DSW to buy a new pair of heels.

And all of this is because I feel like I need to impress people who don't factor into my daily life whatsoever. Because I feel like maybe people will think that even though I haven't gotten any good acting jobs since graduation, at least I look good.

I really hope that one day I can be the kind of person who can say "Who gives a fuck what they think?"
Because right now, the answer is "me".

School Spirit?

I was driving through downtown Cranford the other day, and I passed the store that sells Cranford merchandise. It had a sign outside that said, "Order your State Champion Cougar Apparel Today!", because for the first time in, I think the history of the school, the Cranford Cougars won the football state championship. And as I was driving, I realized that I couldn't care less. I had seen facebook statuses that whole week from alumni wishing the team luck in the big game, and I just had no opinion on the event whatsoever. It was then that I realized, I have no school spirit.

When I was in high school, I went to the football games to hang out with my freinds in the band, not to watch the game. I went to maybe one other sporting event if my friend was playing on the team, but other than choir and the plays, I had nothing to do with my school's extra curricular activities. Pep rallies (or "spirt days" as we called them, because "pep rally" brings to mind cliques and popularity contests) were just excuses to get out of class goof off. The only t-shirts I saved from high scool were my powder puff football shirts, and only because they had my nicknames on them. I couldn't wait to get out of high school and go to college, and feel what I'd been lead to believe you were supposed to feel about your school.

Nothing changed in college. Asside from the friends I made while I was there (who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world), I feel like going to college was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I gave up my carreer that I had worked for seven years to establish, as well as all of my contacts in the industry, to go to school and be told that I was doing everything wrong. I was made to doubt my god-given abilities, and feel inferior for not knowing as much as they thought I should. I found it mind-boggling that I had professional credits on my resume, probably more than any other student there, but I was not good enough to be cast in their shows. Because of their "training", I took several steps backwards, not only in my carreer, but also in my level of confidence and abilities. I haven't taken a dance class in almost 4 years because there just wasn't the time or the money, and the lack of money has made it hard to afford voice lessons as well. I'm now going on open call auditions, which have given me no hope of ever getting cast in anything. My mother told me that I had to go to college and get a degree in something. I should have gone to Union County College for two years, gotten my associates degree in something, and continued going on auditions and working. But no, my mother wanted me to go away and get the "college experience".

My so called "college experience" consisted of me trying to live with roommates for three years, and coming home or going to AJ's every weekend because I couldn't live with them, and spending the days sitting in my room wishing I had better things to do. It consisted of me working part time jobs that I hated,  feeling like an outcast because asside from the 14 people in my acting group, I didn't really know anyone, and commuting my final year so that maybe it would feel like I wasn't actually spending every day being miserable. I didn't go to a single sporting event, or "red hawk day", or any kind of extra curricular activity (once again excluding theater). I hated my college experience. In the acting world, having a degree in theater doesn't mean anything. All it means is that you payed a shit ton of money to be able to put the letters "BFA" on your resume. I could have gone to cosmotology school and gotten trained to do hair and makeup, something that I would actually enjoy doing (and plan on doing if acting doesn't pan out). Graduation day was one of the happiest days of my life. I had no desire to join the alumni association or get any more emails from Montclair. I haven't been up there since the day of graduation, and I probably won't ever go back again.

Claire loved going to Rutgers so much that fourty-something years later, her car is still covered in Rutgers bumper stickers. Half of her wardrobe is Rutgers t-shirts, and she carries her Rutgers alumni card on her keychain. Kodi loved Montclair so much that she went back to work for them full time.

There are times when I wish I knew what that feels like.

There are other times when I wish I woudn't have listened when everyone told me how much I would regret not going to college.

Getting back into the swing of things

So yesterday I had a huge audition. I was going in for an open call for the role of Cosette in the upcoming Les Mis movie. I was pretty excited about it, because it was a HUGE oppurtunity. So I got in, signed up, was number 121 out of almost 400 girls, and sat and waited.
The casting director came in and made an announcement, that they had such specific casting directions from London that rather than wasting everyone's time, they were going to call us in in groups of about 25 and "type us", and if we didn't fit what they were looking for, they wouldn't keep us around to sing. I unfortunately got "typed out", but I didn't mind. I'd rather that happened than I spent the entire day waiting around and then found out I wasn't what they were looking for. Or that I sang and then sat around wondering what I could have done better when I didn't get cast. I'd rather know I didn't get it because of something that's beyond my control.

And even though I didn't even get to sing, I'm glad I went. It lit a fire under me to get back out and into auditions. I know this is what I want to do and was meant to do, and I know that my big break is out there somewhere. Everyone has one, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. I don't want to miss mine.
It also lit a fire under me to stop making excuses and realize that I've put on weight, and the only one who can do anything about that fact is me. I need to start exercising regularly, and stop sitting around on my ass eating junk food all day. I need to start taking better care of my skin, my teeth, and my apperance all together. I need to look like the person that I want to look like.

So here we go. I know I make this resolution all the time and then don't follow through with it for more than a week, but now I know that I have to get serious. I've got a lot of things working against me in this business, and I need to take control of the ones that I can control.

My left hand feels naked...

I've been wearing my claddagh ring and the other ring that AJ gave me our first year on my left hand for almost five years now. I know that you're not supposed to wear anything on your left ring finger other than your engagement and wedding rings, but I've always considered my claddagh to be an engagement ring, or if you want to call it a 'promise ring', because AJ and I have known that we want to get married for years.

But, when the man you plan on marrying starts a conversation with "You know that I'm going to be proposing to you sometime within the next six months, right?", as weird as it feels, it's time to move the rings off of the left hand, and avoid that awkward moment of him having to pull the other ring off of your finger to get the engagement ring onto it. Or the awkward moment where the engagement ring doesn't fit because of the impression the other ring has left in your finger.

He not so subtally let me know when and where he was going to be proposing to me.

He asked me if I was open to something public, or if I would rather a private proposal. I said it didn't matter to me, I just wanted the moment to feel right to him. He said, "Ok, so you wouldn't mind if it was outside, like *mumbles 'Cinderella Castle' under his breath*. I told him "Ok, stop telling me! I don't want to know! I don't want to be expecting it!" Although now I will be planning my wardrobe for Disney World ever so carefully.
I told him I only had three rules for the proposal. Don't propose to me on the jumbotron at a sporting event, don't put the ring inside food, and "God help you if you propose to me with a flash mob!"

6 months until we go to Disney World!

Moving In and Growing Up

So I've been officially living with AJ for a week now (I'm still not officially moved out yet, because half of my things are still at my mom's house). It's seriously the most amazing thing in the world. Everything we do now is "us". There's no more "Ok, so I'll pay for dinner tonight and you pay for the movies tomorrow", or "can you cover me tonight?" or "can you drive, I'm low on gas". We're paying for stuff together. My bank account is actually flipping out and sending me notifications because it's never had that much money in it. Last night we went out to dinner, ordered wine, and just had a nice night out. (Also, random thing - I don't ever get carded anymore. I find that really weird. I would card me.)
Suddenly our relationship has just jumped to this whole other level. It's not that we weren't serious before, but now we're really an adult couple. I don't feel like a kid anymore. I feel like an adult.
I've been decorating the apartment and cleaning and moving furnature around and everything since I moved in. No more batchelor pad for AJ. And he keeps telling me how much he loves it and how much he loves coming home to me.
But on the downside, the place is still so freaking small! I have a feeling a lot more of my stuff is going to have to be put in storage, because it just won't fit. But, the chances are looking pretty good that we'll be able to move into a bigger place soon. Drew and Jenna, who we met doing Superstar, are quickly becoming our best friends :) and we're thinking that moving in together would be a fantastic idea. We've found a place that's just about double what AJ and I are paying in rent now, but with utilities included. That would not only save us money, but give us a lot more space. The pool is also a plus!

Moving Out

I am currently sitting on my bed, looking over all of the stuff in my room. I'm moving in with AJ in the next few weeks (hopefully by Thanksgiving), and we're working hard to try to get his small apartment ready for both of us. I think we have it all worked out. We lucked out because my mom's company is going to give us free long-term storage for some of the furniture that we need to get out of there because it doesn't fit.
So far I've been really good about parting with stuff that I don't need anymore. I threw away three boxes full of stuff last month, and I've got a few more to go through. I think the main problem is going to be all of my clothes and my books. There's only one, small closet in the apartment, so AJ said that we can take the alcove, which already has my vanity sitting in it, and make it into my closet. I'm going to buy a freestanding closet from Walmart and take the wire shelves I have now and make it work. But my books, and the DVDs we have. That's going to take some organizing.
Well, here's what I have to get through by Saturday so that we can move my furniture down. 

Oh boy

So I ended up calling out for my last shift on Saturday.

I was at the Y, and I got a text message from the girl who was supposed to come in after me, saying that she was really sick, and asking if I could stay and cover her shift from 1-6. As I was typing "I'm sorry, I can't, I have to work at the restaurant," I stopped and though about it.
I could either say "no," and make her come in and work when she's not feeling well, go to The Office, work for six or so hours, have no tables because they stuck me in the side section that they really only use if the restaurant is overcrowded, be miserable, be late and have to rush to get down to Superstar, and maybe make $20 for the day, OR I could stay at the Y, help someone out, have an enjoyable day, have enough time to leave work, change, eat, and still get to Superstar before they start, and make a guaranteed $37.

I called the manager at The Office and pretended I had a migraine . I deserve an Oscar for that performance :)

My Last Shift

So tonight is my last shift at The Office, and I couldn't be happier.
Asside from the horrible money and the sheer pointlessness of my being there, it was a social nightmare for me. I've always been shy and slow to make friends, but I've gotten a lot better about it recently. I've made so many new friends working on Jesus Christ Superstar. But the atmosphere at The Office was just different.
It was like being back in high school. I was the loser no one wanted around, and they were all the cool, popular kids. I mean, only one or two people have been outrightly rude to me, and one or two are really nice and I feel like I could have become friends with, but the rest seemed to just tollerate my existence there. They'd only talk to me if they needed something or wanted me to do something. I've lost count of the number of times I've walked into the kitchen in the middle of two people having a conversation and the person talking looked at me and said "I'll tell you later" before walking away.
I don't even know how many of them know I'm leaving; I only told two other servers.
AJ thinks that I should just go down the line tonight telling them all to fuck off. If they act the way they've been acting, I just might.

Also, look at the "script" they hung up in the kitchen for us. This is what they want us to say when we get to a table.

Are they serious? This is the corniest thing I've ever read in my life! And I've done commercials!!!!! You really want me to go up to a table and say that a burger is "fun to bite into"? Or rather than describing how something tastes, to actually say "yum"? Like I'm thinking about it?
This "script" takes two full minutes to say outloud when you include the specials and the descriptions. If my server came up to the table and said this, I'd tune out somewhere around the tuna tower. At the end of the two minutes, I'd just be staring at them with a half glazed, half seriously worried for their sanity look on my face.
When I go up to a table, I introduce myself, ask if they've seen the new menu. If they have, I ask them if they'd like to hear tonight's specials. If not, I give them a quick (QUICK) overview of the things we've added and the things we've kept the same; Tell them that all of our burgers are now certified angus beef, and that all of our meat is now hand cut and everything is no longer frozen, but brough in fresh every day. And then I mention the specials. If they ask how something is or for my recomendation, I'm more than happy to oblige them, but I'm not going to stand there and without them asking, give them a "favorite" of mine from every category on the menu. I also don't lie, and I don't recomend things that I don't eat. I'm not going to "personally recomend" the creole Pasta, because I don't eat shrimp or sausage.
And if you give every server a script to stick to, where's their personality, their individuality? Aren't the customers going to get a little suspicious when they hear the server at the table behind them say the EXACT same thing their server said to them, right down to the supposedly treasuered childhood memory of dunking their grilled cheese sandwich into their tomato soup?

I am going to dance for joy when I leave there tonight.

Well, yesterday I quit The Office. It was tough, because I felt bad, but I'm really glad I did.
Last night as soon as I got in, everyone was rushing around like crazy, because the manager kept saying "You guys are gonna be really busy tonight", "It's gonna be packed tonight". I pulled her aside and told her that I just couldn't keep trying to work three jobs; I'd end up putting myself in the hospital. She said she understood. "I could be a bitch and tell you you can't go because we need you, which we do, but you've got to do what's best for you." She had no idea that I was working two other jobs, she just thought it was one. So she said "The least I ask is that you give us two weeks, so that we can find someone else", and I said "Of course", and then went back to work.

Later on that night, Matt, who had been filling in as manager for a few weeks, pulled me aside and said "So I hear you're leaving us?" And I explained to him that I was getting exhausted, and out of the three jobs, this was the one I was making the least at, so this is the one I had to give up. He told me "Well if you ever need a reference or anything, please let me know, I would be happy to give it to you. You're good people, and I want you to know that." He almost made me cry.

Oh yeah, and last night's "really busy" night, I had five tables and made $25. That's a busy night for them. Didn't make me regret quitting at all.

Decisions, Decisions

So this morning, sitting at the Y, I'm seriously considering just quitting The Office. Claire told me about a week ago that her primary assistant had to quit, so if I wanted to become her primary, she'd be able to give me a lot more hours. The company that runs the personal assistant program is changing, and the new company runs cash model, so she'd also be able to pay me more.
Right now with tips at The Office, I'm making maybe $100 a week. Right now, I get paid a little over $9 an hour with Claire. If I worked with her five days a week, even if only for four hours, that's about $180. So even before my rate went up, I'd be making much more money than I am waitressing.
I was trying to look and see if maybe there were any other restaurants in the area that were hiring, but there really aren't. The closest one is on Rt. 18 in East Brunswick, and that's a 25 minute drive from AJ's, without taking into account the traffic that Rt. 18 is notorious for.
Claire's flexabilty is also a huge plus. I really do need to get out and start going on auditions again, and if I'm constantly worried about my schedule, that won't happen. I can't call the restaurant an hour before my shift starts and say "Hey my audition is running late I can't make it tonight." At least, not more than once. But Claire is so flexable, and she completely understands the difference between part time job and career. She told me she has a few other secondary on call assistants that she can call if I can't work. And we can work the schedule around what we already have planned. That means if I'm going on vacation I don't have to worry about who's taking my shifts. Or when things pop up like Dad wanting to take me to see Mary Badham, I don't have to worry that I may not be able to go. And no working on major holidays (serously, who goes to a restaurant on Thanksgiving anyway?). And it would also mean having a social life agian.

I know I haven't posted in a while

And unfortunately, things at work haven't gotten much better since my last post.

Trying to work three jobs is hard, especially when one is early in the morning, one is during the day, and one is at night. I was working at the Y on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5am - 9am, Saturday at 7am - 1pm, and Sunday at 8:30am to 1pm, working at The Office Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights, going in between 4:30 and 5:30 and getting out between 9 and 11, sometimes even later. And I was trying to fit in hours working with Claire as her assistant during the day.
I ended up oversleeping for my job at the Y two weeks in a row, and then I completely forgot that I said I would cover a shift on a day that I don't normally work and woke up to a message from my boss saying that she got called when I didn't show up and had to go in. I was hysterical. I was so scared I was going to get fired, but when I went in to talk to her, her main concern was my health, not my tardiness. She really is an awesome boss.
So after that, I decided to cut back one night at the office. Monday and Tuesdays are both really slow, so I told my boss I would keep which ever one they needed me for more (they picked Mondays). Then they said they really needed someone to do a lunch shift, and I said that I would take one, because there are only two people per shift so you can make more money. So now I am working Monday night, Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday and Saturday nights.

For the past few weeks, my tips have been shit. Sometimes on Saturdays they can be good, but they haven't been more than $50. Mondays I usually only get one or two tables if I'm working in the back, which I usually am, and I'll end up leaving with $10. It really makes it not worth even coming in. At my last lunch shift, I had four tables, and I left with $27. At one point I was in the bathroom crying, trying to wrap my head around what I was doing wrong. I don't understand why when I'm extremely friendly, helpful, quick, and curtious, I'm getting tipped 11%. I was talking to a friend of mine who used to run a dance studio in the area, and he made me realize that it's not me, it's them. He said blue collar people know what it's like to work, and they'll pay for what they get. Rich snobs, like most of the population of Westfield, have money for a reason; because they don't spend it on anyone but themselves.
And when I think about it, he's right. I'm a good waitress. I'm nice and friendly, I don't forget things, and if something goes wrong or someone has a problem, I do everything I can to fix it. And even with all that, I'm getting tips ranging from 17% all the way down to 8%. All I can think is, it's not even worth it. All the exhaustion I'm putting my body through, all of the time that I'm spending out of the house, the social life that I'm not having... it's just not worth it.

So work has been going well. I've been getting more and more used to the menu and the way everything works, and I've been getting more and more familliar with the people I work with, which is really important to me.

Unfortunatly, I got my first stiff last night. It had to happen sometime. I just wish it wasn't while I'm trying to save up for an apartment.

Two typical Westfield house wives came in at around 5:00 with their two kids. I love it when I get kids at my tables, because after working with kids for so many years, I actually feel more comfortable talking to them then I do to adults. I was very nice, they asked a lot of questions and did a bunch of substitutions, so I was overly helpful, and they were my only table, and one of only three in the whole restaurant, so their service was very quick. Their check came to about $73, so I figured Ok, even if they tip on the pre-tax ammount, that should still be at least $12. Even if their my only table for the night, It'll be worth coming in tonight.

They left me a $5 tip.

That's barely 7%

Even if for some random reason they weren't including the four glasses of wine they drank in the total that they were tipping on, that's still not even a 12% tip.

I bet those bitches have never had to work a day in their lives. 

And they were my only table for the night.

I noticed something odd today

I have to re-train myself to say "You're welcome" when people say thank you to me.
I know this sounds like common curtsy that you get taught when you're three, but I'm actually serious.

When you work at Starbucks, one of the fist things you get told in training is to not say "you're welcome" when the customer says "thank you". Instead you're supposed to say "thank you" back to them, as though you were saying "No, thank you for coming in today". I worked there for two years, and ever since then, it's just become a habit to answer "thank you" with "thank you". Either that or when I realize that I'm about to say "thank you" I just kind of nod and say "mmm hmm".

So, it sounds really weird, but I'm actively practicing saying "you're welcome"

I did it!

You are looking at the first tip I've ever made. Yup, that's right, I'm an official waitress. I got through my last few nights of training, and I passed my test with flying colors (which is good because I was so nervous about it that I actually called in sick when I was supposed to take it yesterday. I don't know what I would have done if I had failed.) I got my first table, a nice older couple, and I told them that they were my first table ever as a waitress, and they were so sweet. They kept telling me what a good job I was doing, and to tell the boss that they said that, and that they never would have known it was my first night if I hadn't told them. They tipped me 25%, but most importantly, they enjoyed their meal and left happy.

I am so excited. Even if for the first few weeks I only get a few tables a night, even if I'm only leaving the restaurant with $10 or $20 at the end of the night, it's just that much more money than I had when I came in. I'm working my way up from the bottom. And I'm gonna make it to the top!

So my second night of training was much better than my first. Christian seemed like he was actually excited about training me, as opposed to Mike, who seemed more like he was annoyed by it. Christian explained what he was doing to me, while Mike just told me to watch him. Christian showed me how to put orders in on the computer, wrote up a fake order and hand me put it in, and even had me put in some of his orders. He also called me his padawan, which made me love him.
My third night I was back with Mike, but since Christian had shown me a lot of stuff I was more comfortable. It was a slow night, so the assistant manager had me sit down Mike and one of the other guys and pretend to serve them. I told them that I still wasn't really good with the menu, and they still insisted on asking me questions about what the food was, which made me not only embarrassed, but annoyed. It seemed like they were doing it on purpose. I also learned that apparently not everything that's on the pos is on the menu, which is weird.
Tonight started out awfully. The manager was back from vacation, and apparently had some critiques for Mike on how he was training me, because all of a sudden he started getting really hard on me. He asked me if I knew all the table numbers and sections, and when I said not really, he said "Well you should by now." Why should I? You mentioned them maybe once on my first day. He took me around and told me what each section started with, and then made me count them out loud, and when I miscounted, he got annoyed and condescending. Then he asked me about the menu, and I said that I still didn't have it memorized. He had me pull out the papers and look them over, and then the manager came past and said "Go over it with her". Apparently in his mind that meant "test her on it", because he took the papers and started testing me. When I couldn't answer any of the questions, he got annoyed, and told me to look over each section separately and he would quiz me on them. He then spent each minute for the next five minutes asking me if I was ready to be tested yet. It got to the point where I was to busy telling myself not to cry to memorize the ingredients in all of the salads. I felt like I was going to throw up, so I excused myself to the bathroom.
After I splashed some water on my face, I told myself that I wasn't going to let a guy who was younger than me make me feel like a little kid again. So I came back out, flash memorized each of the things he was going to quiz me on, and decided to spend the morning at the Y actually memorizing everything.
Once it got busier and we had tables to check on he forgot about quizzing me, so I felt like I could relax. I am determined to remember all of the things he did while training me so that I don't do them to someone I may train. Like when he asked me if I could carry out three plates, and I started to attempt to balance one plate in my hand and one on my forearm like I had seen others do, and he said "Eh, no." And instead of showing me the proper way to do it, he just took them himself. How am I supposed to learn from that?

Tomorrow I am actually going to be taking some tables. I think I'll do fine with that. I have customer service down perfectly, it's just the menu that I'm worried about. We'll see how memorizing tomorrow morning goes.

First Day on the Job

Last night was my first night of training at The Office. It was a lot tougher than I expected. I was only there for 3 and a half hours, but when I left, I went straight to Walgreens and bought Dr. Scholl's pads for my shoes, and IcyHot for my feet and legs. It's been a while since I've worked a job where I'm on my feet the whole time. And the guy training me never stopped moving.
The guy who was training me wasn't so much training me as having me follow him around and explaining a few things on the POS. And I understand that he has to work his shifts and serve his customers and that's his first priority, but maybe when we had a lull in customers, instead of having me fold napkins and roll up silver wear, he could have taken me over to the POS and showed me how it works, how I clock in and out, how I finish up a check and add a tip, instead of just having me watch him do it. I think that's going to be the thing I need the most training on. Just finding all of the different menu items and making sure I put them in correctly. But I eventually got used to the one at Starbucks, so I guess it will just come with doing it over and over.
I also realized about twenty minutes in, after we'd served about three beers, that I need to bring a drink with me. Between how good the food smells, how hot the kitchen gets, and how much running around there is, you start to get thirsty.
As excited as I am to have the job, I'm so used to working in the morning and then having the rest of the day to do whatever. Now at about 3:00, I get that feeling of "Ugh I have to go to work". I hope that once I'm actually working and earning tips that feeling will go away.
Well, I have tonight, and then I get tomorrow and Monday off, and Monday I'll be spending the day at the Renaissance Faire :D That will be the last day for a while that I allow myself to spend money. After that, it's all about saving up for the new apartment.

Another Job, Aother Dollar!

Well, yours truly is no longer an out of work waitress! I got a job at The Office!

I saw a posting on craigslist.com that the restaurant  was hiring, and decided to go apply. There were two things about the job posting that caught my eye, other than the fact that the restaurant was one I was very familiar with and is only five minutes away from my house. One was fact that it specifically said to come in and meet with the manager, as opposed to just filling out an application. The other was the fact that it said experience was preferred, but not necessary. For months now I had been trapped in a vicious cycle of rejection. No restaurant I applied to would hire me without experience, but how was I supposed to get experience if no one would hire me? I figured if I could actually talk to someone instead of just handing them a piece of paper, I could explain to them that working for two years at Starbucks was basically waitressing without walking back and forth to the tables, as well as bartending. I had to take and write down orders for a lot of people, ring them up on the register, make drinks, and heat up and bring food to the counter. I've also been working in customer service jobs my whole life, and I'm an actress. If I'm having a bad day or if the customers are pissing me off, I can just act like everything's fine.
So I went in, filled out an application, then sat down with the assistant manager. She went over my application with me, and I told her all of the experience that I thought was pertinent. Then she went over the hours I had put down that I was available, and I explained to her that I worked at the Y at 5 in the morning, and I needed the afternoons off to go into the city for auditions.
Then the manager came out and we went over my application and the hours I wanted again, and I was being as flexible as I could, saying that I would work over the hours I requested if I had to, and if they needed, I would work Sunday instead of Saturday. And then she said, "Well Corinne... I'm going to offer you a job." I was shocked. "You will?" I said, and she laughed and said "Yes. Take a deep breath." I must have looked like I was about to cry, because sure I felt like it.
The Office offers health benefits, and I eat for free before my shifts. So not only will I be making money, but I'll be saving it too!
So I'm going to start training next weekend, after I get back from Maine. I'm so excited!

Heading Out Into the World

My mother told me that after I graduated college, I could continue to live at home rent free (and also stay on her health insurance and have my dad continue to pay for my car insurance) for up to a year. And that was always the plan, until my boyfriend's apartment go robbed a few weeks ago. He lives on the first floor of a two family house, and the person who broke in came in through the basement and then kicked in his door. After that, not only did we loose a lot of money because of the things that were stolen, but we lost the senese of security we had. I also lost a lot of respect for the landlord, because he didn't even seem to care. So when his lease is up in December he won't be renewing it. We'll be getting a new apartment together.

So now all of a sudden those issues (like finding and paying for insurance and rent and groceries) that seemed so far away are staring me in the face. And I no absolutely nothing about them.

So a little bit about where I am in my life right now. I graduated in May, and have pretty much spent the time since then like I did every summer vacation. I'm still living at home, allthough I spend more time at my boyfriend's apartment than I do at my Mom's.

Since graduating, I've taken on a few more financial responsibilities than I had to before. I am going to be paying my union dues for both the Screen Actors Guild and Actor's Equity, and I'm partially paying for my cell phone bill. The only problem is, I still have the same job that I did while I was in school. I work the front desk at a YMCA. It's a great job, but even though I've picked up more hours, I'm not making nearly enough money. I also earn some money as an on call assistant for an elderly woman, helping her with her errands, cleaning up around her house, things like that. But that as well, is not nearly enough to meet the bills. I'm hoping that if I can get another job (or get cast in a show or something), that can become spending money.

This blog will follow me as I get ready to make it on my own.