Summer Bummer

This is the most boring summer of my life. Ever. I've been trying to find a job, but it's really hard around here. Originally, I wanted to work at a fastfood restaurant like McDonald's or KFC, but they only accept summer job applicants who are 18 and above. Unfortunately, I'm only sixteen, so getting a job at McDonald's is really an impossibility. Um, hello? It's called a summer job so students below 18 could get a chance to work there too. Anyway, before I found out about their policy, pathetic as it may sound, I was pretty excited about working there. I mean, who knows? I might actually learn a lot, and meet some new friends--a cute guy included. Aside from my yearly garage sales with my friends, I've never actually earned any money out of my own sweat and blood--metaphorically speaking.

Then, my mother saw this banner hung on the gates of a university. It said that this company was looking for high school or college students--of any age--to come work for them. You could call this number to inquire and so forth.

I practically jumped up and down on the couch, sort of like Tom Cruise on Oprah's show. I called the number, and asked about the job. A really mean sounding receptionist told me that they accepted applicants below eighteen, but they didn't receive phone inquiries so I had to come to their office and ask about the job. She told me the name of the building. I had no idea where it was, so I asked for directions. She answered my question in a voice that clearly said, "Which planet are you from, weirdo?" Before I hung up, I asked what type of job they were going to give me. She repeated for the millionth time that they didn't receive phone inquiries. Basically, she refused to tell me, and that was when I hung up.

You've got to be kidding me. Did she--the receptionist from hell--expect me to come to some building alone, not knowing what was going to happen to me when I got there? I don't think so. I mean, I've read Reader's Digest. They feature stories wherein unsuspecting girls go to someplace expecting to get jobs, then they get shipped to Cambodia or Thailand or wherever to become prostitutes in, like, every issue.

So, I guess my fate is sealed for the summer. I'm going to be stuck at home watching reruns of One Tree Hill and Seinfeld, which wouldn't be so bad if my crazy grandmother wasn't around. Okay, there's one thing I have to be thankful for though. We finally have DSL, so that's another activity to indulge in.

And I did learn one thing from this experience. Never trust banners asking teenage girls to come work for this company they know nothing about--even ones posted on universities.