Even The Worst Summer Job Is A Job

Dear Tazi:

I would like a summer job but I can’t seem to get hired anywhere doing anything cool. I applied at a local amusement park, but you have to be 18 to operate the rides (I am only 16). They offered me a job selling food, but that just isn't what I wanted. How can you meet girls when you look like a tool in a paper hat?

I applied for a job as a lifeguard, but the local beaches didn't have too many open spots and the local pool wasn't hiring. I considered applying at the country clubs but my friend who works there told me you are not allowed to socialize with the members, so there would be no way to meet girls that way.

I do not want to go back to mowing lawns for $9.00 an hour like I did last summer, and I am not going to work as a bag boy or a cashier – I want a job that puts me outside in the sun and where I can relax and meet people, not be rushed and worrying that I packed someone’s groceries the wrong way.

My father has told me if I don’t get a summer job soon he will put me to work as a sub-contractor in his painting business, and that is the last thing I want to do! Working for my Dad would be a total nightmare! Can you think of anything that I might be missing in my job search? I want a job that is cool, outdoors, and where I can meet girls.

Signed,

Joe Cool

Dear Joe Cool:

If you were over the age of 18 I would suggest male gigolo, since you seem to want to get paid to hang out and flirt with women rather than do any kind of work. While you think it will be a nightmare, working for your father may be the best thing that could happen to you. Your father loves you and wants to see you succeed in life, which is a lot more than what the local carnival manager cares for you. Your father will work with you to instill a better work ethic, and he will train you in an in demand vocational skill, one that will see you employed for many years to come – at least until you finish your education, so you won’t end up asking people if they would “like fries with that”!

You are 16 years old, so I understand that your priorities are not the same as your parents. Here is an important lesson for you: summer romances rarely last; come September life goes on and the summer love that happened so fast (summer lovin’, had me a blast…) comes to an end. Work skills are something you will have with you for all of your life. While you will have plenty of opportunities to meet girls, job opportunities are not so plentiful. I suggest you take whatever job you are offered – even if it is uncool – to earn yourself some money. No matter how much you may like a girl, you can’t ask her on a date if you have no way to pay for it.

Snuggles,

Tazi

 Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.