Casual Dining Continues to Suffer

I walked into work a couple of weeks ago and quickly learned that we would be getting a lot of new salads and sandwiches, mainly to attract a lunch crowd. The new items looked great and tasted good as well- and then the news came. We would be featuring these new additions for the cheap price of $5 for a limited time.

While this is a great marketing technique, it is putting a hole in my pocket. Bills are now cut in half, which means my tips decline by a lot. Seriously though, if someone wants a $5 meal, don't they usually go to McDonald's or Panera?

I think that it is a waste of time and work for the servers to be serving someone who is eating for so cheap. Don't get me wrong, everyone should be able to enjoy the luxury of sit-down dining. Filling up my four-top booth for an hour with the bill being only $35 is a waste and unfair to me.

Until this limited time offer expires, I will continue to be hurting for cash. I am optimistic that when it ends, people will come back, despite the increase in prices on the food that they have come to enjoy.

The Real World

Sometimes it is hard to believe that it is the year 2009. I remember when I used to think that the year 2000 seemed a long way into the future. I knew that the year 2005 was going to be a big one because I would be graduating high school. Now it is finally 2009- the year I will be graduating college. Gasp.

It used to feel as if my college graduation was centuries away. The past four years of college went by so much faster than high school. Surprisingly, I did much better in college than I did in high school. I have maintained a 3.0 GPA or better while working five days a week as well as holding an internship at a very popular Boston radio station. I have put in a lot of work during these years, and now I can't help but wonder about whether or not the hard work will be worth it.

In today's economy, it is going to be very hard for the college graduates of 2009 to find a job out of school. I love my internship but I do not see myself working for free past the end of the summer. In the meantime, I will have to keep my hopes high that I will have a "real job" by the fall. The search will be long and frustrating, but I am confident that my hard work will pay off.

Home Sweet Home

When I was sixteen, I used to count down the number of days until my 18th birthday on a dry erase board. My excitement grew whenever I erased an old number and replaced it with a new one, even when the total was 572 days. I envisioned moving trucks, decorating my own place, and buying brand new furniture.

Fast forward to the present. I am 21 and still reside at my dads house. Although my dad is nowhere near strict and the only rule he gives is for me to do my own laundry, I still want to be out on my own. The thought of coming home from a long day of work and not having to answer any pointless questions puts a smile on my face. I'd like to have friends over to socialize over bottles of wine and not have to worry about disturbing anyone else.

But then again, I am only 21. I still need to graduate and find a real job. I have decided that the time to move out will come when a considerable amount of my credit card debt is paid off and when I am secure in a post-graduate job. Until then, I will continue to fantasize about the moving trucks, decorating, and new furniture.

A Daily Pleasure

In the midst of a recession, there are simple pleasures than can keep us on track. It may be something as simple as cooking dinner with friends, going for a jog around a lake, or sitting down on a Sunday morning with your favorite newspaper. So what happens when your favorite newspaper has a very high chance of being shut down? This is likely to happen to people in the Boston area who enjoying reading The Boston Globe.

The Boston Globe has brought happiness to many people since 1872. In today's generation, it is true that many of the people my age turn to the internet instead of a newspaper to get information. However, for many people, the internet cannot replace a newspaper because it is something that brings them joy daily and they truly enjoy reading it. It is a simple pleasure that is cheap and informative.

So why would The Boston Globe be at risk for shutting down? The Boston Globe is owned by The New York Times, and The New York Times has said that it is likely The Boston Globe will be shut down if the unions do not agree on cutting costs. This would mean reducing employees pay and retiree benefits. So in the meantime, the Boston area residents will have to make the most out of their daily paper, while keeping in mind that it may not be around for much longer.

Potholes and Lowell

One late afternoon in December, I was driving home from school at UMass Lowell after taking a tough final. I was feeling a bit relieved now that the final was over, and winter break was getting closer. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise and a deep dip in the road. My steering wheel shifted to one side as I felt my car do the same. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what had just happened. I was no stranger to getting a flat tire due to a pothole in the streets of Lowell.

I was becoming all too familiar to this scene. In the past year and a half, I have gone through four tires as a result to potholes in Lowell. I live in Wilmington, which means I travel through Billerica and Chelmsford before entering Lowell. I find it a bit odd that all of my potholes have occurred in Lowell.

Michelle Forester was a recent victim of a pothole, and describes the incident, saying, “Thank goodness for my AAA card. I hit a pothole around midnight. How was I supposed to see this pothole in the middle of the road when it was so dark out?”

Forester drives regularly to Lowell from Wilmington to her boyfriend's home in Lowell. Her incident resulted in a flat tire. This happened to her when it was late at night, and no one was really around.

“The majority of my customers have flat tires because of potholes. I have also seen many rims ruined because of this. Also, realignments are sometimes necessary after the car has hit the pothole. Realignments can be anywhere from $60 to $100. A new tire can cost as much as $200," says Jeff DiBona, an employee at a tire shop in Lowell.

The potholes in Lowell have kept mechanics and AAA businesses booming. It seems as if the potholes in Lowell are the worst they have ever been.

This picture shows how pricey new tires can get. Spending $100 for a tire, for some cars, is considered cheap. Tires can become more expensive because the tires on a car may no longer be made, and special tires will have to be ordered. Potholes have made people become more aware when driving. Eyes should always on the road, searching for potholes to avoid.

Jenna DaSilva has been lucky enough to avoid the potholes in Lowell. DaSilva is careful about avoiding potholes, saying, “I just keep my eyes on the road. I know how bad the streets are in Lowell with potholes, so I learned to be a lot more careful when driving to school.”

However, it would be nice if the city of Lowell started to work with the problems of potholes a bit more. Something as simple as a sign warning drivers or cones standing up where the pothole is would be beneficial to everyone. The cost of attending school costs enough. Students do not need any additional costs to buy new tires because of the potholes the city of Lowell has yet to resolve.

So Much To Do, So Little Time and Money

After I hung up the phone with the mechanic this morning, I breathed a sigh of relief. My car is only going to be $360 to repair. I was relieved- this price was about half of what I had anticipated it would be. Then I realized that $360 is still a lot of money to pay!

Life comes with a lot of bumps in the road. Things happen, and we have to spend money that we didn't plan on spending. Parking tickets, car repairs, and school bills are just some of the things that have happened to me recently. I should be prepared for these things when they do happen, but with business being so slow, it seems impossible to save as much as I should be saving. 

With all of these unexpected, not so great surprises, I turn my thoughts to something more positive: graduation. Hopefully sooner rather than later, I will have a real job with a stable paycheck. I know that all of this hard work will pay off eventually, and until then I just need to roll with the punches. Shopping is put on hold for now, at least for a couple of weeks. I'm sure that the removal of my big, fat, red rejection sticker will be more satisfying than a new pair of heels. 

Ut oh...could I possibly be growing up?