1. Find stores that carry bait. Red worms will often do in a pinch— not a staple part of the diet, but— you know how sometimes you’ll keep a can of a soup you hate, in case you are starving when all the stores are closed. And some of these places even carry crickets.

2. Check with the science teachers at your school; some of them will keep herps, or know who does in the community. In the worst case, it’s possible they may be willing to accept a donation of a class pet; in the best case, having a teacher ask about Sherry the Tokay (sorry) will help keep the lizard in your child’s regard.

Interesting assumptions were made about menial jobs; as though scooping manure would be degrading, without merit and provide a minimal wage.

Cleaning up after cows was my primary duty, a healthy bovine excretes about 100 pounds of waste each day. It didn’t take long to become efficient so I used the extra time for something other than goofing off or persuing “hobby projects.” Instead, I was assisting veterinarians working with the cows, maintaining/repairing a wide variety of equipment and working along side the world’s best large animal researchers and their staffs. The job was with the USDA Agricultural Research Center and it paid quite well. I had stellar letters of recommendation from world renowned scientists along with some great contacts in the life sciences field.

Any job can be menial if you make it menial. I transformed mine into a career.

This attitude of disposable pets is just wrong. People need to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.

My question would be this: Would the student or his parents be willing to pay $1000 – $2000 out of pocket for their son to do his projects?

The reason I ask is that the loss of his potential earnings results in an equivalent amount of debt, which will accrue interest until he can pay off his loan. Assuming that the projects won’t earn him any money, he’s effectively borrowing money for the free time to do them. If the money had to be paid now rather than paid back in some undefined future time, I suspect that would change the equation. I doubt many PF blog readers would advocate the “have fun now and worry about the money later” strategy.

If the projects are worth the loss of income, then go for it. If not, then get a job and work on the projects on the side.

One of my favorite quotes:
“If it’s true that dogs don’t go to heaven, when I die, I want to go where they went”

Furthermore, I think the example of shovelling manure is a bit ridiculous. That would likely be a duty of someone working on a farm, in which case there are many other employable skills as well — like animal care, planting, harvesting, etc. Many of my summer jobs involved menial tasks which I downplayed on my resume, but they also involved employable skills/tasks like customer service, attention to detail, teamwork and money-management that I was proud to include on my resume. I agree with the other commenters — Working with people in a variety of situations is good experience regardless.

Furthermore, I don’t understand why this is an either/or situation for Deb’s son. Most people are perfectly capable of managing jobs AND projects. (It’s not like he’s going to be working 70-80 hour weeks). In fact, doing both is great practice for maintaining a work-life balance later on as hobbies are a great source of stress relief and creativity.

I have a tough one.

We (me + wife) have been using Verizon’s family plan for the past 4 years. We never exceed free minutes, do not text at all, are not after switching to latest models of phones and are generally happy with our plan (costs us $60 per month for two lines).

I am interested in switching to iPhone, only if it makes sense. Not because I am a globe-trotting high flyer, but because I think I am missing out on full applicability of Web 2.0 (Twitter, FB, Google etc) by not being able to get online whenever I want (although I do spend most of my awake time near a laptop).

The major factor is cost. We recently renewed our 2 year contract on primary line and it will expire in 2011. My line is on month to month plan. If we both were to switch to ATT plan (so that I can get that iPhone), it would cost us $129.99 per month (thats the cheapest family share plan at ATT). But that will entail a $160 penalty from Verizon for early termination.

If only I were to terminate my month-to-month Verizon plan and switch to ATT, my wife would end up paying $50 per month for her Verizon and I would pay $69.99 per month for ATT.

Does it make sense
-to switch to iPhone (does it really change the way one lives?)
-to opt for the second choice?

Your general thoughts on iPhone applicability will be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Pankaj

Ask for a separate check when ordering. Polite and discreet!

Hopefully that will give you some releif in feeling the social pull to participate. In some offices these times can be a key time to sit with the bosses in a more relaxed atmosphere and you can learn about new projects etc. So dont completely dismiss them, just budget around the opportunity. You might also make a suggestion for a lower cost restaurant for the group to try.

Good luck!

Many need-based scholarships deduct whatever you earn from your scholarship. If the kid qualifies for need based financial aid, it might be worth spending the extra time applying to other scholarships, or making himself a more attractive scholarship candidate through academic extracurricular activities than getting a job.

But then this comes from someone who barely worked at all whilst in education – exactly 32 weeks of employment throughout high school and college. I managed as well or better financiall than my siblings who worked through the entire experience.