Sharing season ticket fee with friends

Second week money saving challenge: Sharing my season ticket fee with my friends.

I thought swimming will always be an impossible mission for me. Even a rock swam better than I did a year earlier. I love water especially in summertime. Though I’ve never been courageous enough to get out from the paddling-pool, till the previous summer, when my friends asked me to join them for a swimming course. It took me about two weeks to swim like a good beginner. It was great fun, however I cannot describe it as a budget friendly hobby. Hence this year we decided to look up for a cheaper swimming facility and try it out. We purchased a monthly season ticket and shared the fee between the four of us. 

Slowly, slowly...

Green as the fresh spring grass

Well, changing the swimming facility turned out to be a bad idea. We were swimming about a half an hour when my friends giggled at me for my hair turned greenish (by the way prior to this I had dyed-blonde hair). It didn’t bother me for I thought that the pool’s leds illuminated my hair and gave a greenish colour, so I enjoyed the great ambiance for another half an hour. Entering the dressing-room a huge mirror helped me to realise that the green colour persisted on my once-blonde hair and it wasn’t the pool leds’ fault. We were shocked, even my cheerful friends stopped giggling. In that moment the situation wasn’t funny at all. I tried to wash it out of my hair but nothing helped me to get rid of the green - who knows what- from my hair. My hair became green as the fresh spring grass and I couldn’t do anything about it. 

Aahh!!!....My hair

After a few hysterical minutes one of my friends took the strength to face the facility manager in order to ask our money back along with the value of the hair treatment that I’ve received the next day. We’ve also asked about the products they use for keeping the pool water clean. They told us that it is some kind of anti-algae treatment which getting in reaction with copper might turn blonde hair to green. But the question was: who was responsible for the copper in the pool water and if they knew it could get in reaction with that substance, why didn’t they use something else instead? Hopefully they have solved the problem by now, or at least they put a big sign on the door that says: ‘Keep Away from the Pool if you're Dyed Blonde’

The whole conversation was quite unpleasant but at the end everything turned out well. We got our money back and my hair looks much better now.

My husband’s first reaction was hilarious: “Beware of the hungry cows, they might graze your hair.” - quite a sympathiser actually …

As for a conclusion:

My second frugal week doesn’t turned out the way I planned. Bad luck. Even though I’ve received a new haircut along with a treatment and we swam an hour for free, the experience was quite shocking and distressing which I do not want to repeat again.

I had to realize that the famous proverb says the truth “I’m not rich enough to buy cheap thing”. I know that it sounds like I’m writing against the thrifty mentality but sometimes we should really look twice before choosing a cheap service or product. In my case the facility manager was a good guy for acknowledging the severity of the situation and recouped me for this awkward case. But who knows what other cases might occur that cannot be recompensed with money, like one’s health.

Summer jobs can be Fun

Standing on the threshold of the summer most of you might have thought about checking in for a great job filled with adventure. Yes, summer jobs can be fun and adventurous. I remember when I was a kid (not that I’m old now) I could hardly wait the school to be over  to join my friends for a job filled with adventures. Let me write you down a few facts which I consider to be useful to see summer jobs as less hazardous but exciting activity, the exploration of unknown territory of fun.

Exploring the land of sunshine

In my point of view the Greek island is the land of sunshine. Fancy working in the sun? If yes, follow the road paved with yellow bricks.
In Greece most of the summer jobs are tourist related services so don’t worry if you aren't in the possession of the Greek language. You have a great advantage if you are a native English speaker or have good communication skills. But of course YOU already have this advantage (because you can actually read my blog :) ). There are many potential working places like: car rental offices, taverns  travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, and beach. Swimming like a dolphin? Have big muscles like David Hasselhoff (for girls Pamela Anderson)? Become a lifeguard who patrols the beaches of Greece. These have a lots of benefit like getting a sun kissed skin, meet new friends after pulling them out from the shark’s sharp teeth. Ok, i was just joking, there are no sharks in Greece :).  

Start looking for vacant jobs

Find job aggregator agencies in your town, join Greek forums (hopefully they will chat in English) or a newspaper would do either. Your search might be easier if you could ask your friends’ help, they might even join you for a great seasonal job. 
 

Want more excitement?

You might even go to one of the islands for a 2 week trial period and start searching for ‘become a member of our staff ’ signs on restaurants, taverns, hotels, clubs etc. If you get tired of searching the suitable job go to the beach to have a nice bath and convince your friends to join you in scuba diving or to rent a paddle boat.

Always make sure to have enough money to feel safe. Be prepared if something goes wrong you can go home any time.

Meet your prospective employer

If you have chosen to visit Greece, here are a few tips to find the suitable employer and workplace.
Visit a few of your targeted workplace and set up a good relationship with the owner and the staff. They might give you some hints about bars, restaurants hiring for seasonal jobs.
Take the advantage of looking up for a job in person. You can feel more secure if you see whom you work for and where.

Start working

Working is never easy but a beautiful environment can highly influence your desire to work. Try to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the whole general ambiance of the place.

Have you worked in Greece before? Are you planning to undertake a seasonal job in Greece?
Share your ideas and experience that you have encountered with.

(Image Source Digmlm.com)