On December 9, 2009, Hank Green, of the Vlogbrothers, announced VidCon, the world's first ever community-based online video conference. VidCon will take place from July 9th to July 11th and it should prove very, very fun. For those of us able to go. A dilemma of mine has existed since, oh, about the time that Hank introduced VidCon to us. My dilemma is this: Money. Like many other would-be-VidCon-ers, I lack the funding to be able to hop a plane from Ohio, probably layover in IL and then fly to Los Angeles, pay for the hotel, Con fees and food.
But recently, opportunity struck. Kinda. I was offered the chance to live in Florida for the summer and work in food service in St. Augustine. Okay, let me backtrack a little bit...
I have never worked in food service. Yes, I'm in college and I have never worked in food service. Mind-blowing, I know.
My first actual job, I worked at a movie theater. It was a great job because it was work I actually enjoyed. Also, I mean, come on, free movies. I am a movie fiend. Closest I got to food service was buttering popcorn. No big deal.
My second job, I was a lifeguard. No food there.
Third job, I worked for a computer consultant agency on campus. If students had issues with their computer's software or internet connection, I was called. No food.
Fourth job, lifeguard at a new location. Again, no food.
Now, back to Florida. Up to this point, as you may have well deduced, I tended to steer clear of food service. Not because I was worried about sanitation like my friend Laura and not because I didn't see the point in tips like my friend Paul. I guess, now that I think about it, I never really had a reason not to go into food service. I mean, other than the fact that nearly everyone I knew who worked in food, hated it. This bleak insight into the food industry wasn't really possible motivation to try my hand in food service. Except for now.
Now, if I do move to Florida, it will be a nice, drastic, change of scenery for me. I've been in Ohio far too long. That being said, St. Augustine is a tourist location, meaning that I could be making $200.00-$300.00 some nights, easy. That is another great perk. Plus, I mean, it's Florida. Who wouldn't want to live in Florida for a few months?
Aside from a change of scenery, the money to be made, and my new motivation to work in food service, it opens up all sorts of doors for VidCon.
I'd be in FL from mid-April to mid-August which gives me almost four months of work. A plane ticket from FL to CA plus a hotel stay for a week adds up to about $900.00 plus food. And if you don't know about how I work with costs, I always aim very, very high. If I were to get a VidCon hotel for only the three nights that the conference is going on instead of six nights like I had calculated for, that would nearly cut the $900.00 in half. I just liked to overestimate because, I mean, hey, it's California. I'll probably want to fly a few thousand miles and stay more than three days.
So, back to my math. Even if I make $50.00 a night, I'll easily pay for VidCon in a little over a week. What do you think? Sound promising? I mean, sure, I'd pay my rent and buy food while living in FL but I wanted to type it out and get a feel for the possibility of it all. Let's just hope I'll be able to work in Florida this summer!
BRGDS.
