Acalanes High School - Aklan Yearbook (Lafayette, CA)

The Buck Starts Here To many, the American econ- omy is a confusing and abstract con- cept. Students be- lieved that the economy should be left to the gove rn- ment; they weren ' t particularly involved as of yet. However, what they don ' t realize is that this generation is subjected to the costs of inflation more and more each day. Rising costs of a new pair of skis, tuition and boarding for college, or even just a pizza on Friday night forced students to feel the pinch themselves. Of course there is nothing to do about the country ' s economy, but there are solutions to help meet the elevated costs of today. More and more, students are turning to jobs. Students had different ways of making money. Jobs ranged from busing tables in restau- rants to babysitting, depend- ing on the student ' s time availability. " I work afternoons at the Mobil station in Lafay- ette, " Pete Linn said. " The hours are convenient — my evenings are free for doing homework and any other ac- tivities, and the money ' s good. " Although some de- cided to carry regular work hours, others got odd-jobs to satisfy their current needs. Bar- bara Skidmore held four housecleaning jobs on week- days. She commented, " Do- mestic jobs like housecleaning and babysitting are great when you don ' t want to commit yourself totally. You can basi- cally work the hours you want, especially when you really need the money. " Holding a job was one thing, but how did one go about get- ting one? Sometimes people just stumbled over an opportu- nity out of luck. Nicola Bernard mentioned, " I was chatting with a woman last year and I told her that I needed a job. She just happened to manage a ca- tering service and offered me a job on the spot. I guess I was pretty lucky to get the job. " Pete had to go through a more difficult process. " I went down to the station and asked for an application, filled it out and waited for them to call me back. It was kind of nerve- wracking. " The turmoil of getting a job eventually had benefits to the worker. Along with earning money, there were friendships and responsibilities gained. Nicola commented, " Working can be a positive experience in more ways than one. There are always all sorts of opportuni- ties to learn things, meet peo- ple and make a lot of money. " Smile and say . . . Surrounded by excited little people, Chuck E. Cheese (Rob Baggot) greets his young admirers with friendly handshakes. With an array of electronic games and puppet figures. The Fun Time Pizza Factory in the Willows Shopping Center catered to kids. Hand delivery. Sam Sing r Hy every morning to deliver the Contra Costa Times. Rather than get a regular part-time job after school, some students took advantage of early morning hours to earn a little money and keep their afternoons and evenings free. Hagit Dascal ' 84 Dave Dautel ' 82 Mike Dautel ' 84 Ian Davis ' 84 Jennifer Davis ' 82 Kathy Davis ' 82 Mike Davis ' 83 Terri Davis ' 83 Blaine Deal ' 83 Alan Dearborn ' 82 John Dearborn ' 83 Katie DeCarbonel ' 82 Lisa Del Beccaro ' 83 Julie Denn ' 84 141 LOWER CLASS