wave perms?!?

My hair is pretty dead straight except for an awkward wave here and there when is dries on my shoulder. This was an envied quality when i was growing up and everyone was straightening their hair for hours in the morning but now i want beachy waves and my thin hair can't hold a curl for even an hour. I've decided to explore the idea of a wave perm... scary but here is what I have learnt so far:

Tips #1: Call a salon and ask if you can book a free consultation before you book the appointment to make sure that your hair can handle a perm
Tip #2: Condition - because perming dries out your hair you want to make sure you have used a moisturizing conditioner BEFORE you even get the perm done- it also is a good idea not to have died hair
Tip #3: Because a perm can be anywhere from loose waves to tight curls you will want to bring in a photo of your dream curls into your stylist so they can know what direction you want.
Tip #4: and this i learnt from Legally Blonde but - Dont shower for at least 24hours AFTER your perm to make sure it has time to set.

but how to decide what i want!?

So I wrote this post and was super excited about having curly hair! but I went for my consultation the other day and Marc Anthony (figured i'd go somewhere fancy so i got the best service for the free consultation) and she said NO NO NO dont do just learn how to dry your hair curly type of stuff... My hair doesn't hold any curls but I've decided against the perm. Now if only my hair didn't get super greasy after 8hours of not washing... Any advice there?