Sharon did a cool scrollie thing on her blog about all her past jobs, and then was kind enough to send me the script for how to make a scroll box. It’s been one of those weekends where time was of the essence and I simply ran out of it, so for the moment I’m just going to do another post, minus the scrollie thing. Be sure to stop by and send Sharon some love.
These are the jobs i've had during my lifetime, excluding the weekend face painting, and ummm...that one incident i'd rather not talk about.
I’ve also ranked the impact these jobs have had on my life and the excitement level they provided on a scale of 1 to 5. 5 having the most impact.
My very first job was at a mall. I worked in a department store and sold men’s clothing.
This involved selling shirts, neck ties and underwear and measuring hemlines for the alterations department. Minimum wage was $3.25, we had manual cash registers and had to hand write sales tickets before putting the order into a machine that resembled an old organ grinder minus the monkey that danced around and collected tips. I learned that very few men can coordinate and many are colorblind.
Impact and Excitement: 2
During the summer of my first year in college, I worked at another department store. This time in the lamp department. We progressed to automatic cash registers only I didn’t get to use mine very often on account of the electronics department was next door, which drew in customers much quicker than lampshades. I tried my best to divert attention to myself and the dimmer switches by attempting to ploy shoppers with humor and wit. Unfortunately the lampshade on the head thing had already been done before, and the Solid Gold dancers were playing on all 32 color televisions.
I learned to get out of the way of stampeding men vying to watch women in little sparkly outfits.
Impact and Excitement: 1
Next came the waitress and bartending job while in college. It paid $2.10 and hour plus tips, and the tips were pretty good considering it was a college campus bar in a college town, in a dry county to say the least. I learned that a person can cure themselves of ever eating ranch dressing after making it by the bucketfuls. Gallon of buttermilk, gallon of mayo,…spices,…day after day URP! I also learned a lot of cool drinking games, and that most people look really stupid when they’re drunk.
Impact and Excitement: 3
When the food and gluttony business became more than I could stomach I got myself certified to teach various fitness classes and got a job at a health club. I taught men’s and women’s aerobics, water aerobics and weight training. My connections with the college led to more teaching, and eventually I became the aerobics instructor for the University’s football, baseball and tennis teams, as well as for the local high school football team. This was always fun, because there was never a shortage of laughter and good music with a group of college athletes doing aerobics. I learned that too much jumping on inappropriate surfaces causes shin splints and a great deal of pain to an instructor who is teaching far too many classes a week.
Impact and Excitement: 3
After graduation, I moved to Atlanta under the employment of the Atlanta Sports Medicine Clinic. There I worked in post operative rehabilitation as a technician to a Physical Therapist. Patients were athletes, of both the professional and weekend variety and had suffered sport related injuries or surgery. I enjoyed this job because at the time, this particular facility was cutting edge and taught me a lot about the medical profession. I got to use the skills I learned in college and oddly enough…helped me to decide that I didn’t want to continue in this field at all!
Impact and Excitement:4
Next stop. New York City and a job as an International Flight Attendant. I would be inclined to say that half of who I am today as a person is a direct result of this job. I took the opportunity to use my employee flight privileges and saw the world. I am a firm believer that travel should be a requirement of all educational programs, even in high school. Nothing opens your eyes quite like seeing other peoples, cultures and traditions, and to see your own country through other's eyes. I will never forget some of the sights and people I met along the way…like the little homeless children sleeping on the streets of Brazil, or the hordes of people begging for food in Haiti. I saw the Berlin wall come down and keep a piece of it on my mantle to this day. Not to mention that living in New York City is a learning experience in itself. You know the old cliché, "if you can make it there you'll make it anywhere"! So true...so true.
Impact and excitement: 5
Marriage and pregnancy helped me to end my flight career. I looked for a job on the ground and found it at Nike’s European distribution center. I didn’t speak Dutch at the time, but knew that if I could just get in the door they would see that I was American, and capable of being a viable employee, in an American company. I went to my interview with an English-Dutch dictionary, and a boatload of determination. I got the job and worked there for 5 years in various rolls starting with picking shoe orders and ending in Human Resources. I can’t begin to tell you everything I learned working there, but it was a fabulous company with fabulous benefits and growth opportunities. I learned light years worth of professional knowledge, and gained invaluable skills in leadership and business. I rank it right up there with one of the best careers I’ve ever had.
Impact and Excitement: 5
With the end of my marriage, I left Europe and did what most freshly divorced, single mommies do…I ran home to Mommy and Daddy. Being back in the States offered a whole new world of job opportunities because as luck would have it… I speak English, and there seems to be a demand for that here. I found my current job, and work in the marketing and sales department for a large distribution company as a product rep. I love my job, it pays well, and offers a great deal of flexibility for the working mother type.
Impact and Excitement: 3
Most importantly, this list wouldn't be complete without listing the most important job I have. I manage to do it full time on top of my full time job, and always work weekends and nights, even when I’m sick. I’m a Mom first and foremost. Responsibilities include, cooking, nursing, teaching, counseling, judge, jury, law enforcement, janitorial services, volunteering, friend, listener, chauffeur, banker, Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, librarian, story teller, handyman, fixer of broken toys, dryer of tears, laundry expert, stain remover, financial advisor, room mother, party planner, fashion coordinator….the list goes on and on. I’ve learned there’s nothing more important than your own child’s happiness and safety, and there’s nothing better than seeing my child’s sweet sleeping face each night as I go to tuck him in. My heart melts when I see him hurt or struggling, and I know I’d walk the ends of the earth to protect him. From the moment I met him, as a wrinkly pointed head little raison, my whole world changed. My life has purpose, meaning and magnitude.
Impact and Excitement: 10
