Not So Wordless Wednesday IV

I received the “My 3s” meme from my cousin in an email the other day, and as she almost never sends me an email I went ahead and typed in my responses and sent it back to her. One of the questions asks for three jobs you’ve had in your life. Narrowing it down to three was difficult. I’ve had many jobs over the past 22 years, so I had to do some thinking as to which of them were worth mentioning.

It took over five minutes to decide.

I’d been a “salad bar susie” as a teenager, and that was my first job, but the fact that I could remember which food bin went where in the bar, and I came home stinking of grease every night really doesn’t matter. I worked for the local credit bureau right before I turned 20, and I had to deal with people who had been denied credit and came in screaming at us to fix it. I didn’t last long there, because I worked in an environment devoid of a sense of humor or whimsy, and I was tired of receiving blank stares when I spoke. My very last job prior to motherhood was as a receptionist at the local SPCA, and although it was heart wrenching and stressful, almost everyone knows this about me, so I moved on.

I decided to choose my first long term job in NC, my shortest job in NC, and the job I held the longest here.

The first job I held for any length of time here was programming cell phones for a smaller cellular phone company on the eastern side of the state. It was a cube farm, but I met a lot of nice people there. I made one of the best friends in my life there, actually, and while we haven’t laid eyes on each other in about 5 years, simply knowing she’s in my life is a huge comfort. My Diva. I was working for them when my life fell apart at the seams, and the support I received from my boss and my coworkers was astounding. Plus, in that job for the first time in my life I stood up to someone I worked with, let them know something they had done to me was Not Cool, and ended up making them cry. It was the first time I realized that bullies are fragile.

The second job I listed in my meme was gained almost a year after I moved back to the central part of the state. I saw an ad in the paper that the company who contracts to read the gas meters for the local gas company was seeking meter readers, and I applied. My interview went well, and when they asked me if I could drive a stick shift because 99% of the trucks were manual transmission I fibbed and said yes. They hired me on the spot on a Friday with directions to start work on Monday. So I went home and had the ex teach me to drive stick over the course of two days. It was easy. I loved my little meter reading truck. It was a Tacoma, and I would have a blast every time I drove around on my shift. I still prefer a manual transmission to an automatic. I walked a lot for that job, and one day I carried a pedometer and realized I had done 12 miles. I had to carry pepper spray to deal with aggressive dogs (and potentially nefarious male homeowners), but I met a lot of nice dogs and a lot of nice people. I never had to use the spray. I can still remember the time I was walking up a driveway toward a 6 foot wooden privacy gate and a small, black and white Border Collie mix kept rising 2 feet above the fence, barking, disappearing, and rising again. I got to the fence, stood on my toes and looked over, and realized he was jumping on a trampoline. My health tanked mysteriously, and I ended up having to leave. I dropped 28 pounds in a couple of months, ended up in the hospital for dehydration, and after an upper and lower GI it was discovered that I had a colon polyp that needed removal. There was no explanation for the pain and weight loss, but I know in my heart that my body was finally purging the terror of losing my step-mother-in-law violently.

The last job I chose for the meme gave me lifelong friends, personal heartbreak, a deep and abiding loathing for the corporate shenanigans that can occur when those in charge see dollars instead of employees, and a hatred for the smell of brewing espresso. After my ex and I moved to a tiny town out in the boonies I needed to find a job. There was nothing out there. I registered with Manpower and discovered that my typing speed and data entry skills were exceptional for someone who uses three fingers to type, but it got me nowhere. I opened the paper one day and found a listing for an assistant manager in a large bookstore chain that was opening a location about 18 miles away, in the center of Town. I applied online and sent a resume and cover letter via regular mail. Books I could do. I had been a key holder for a smaller chain up in NJ for over 2 years, and I had loved that job. I loved recommending books to customers and having them return to thank me. I adored having someone ask me for something they thought was hard to find and being able to walk to a shelf, pull it out, and hand it to them. One of my pipe dreams as a teenager had been to open a used bookstore and do that all day, every day. After I applied I received a phone call from the woman who was going to be the general manager of the new store and she interviewed me. We talked for almost two hours. One of the questions she asked me was along the lines of, “In your retail experience, of what moment are you the least proud?” I told her it was the time when I worked in a record store and a customer tried to return an open New Kids on the Block CD simply because she no longer wanted it. I told the woman we could not take it back unless it was defective, and she’d have to exchange it for the same item anyway. The woman and I had gone back and forth about this for 20 minutes, with her telling me that if she exchanged it for the same item she’d simply return the new, unopened copy for something she wanted instead. So I grabbed the CD out of her hands, threw it on the floor, jumped up and down on it as hard as I could, and yelled, “THERE!!! NOW it’s defective!” and did the exchange simply to get her to leave.

I’m pretty sure, knowing what I know now about Diana, that this story was what landed me this job.

Oh Borders was a fun place to work in the beginning. We had a blast every

Not the best expression. We WERE all laughing our asses off prior.

single day. We had a huge inventory of hard to find product, and I did get to pluck things from shelves and place them in eager hands. Our staff was a hodgepodge of personalities and lifestyles, and there are people who became legends simply for being themselves, good or bad. Some folks got managerial nicknames that they never even knew existed. When they began cutting inventory to save money, restructuring management and cutting pay rates, cutting hours per store, and I opened Publisher’s Weekly and saw the base pay and bonuses that the President, Vice President, and CEO had received one year, I knew I’d be leaving soon. I sold my stock while it still had value and got the fuck out.

I still miss the first year of that job.

I am grateful for every day of employment I’ve ever had. I have met wonderful people and learned many different things at each of them, even the ones that sucked. So today’s Good Things will be about gratitude.

I am grateful that this past week I received an injection that gave me the ability to perform 10 straight minutes of yoga last night, including holding Downward Dog for 60 full seconds.

I am grateful that yesterday’s post about Kitty was received so well by those who loved him. These types of things can be iffy.

I am grateful that Rich’s employer gave them 40 days notice instead of canning them all without warning.

I am grateful that our tax refund will allow us to get by for a couple of months.

I am grateful that my 40 year old cousin who was just diagnosed with cervical cancer right after having her first and only child should be able to get a complete hysterectomy and have that take care of the situation.

I am grateful that my friend’s divorce is now final, and she can move on with her life.

I am grateful that The Wendig instructed us all to create outlines when writing, because things are falling into place a lot better now (I hate outlines).

I am grateful that so many people are willing to help me help Rich find employment.

I am grateful that it snowed so memorably this past weekend.

I am grateful that my crappy little video camera takes crappy little still shots, otherwise I’d have no lasting proof for the kids.

I am grateful that I got four straight hours of sleep the night before last. I had to sleep next to Jonas, but whatever works.

I am grateful that I can express things well, at least in type. We won’t talk about my crappy verbal skills.

It’s your turn. Tell me why you’re grateful this week.