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  • Monday, January 08, 2007

    Working stiff meme

    1. What was your first job ever (not including babysitting, mowing the lawn, paper routes and the like – I mean a job = where they took taxes out of your paycheck kinda thing)? My very first job was working at a pizza place, making subs and salads. I always came home smelling and feeling greasy. But it was big bucks – minimum wage ($3.65/hour!).

    2. How old were you? 15 when I started.

    3. What is the worst job you’ve ever had? Why do you consider it the worst? Telemarketing. Because I cannot bring myself to ask people for money. Can’t do it with my parents; can’t do it with strangers. Can’t do it for a good cause; can’t even do telephone banking during election season. I felt slimy and like I was invading someone’s privacy when I have done it… probably because I was invading their privacy. ::shudder:: No thanks.

    4. What is the best job you’ve ever had? Why do you consider it the best? Best? Gosh, I dunno. Maybe it was my summer associate position last year. It was good because it was short (so I didn’t get sucked into the politics and other crap), and it paid $2400 per week. Su-weet!

    5. What’s the oddest job you’ve held? Nothing too strange. I have had friends who worked in poultry factories or had to wear large animal outfits and schlock fast food, but not me. I’ve had a number of random jobs – like painting, cleaning, doing insurance claims – but nothing interestingly strange.

    6. What is your “dream job”? And it has to be an actual job that exists somewhere… I wanna be one of the people on those educational programs who travel to different, unusual and isolated places to give those places exposure and tell you all about their history/culture… you know, on the PBS channels? Globe Trekker and the like… that is one job I would love, love, love to have.

    7. How long is the longest you’ve worked for one organization? 5 years 7 months.

    8. What is the shortest period you’ve held a job? About a week. See #3 about telemarketing. Sorry NJPIRG.

    9. Have you worked in food service, retail sales, telemarketing or any other job that required that either be nice to people and/or stand on your feet most of the time or both (for notsomuch money)? Uh-huh. All of the above. Food service (first job ever, hostess at a restaurant, Starbucks barista chick), retail sales (several different places over several years, PT) and telemarketing. Hard work. I think everyone should be required to do a “service” job like one of those, just so they get perspective on just how hard it is and how much people bust their butts for next to no money.

    10. How many states have you worked in? Have you worked in any other country? Three states, one district and two countries (US and Japan).

    11. Have you ever dated or otherwise “gotten involved” (defined as loosely as you are… I mean, as you’d like) with a co-worker? No, but I definitely had teenage crushes during the pizza place years. And I did get involved with someone after the job ended, but not while we were both still working there.

    12. Ever worked as a camp counselor in the summer? No but I was a resident assistant for two years in college (you know, dorm cop?), which is pretty much the same as being a camp counselor except that the kids could drive and get a hold of booze.

    13. Any embarrassing on-the-job anecdotes? Do share! Many, I am sure. I remember one time at the pizza place… the wife of one of the owners just got a new car. (I think her name was Mimi.) In fact, she got a VW convertible Rabbit. Yes, this was the 1980s. It was also a stick shift, and she was just learning how to drive standard. Everyone was so excited to see the new car, so she brought it around to the pizza place to show it off. Well, Mimi hadn’t quite mastered the clutch yet and couldn’t shift smoothly, so when she drove by, I, in my excitement to see the new car, exclaimed for the entire place to hear, “Look, there’s Mimi, jerking off across the parking lot!!!” I was, I think, 16 and mortified once I realized what I had said. Good thing it a woman driving the car.

    14. If you won the lottery for uber big bucks, would you continue working? Hell no.

    15. If no, what would you do? Buy a nice house or three and travel everywhere between them and then some.

    16. Ever have a job that required you to wear a uniform? Yes, sorta -- pizza place and Starbucks.

    17. Ever worked for a boss who was younger than you? Yes, at my last law job, my supervisor was a few years younger than I am.

    18. What’s the longest commute you’ve had? The shortest? The longest took me about 45 minutes driving to metro station and riding the train downtown… which isn’t bad at all. The shortest was walking 3 blocks.

    19. Any “worst boss ever” anecdotes? Not really. I have had bosses who micromanaged, were shrill and never satisfied and/or passive-aggressive. Luckily, however (knock on wood), none were so impossible that I couldn’t deal. But several of those bosses definitely allowed me to leave the jobs without a stitch of regret or guilt.

    20. Ever work in an organization where one of your co-workers was caught in a scandal (e.g., caught in the act, caught stealing/lying, sued for something, etc.)? Not that I can think of. Not yet anyway… just give me a chance!

    I’ll tag Denise because I’d love to hear her answers… but I wonder if she’ll have time to do this? Also Dave!, Betty Joan and Scooter.

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