Work

I enjoyed my first day of work. I learned where everything was, shelved books (and fixed mistakes whenever I found them), checked in and checked out, and even helped a woman with a major computer problem, just by noodling around and trying everything I could think of. It worked and she went away happy.

It's downright exhausting to be on my feet in big-girl shoes for a whole day though. I came home, walked the dog, wolfed down a sandwich and collapsed on the couch. When I woke up at 7:30, it was dark and the day was over!

All of this meant that I was still awake at midnight, with no signs of getting sleepy. I finished my bedtime book and turned out the light, and began a mental list of all the jobs I have had (my version of counting sheep, I guess). Let's start with just those I had before I graduated from high school:

1. Teen columnist for the local newspaper at 11
2. Babysitter at 12-18
3. Girl Scout Daycamp Counselor at 13
4. Swimming & springboard diving instructor at the YMCA at 14-17
5. Waitress at 15
6. Inventory clerk at Robert Hall Clothing at 16
7. Jafra cosmetics consultant at 16
8. Grocery bagger at Lucky Market at 17

Then, the jobs I had during college and my first marriage:

9. Cashier at a movie theatre in Laguna Beach, CA
10. Cashier in the UCI cafeteria
11. House painter
12. Drug counselor
13. Deli worker at Honey Baked Hams in Corona del Mar, CA
14. McDonalds in Santa Ana
15. Short-order cook at UCI
16. Assembly-line worker in furniture factory
17. Assembly-line worker in IV factory
18. Assistant manager at Honey Baked Hams in Anaheim
19. Office manager at YMCA in San Jose
20. DJ at KUCI
21. Advertising production manager for UCI newspaper

Then, after graduating from college:

22. Paste-up artist for advertising agency
23. Assistant to the CFO
24. Cocktail waitress
25. Freelance advertising & public relations
26. Typesetter, graveyard shift
27. Import customs expiditer
28. Staff writer for Century 21

And when I got together with Bill:

29. Managing editor for C-21
30. Newswave reporter at the 1980 DNC convention
31. Avon lady in Orange County
32. Bartender in Lafayette, Louisiana
33. Waitress in St. Martinsville, Louisiana
34. Bartender in North Pole, Alaska
35. Freelance writer
36. Avon lady in San Pedro

After Juli was born, Bill and I moved to Vallejo, where he went to college for four years:

37. Waitress in Napa, California
38. Cocktail waitress in Crockett, California
39. Waitress in Vallejo, California
40. Discovery Toys sales
41. Avon sales

And then, we moved to New York:

42. Waitress in Saratoga Springs, NY
43. Account manager for radio WCGS
44. Freelance radio advertising sales
45. Publicity writer for the school district
46. Rx technician at Rite-Aid in Corinth
47. Culinary student
48. Volunteer work for HSA/PTSA
49. Homegrown - plant & seedling home-based business
50. School board trustee
51. Bookkeeper & Tax Prep
52. Ebay sales
53. Pampered Chef sales
54. Longaberger sales
55. Tastefully Simple sales
56. Substitute high school teacher
57. Stock clerk at Wal-mart (my shortest job--1 & 1/2 days, and I quit!)
58. Rx tech at Rite-Aid in Glens Falls

Finally, to Tennessee:

59. House renovator
60. Cancer patient (hey, it's a full-time job!)
61. Cutco, Longaberger, Tastefully Simple sales
62. Rental property manager
63. Library helper

Are you asleep yet? I fell into slumber somewhere around the factory work...