 Jobs...Each of us must do something in order to bring home the bacon. Sometimes we love our jobs and other times, the job is too much to bear! When I first moved to Michigan, my first job was as a salesgirl at a stuffed animal store. The name was Noah's Ark. It was located in a local mall at a really good location. Everyone coming up the escalator to hit Lord and Taylor's got to see the animals overflowing from our store. We had a huge variety in quality and prices. Some were perfect for a child to buy...under $20 to a giant one like in the photo that ran for over $2000. I loved helping other people find the perfect gift and learned a great deal about different stuffed animal companies like Steiff and Paddington. Honestly, I didn't know that stuffed animals were collectables....dolls yes, and we sold those too!
 While I loved working at the store, I didn't like the hours. I worked each and every Friday and Saturday night. Lowest person on the totem pole. Eventually it took it's toll on my marriage. Hubby wanted to go out and have fun, but I had to work.
Another store was looking for someone who could work days. And while the store didn't sell cute stuffed animals, it did sell clothes for working women. So I switched careers and was one of the first employees for the new Career Image store at the mall. I even went on to become the floor manager there until I went back to college. I do have good memories of my old jobs. I didn't always leave them with good feelings but looking back now, I can say I enjoyed them. What odd jobs have you done? What job would be your favorite one to have? Which would be the worst? I'd love to hear your thoughts and who knows... maybe we work together! my very first job was as a public relations intern for the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants. Believe it or not, I learned a lot working for the woman in charge of PR for this huge group that I now use in my work life including how to write a decent press release (and when NOT to write one). Plus her husband was the nightly news producer at a Louisville TV NBC station so I got plenty of time to check out that world too. She took me under her wing big time.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 04:18:23 am
That sounds like fun job...certainly a learning one. 10/8/2013 03:10:29 am
I loved working at the country club, esp on Sundays, since we typically didn't have any customers from 3-5pm, and we closed at 7. So for two hours, I got paid to sit on my butt, fold napkins, and eat cake while chatting with the bartender, lol!
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 04:19:20 am
Why is it that the coworkers can make or break the job? You love them, you love coming to work... you hate them, you hate work!
D'Ann Lindun
10/8/2013 04:11:57 am
I just left Target--thank God! Shudder. I guided trail rides for years for my parents, love the horses, despise the dudes.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 04:21:24 am
D'Ann, I'm dying to know why the shudder... the screaming children, the parents who let the little ones play with everything, things not getting put back or the hours?? My first job was as a babysitter, and then I worked two nights at a A&W drive-in (worst job) where guys hit on me. I worked at Hallmarks, Luzier cosmetics and TWA (my best job). I, especially, liked TWA when I was promoted to a job over at the Overhaul base. It was a great place to work.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 04:22:24 am
What did you love so much about TWA? I need a new career!
Vicki Batman
10/8/2013 07:54:22 am
Golly, have I had jobs. hardware store clerk, lifeguard, amusement park ride attendant, assistant menswear buyer (loved), assistant to marketing manager at insurance, assistant to financial vps in real estate, assistant to Handsome in financial services brokerage firm, wholesale clerk, occasional helper at bookstore.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 04:27:56 am
You have run the gamut of jobs. What ones were you happiest at and why?
Jill Hughey
10/9/2013 07:19:07 am
Worst job was on our family orchard thinning peaches, which means knocking little peaches off the trees so the ones remaining can grow larger. The month of June and beginning of July was endless torture of 5.5 days a week of heat, fuzz, a strained neck, and getting hit in the head with hard little fruits.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 09:29:56 am
I agree Jill, writing is the best job...too bad I can't do it full time either. :) 10/9/2013 01:00:56 pm
I taught computers (for Computer Tots) to preschoolers in 199? for a few years (don't remember but maybe started in 1992). I knew little about computers then, and joked that I was always one lesson ahead of the kids.
Melissa Keir
10/9/2013 01:07:08 pm
It makes a difference when they are focused and love learning. But I hear you about the cart! We had a portable computer lab since they didn't like the idea of one taking up a classroom. There were 20 laptops on the cart that we had to get out each day that students used them, carry them and set them up. It took fifteen to twenty minutes to do that and then another bunch of time to put them away. The students couldn't carry them because of safety. The cart full weighed a ton and just barely fit through the classroom doors. Nothing was more frustrating than when someone didn't put the computers away right and they didn't charge. Comments are closed.
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