A Plethora Of Jobs

I have had a plethora of jobs since I entered the work force at age sixteen. Most of them have been entry-level, menial, and pretty awful. Aside from the 22 years I have spent at my current airline job, the longest time I’ve lasted at another job is 3 years. My first job was as a snack bar waitress at the grocery store. It was a major learning experience, but definitely not my calling. I tried waitressing at a Holiday Inn. As part of Utah’s weird liquor laws, patrons could bring their own wine into the restaurant. I put someone’s RED wine in an ice bucket, thinking it was a classy thing to do. I’m sure I had seen that done in a movie, but probably with champagne. Not a good move, and the handwriting was on the wall that I should move on. I have had jobs with uniforms - McDonald’s (blue polyester - don’t get too close to an open flame!), and a movie theatre (Keystone Kops in hot pants). I worked in retail, where I sold home goods and apparel. I was an assistant buyer at a department store, where my main responsibility seemed to be the scheduling of lunch breaks. I was a travel agent, a hotel reservation agent, and also did data entry at several different companies. None of these jobs held my interest for very long. For a short time I even tried my own house cleaning service. This was a really bad idea, as I am allergic to dust and cats. My favorite job was as a window trimmer. It was creative and sort of unusual. I thoroughly enjoyed starting with an outfit and a mannequin, and ending with a completely decorated window, replete with accessories and props. One of my favorite chores was having to climb onto landings between the Up and the Down escalators to change a mannequin’s outfit. I hate to admit it but that bit of acrobatics made me feel important and special. Surely, shoppers moving past me must have been envious and wanted to be me. (Yes, even then I led a rich fantasy life in my head). If I were young and starting over now, I would totally pursue that display job as a career move. A design degree is probably required now, but that’s alright. I have spent my life trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. I’ll let you know when that happens - the growing up part I mean.