Do numbers really matter?
Those close to me know I have a reputation as a frequent job changer. So much so that listing my jobs before typing this post took me about an hour. I can't even remember the names of some of the more fortunate companies which hired me. One year I had five W-2s to file for tax purposes. Without further ado here are all the jobs I have held in my life, meaning I received a paycheck from someone other than a family member or a friend. These are in chronological order from oldest to newest, but could be off a wee bit as my memory is failing me.
1) swim instructor: taught 3-10 year olds how to swim in an overly chlorinated pool.
2) Metropolitan catering: learned why aprons are so wonderful and that "slop buckets" aren't for drinking.
3) Baskin Robbins: best job title, "Soda jerk", and my first official job that I interviewed for on my own.
4) Little League umpire: ejected one coach and have never looked back at the power I gained that magnificent day.
5) LaBatelle: French bakery serving yummy croissants in a suburban mall.
6) Simply Desserts: maybe the best job I have worked and the longest at 7 years. Still have the key to the front door because the owners love me that much.
7) The Little Prince: lame overpriced bakery that didn't allow a pregnant woman to use their bathroom. Swear the owners were on the government's Witness Protection plan (no longer in business thank god)
8) A la Francaise: French bakery serving yummy croissants near UW campus; one day downed 10 shots of espresso and learned key Thai phrases.
9) Univ. of Washington: set-up for banquets in Horticulture bldg. and removed cigarette butts from ashtrays
10) Landscaping job: mowed lawns for 12 hours a day and I totally sucked at it
11) Pioneer Sports: made cold calls using a boring script; best 2 week notice --> none given, no show next day
12) Pagliacci Pizza: hired as a manager and almost ended the job by climbing out bathroom window on day 3 of job.
13) Nordstrom: served up sandwiches then became a barrista in Portland, OR store.
14) Pasta Veloce: promoted to manager after a week on the job and learned key Spanish phrases. Best job ever? Affectionately known as Pasta Bitch to my friends.
15) Pallino; fast service Italian food where I was introduced to key Britney Spears dance moves by fellow high school aged co-workers. Made vow for this to be my last food service job.
16) Nintendo: first French speaking job; left prematurely because I was dreaming of Pokemon too often.
17) Majiq: 2nd French job; paid for me to travel to Europe twice. Almost got left in Finland once.
18) A large local warehouse company: biggest freaking tightwads ever.
19) A.C.E.: tutored a student in French.
20) The Bush School: tutored a rich "problem" student in French. He drove a Lexus.
21) Current position at software company: [insert your own idea of what I do here]
There you have it folks. Yes, I have worked no less than 21 jobs in my 31 years. A few years ago that ratio was more impressive as it was 21 jobs in 28 years. Notice there are no acting or modeling jobs, however that doesn't mean I haven't tried. Not sure my number of jobs should be higher than my number of sexual partners or IQ, but we'll leave it at that!
*Job list doesn't contain any jobs I accepted, 2, and then rejected later that day or the following day.
1) swim instructor: taught 3-10 year olds how to swim in an overly chlorinated pool.
2) Metropolitan catering: learned why aprons are so wonderful and that "slop buckets" aren't for drinking.
3) Baskin Robbins: best job title, "Soda jerk", and my first official job that I interviewed for on my own.
4) Little League umpire: ejected one coach and have never looked back at the power I gained that magnificent day.
5) LaBatelle: French bakery serving yummy croissants in a suburban mall.
6) Simply Desserts: maybe the best job I have worked and the longest at 7 years. Still have the key to the front door because the owners love me that much.
7) The Little Prince: lame overpriced bakery that didn't allow a pregnant woman to use their bathroom. Swear the owners were on the government's Witness Protection plan (no longer in business thank god)
8) A la Francaise: French bakery serving yummy croissants near UW campus; one day downed 10 shots of espresso and learned key Thai phrases.
9) Univ. of Washington: set-up for banquets in Horticulture bldg. and removed cigarette butts from ashtrays
10) Landscaping job: mowed lawns for 12 hours a day and I totally sucked at it
11) Pioneer Sports: made cold calls using a boring script; best 2 week notice --> none given, no show next day
12) Pagliacci Pizza: hired as a manager and almost ended the job by climbing out bathroom window on day 3 of job.
13) Nordstrom: served up sandwiches then became a barrista in Portland, OR store.
14) Pasta Veloce: promoted to manager after a week on the job and learned key Spanish phrases. Best job ever? Affectionately known as Pasta Bitch to my friends.
15) Pallino; fast service Italian food where I was introduced to key Britney Spears dance moves by fellow high school aged co-workers. Made vow for this to be my last food service job.
16) Nintendo: first French speaking job; left prematurely because I was dreaming of Pokemon too often.
17) Majiq: 2nd French job; paid for me to travel to Europe twice. Almost got left in Finland once.
18) A large local warehouse company: biggest freaking tightwads ever.
19) A.C.E.: tutored a student in French.
20) The Bush School: tutored a rich "problem" student in French. He drove a Lexus.
21) Current position at software company: [insert your own idea of what I do here]
There you have it folks. Yes, I have worked no less than 21 jobs in my 31 years. A few years ago that ratio was more impressive as it was 21 jobs in 28 years. Notice there are no acting or modeling jobs, however that doesn't mean I haven't tried. Not sure my number of jobs should be higher than my number of sexual partners or IQ, but we'll leave it at that!
*Job list doesn't contain any jobs I accepted, 2, and then rejected later that day or the following day.
posted by egan at
12:32 AM
