Job jobs jobs

I think sometimes about all the jobs I have had in this lifetime (and I doubt that list is done compiling) and it is interesting how each one affects you. Listing even the jobs I held for so short a time that it scarcely counted (telemarketer: 3.5 hours), either represents a life spent with severe career ADD or, just as likely if not more so, that jobs, especially those gotten in hs, generally suck. In my best guess as to chronological order:

Telemarketer: Still remember the 'cause' - Police Athletic League (nearly 7.5% of donations went there after the 'overhead costs' were taken into account. Probably the longest 3.5 hours of my life. Surrounded by ex-cons and getting hung up on or screamed at on the phone.

Florist/bitch boy: I worked at a florist shop for a number of months off the books. Vague memories of driving around collecting tree trimmings for Xmas decorations and spending hours upon hours dethorning and wiring roses.

Busboy: Ah Perkins.........I remember it well. Every weekend waking up early and coming home bone weary 6 hours later smelling of breakfast scraps (and somewhat covered in them). All to make minimum wage plus up to $10 per shift in tips from the cheap ass waitstaff. Only job I have ever been fired from (for refusing to clean out a dirty toilet stall.........my aversion to poop is longstanding).

PBKC: Off and on for nearly a decade........though mostly off. Started in publicity and finished as an executive assistant of sorts. In between, I bartended, worked as a runner, and was a teller. Lots of pretty fond memories honestly for a place that I probably wouldn't choose to visit of my own accord.

College jobs: Scarcely worth breaking up into individual descriptions since they tended to be pretty consistently low paying and short lived. But, for the sake of the list I was employed at least briefly in the following: Pizza Maker, mall store clerk, event set up, teller (at a local Jai Alai place), teaching assistant, and lab rat (any pay to try this or that project you could think of).

Construction: By far the most physically grueling job. Nothing like pouring concrete in the summer in South Florida. Has to be at least one of Dante's levels. Was proud that I made it through that summer. Don't know how my dad managed it for all those years. Tough work.

Teacher: This job is probably, if not completely, at the other end of the scale from construction. Whereas in construction you are doing a completely physical job, this one took it out of you for very different reasons. I didn't come home and want to collapse from physical fatigue, but rather from the mental gyrations that keeping 30 kids on task at all times takes from you. You are always 'on' and if you aren't, woe is you. I see the arguments people make about the short work year, and I won't disagree entirely, but I will say that they definitely need a break.

Teacher overseas: See above except add in huge cultural and language barriers.

Counselor: I suppose I was no more a counselor than Cambridge College was a college, but that was the title I was provided. For the pleasure of $26K a year, I was to be a coach, crying shoulder, and personal lackey of sorts to a help better fleece the poor misguided souls who attended that place. At the beginning, it was not entirely clear how awful that place was, but it became apparent rather readily and the door never stopped revolving for both students and staff alike.

Admin: The small non-profit (RC), was actually a very pleasant place to work. Mind-numbingly dull, but pleasant. Spent most of my days trying to appear busy though I had little to nothing to do. I sometimes miss it. I miss having periods of time where I can just sit and ruminate or days that I can work harder or less hard depending on workflow and my feelings about the day.

Nursing: There are some serious pros and cons to this profession. It is so very different than my other jobs that I can't readily compare it. I am never idle. I rarely have the opportunity to just sit, and when I do it is usually to chart. You rarely ever have the opportunity to see anything from beginning to end, and never in one chunk of time. You are always left to try to pull bits and fragments from one part of the day to complete them in another......with many more like pieces in between. My lunches are rarely uninterrupted, and never extend beyond 30 minutes (and are never at a set time). Breaks are also infrequent and wholly based on patient flow. I spend most of my day on my feet, trying to cheer on and educate patients at a low point in their lives (which is often very rewarding when you feel you have made a rather unpleasant experience that much more bearable), and otherwise being pulled in any number of directions. I can honestly say that, at the end of most days, I feel truly spent. But, I can also honestly say that, by and large, it is the most worthwhile thing I have done. It is definitely the first (probably the only) job I have ever really taken pride in. Its harder than I thought it would be, and though I sometimes see around the corners I am always learning.

Don't know what comes next.........no idea. For now, I am relatively happy and hoping to push further into the profession. That is unless you have any better ideas :)