I don't know why the urge to do this overcame me, but I am going to share with you the high- and lowlights of my long, varied and sometimes tawdry work history.
OSCO. This is a drugstore, like CVS. The branch of Osco where I worked is now closed. Most of the time we were there, we were asked to "face" lotion (e.g., make sure all the bottles were facing the same way). I worked there with my friend G (we were both in high school) and we liked to eat many things that would make me cringe now, such as brightly colored gummy Life Savers and black-and-white cookies from a nearby bakery. We called them ying-yangs (as in, "Can you get me a ying-yang?") G had a crush on our boss, who was 23, which seemed ancient to us then. She considered asking him to the prom, but she didn't.
BABYSITTING. One of the families I babysat for included a husband with a huge stack of Playboys in plain view. My mom sent me a newspaper clipping last year. It was the police blotter of my hometown, and said that the daughter of that family threatened her parents with a knife! Connection? I think so. Bear in mind I grew up in a neighborhood that makes the Waltons look dangerous.
RE-JAYS. This was a tailory where my main job was to rip zippers. There is a little tool for this. Then a new zipper is sewn in (I didn't do that part; I still can't sew). The woman I worked with, who was much older (I was 14) warned me to "stay away from boys."
TACO BELL. Yes, I worked at the Bell. It was the summer after senior year of high school, and Taco Bell was in the food court of my local mall. My boss was a lesbian, and once took me aside to say she thought I "was one of the most attractive people who worked there". I was like, "Uh, thanks." She also had a habit of taking the spray hose from the sink and using it to wash the floor, which was quick and efficient.
THE MOVIE THEATER. To this day, for better or worse, this is probably my favorite job. We got a commission on our concession sales; free candy if the box was "voided" (many supervisors would simply dent the box of candy and then share it with everyone); free movies for ourselves, family and friends; and a fun environment surrounded by other college kids who all ended up dating each other. Highlights of this job included: Once I was in the box office with another girl, J. A guy bought tickets, and I recognized him.
Me: Didn't you buy tickets for ID4? [Independence Day] You look like Jeff Goldblum.
Him: You don't remember me. A lot of people went to see that.
Me: Oh yes I do, you had your cell phone and you called your friend Steve to see if he was coming.
Him: Wow. Wanna go out to dinner sometime?
Me: [laughing in shock]
After he was gone:
Me: Did it seem like I was interested in him? ['Cause I wasn't, I just have a good memory for certain things.]
J: Well, you did remember a lot.
We also found a dead mouse or rat in the popcorn room. Also, when you make theater popcorn, you add a glistening orange powder that is not natural in any way, plus fake butter. The moral of this story: don't eat popcorn at the movies.
All my post-college jobs were pretty boring so I'll skip 'em.
Happy Halloween, and feel free to share your own work stories!
;)
OSCO. This is a drugstore, like CVS. The branch of Osco where I worked is now closed. Most of the time we were there, we were asked to "face" lotion (e.g., make sure all the bottles were facing the same way). I worked there with my friend G (we were both in high school) and we liked to eat many things that would make me cringe now, such as brightly colored gummy Life Savers and black-and-white cookies from a nearby bakery. We called them ying-yangs (as in, "Can you get me a ying-yang?") G had a crush on our boss, who was 23, which seemed ancient to us then. She considered asking him to the prom, but she didn't.
BABYSITTING. One of the families I babysat for included a husband with a huge stack of Playboys in plain view. My mom sent me a newspaper clipping last year. It was the police blotter of my hometown, and said that the daughter of that family threatened her parents with a knife! Connection? I think so. Bear in mind I grew up in a neighborhood that makes the Waltons look dangerous.
RE-JAYS. This was a tailory where my main job was to rip zippers. There is a little tool for this. Then a new zipper is sewn in (I didn't do that part; I still can't sew). The woman I worked with, who was much older (I was 14) warned me to "stay away from boys."
TACO BELL. Yes, I worked at the Bell. It was the summer after senior year of high school, and Taco Bell was in the food court of my local mall. My boss was a lesbian, and once took me aside to say she thought I "was one of the most attractive people who worked there". I was like, "Uh, thanks." She also had a habit of taking the spray hose from the sink and using it to wash the floor, which was quick and efficient.
THE MOVIE THEATER. To this day, for better or worse, this is probably my favorite job. We got a commission on our concession sales; free candy if the box was "voided" (many supervisors would simply dent the box of candy and then share it with everyone); free movies for ourselves, family and friends; and a fun environment surrounded by other college kids who all ended up dating each other. Highlights of this job included: Once I was in the box office with another girl, J. A guy bought tickets, and I recognized him.
Me: Didn't you buy tickets for ID4? [Independence Day] You look like Jeff Goldblum.
Him: You don't remember me. A lot of people went to see that.
Me: Oh yes I do, you had your cell phone and you called your friend Steve to see if he was coming.
Him: Wow. Wanna go out to dinner sometime?
Me: [laughing in shock]
After he was gone:
Me: Did it seem like I was interested in him? ['Cause I wasn't, I just have a good memory for certain things.]
J: Well, you did remember a lot.
We also found a dead mouse or rat in the popcorn room. Also, when you make theater popcorn, you add a glistening orange powder that is not natural in any way, plus fake butter. The moral of this story: don't eat popcorn at the movies.
All my post-college jobs were pretty boring so I'll skip 'em.
Happy Halloween, and feel free to share your own work stories!
;)
Comments
I had a similar babysitting experience. The father would leave Hustlers and Penthouses out on the coffee table, and the mother would have highly inappropriate conversations with me, like telling me about how she and her friends had recently played sexual pictionary and someone didn't know what the missionary position was (I was about 14---I had no idea what she was talking about but I laughed along anyway).
At another of my babysitting jobs, the mother had several shelfs of Harlequinns and some Erica Jong novels. I got quite the education from that job!
Lisa - That mother sounds VERY inappropriate (and also good story fodder)! I read "the good parts" of Lady Chatterley's Lover while babysitting - found it in their bookcase. It was a different family ;)
Kitkat - That does sound good!
Fortunately I wasn't too tempted by the Taco Bell food. I think I had an occasional "chicken soft taco" and that was it. Also those fried cinnamon sticks every once in a while. Churros, i think they're called.
Apparently when I was 8, I saw some dogs, um, having fun, and I explained to my aunt in detail what they were doing. I don't remember this, but she does! :)
Summer Sisters was good.
And "Then Again, Maybe I Won't"... remember the part where he gets drunk? I remember thinking, "Ugh! I'll never do that!"
Hee.
I can't remember him getting drunk in Then Again, Maybe I Won't. Good memory! I do remember him holding the raincoat in front of him when he went up to the blackboard.
Lish