Thursday Thirteen (13) Previous Jobs

1. Grave digger. My loving father got me that job after school, during the fall, when it was dark, alone across from the high school. Well, since I was puny, it mostly involved yard keeping around the graves as actually digging one myself could take FOREVER. It was fun to jump out at friends from the open graves.
2. Janitor in a movie theater. Best shape I was ever in by the way, as I had to ride my bike back and forth (didn't get my driver's license until 21 or so). Also, that vaccum cleaner that I needed to lug around probably weighed close to my weight. I was alone in the mornings, and could just cheerfully go about my business.
3. Along with the above, another job was cashier at the next door gas station. Worked for one real dickhead partner, and one guy that was very nice (Mo). I hated it, and the toothless guys that worked there, liked to try and peak up my shorts. Attractive. Ugh, still get the creeps thinking about those gross guys. Some of the customers were pretty cool and/or attractive though. The Massad brothers (regular account that was a moving company) were pretty cute. Course I was dating the husband at that time, who had his own ice cream truck. Now come on, which would you choose, brothers inhereting a well established moving company, or future husband who gave away more ice cream than he sold . Last day on the job, I just didn't show up, and had my husband (then boyfriend) field the calls from the dickhead partner. Felt bad about Mo, but seriously not worth staying there.
4. At the same movie theater, was promoted to candy girl and ticket girl . Although to tell the truth, liked janitor better as it was done earlier. Guess I was too cute to keep in bathrooms cleaning when no one was around. I assume it was better pay, though I don't remember really. It was more about flirting with the cute boys at the time (while remaining absolutely faithful to my boyfriend, now husband). Some portion of that job was before the husband/boyfriend, as I had it since high school.
5. Oh, almost forgot, inbetween graveyard worker, and movie theater employee, there was the job working in a nursing home in the kitchen. I suck in the kitchen by the way, and eventually got fired. Not for not working hard, but most likely for more kitchen accidents then should ever happen. However, I was clean (unlike the remaining kitchen staff) and got along well with the seniors. That was the best part of the job, bringing a little smile to people dealing with adverse circumstances.
6. And after nursing home, but before movie theater, was being a runner at a small auction house in Shrewsbury MA. My mother frequented there, so she figured might as well put me to work as we both went there together. I didn't disagree, it was boring sitting through an auction where I wasn't going to buy anything. I loved showing the stuff, and sometimes I got to log or take the bids. If I was more of an expert at antiques, that would be a fun business to get involved with as well.
7. During college at U Lowell (so consequetive with movie theater when I used to go home during break) I worked all night at a gas station. Very scary place to work for a young girl. Don't let your kids do this, unless you want them to be robbed at gun point or raped. You are so a target doing this in a small booth (and there is no bullet proof glass or anything like that protecting you)
8. During college, I also worked at Goodwill as a clothes sorter or packer (to the stores). Many nice people worked there, and they hired the mentally handicapped for like 50 cents an hour (the unknown cheap labor). However, I do believe this was entirely at their wanting to get out, or I hope so anyway. One of the ladies that worked with me found 10,000 in a coat pocket, and turned it into the lost and found. Supposedly the owners came looking for it and collected it. When I was packing the clothes for delivery, I worked with a holocust survivor who lost his wife and one daughter. One remaining daughter got out with him, but he had a bad ticker from the experience. Nice guy, and I loved working with him. Occaisionally, I got to go out in the big truck and pick up what people or stores were donating. That was always a fun road trip, and one of the only times I have ridden on a "big rig".
9. First "real job" was at Shawmut Bank checking the batches of checks that came in for complete info. You were paid on how many you could process at a time. You were not allowed to leave until all were processed. I couldn't drive at that point, and my husband (then boyfriend) used to drive me to work. We never knew when we would get out, and so he would wait there. I can't tell you how much I truly hated this job. The worst was when I got strep throat, and took my sick days. My boss called and begged me to come in. So one night I did, and of course got sicker and took some sick days (with a drs note mind you). She wrote me up, because I came in and then came out. When I told her that was because she begged me, she was like "too bad, so sad".
10. I got promoted at Shawmut to an equally dispicable department. I can't even remember what we did, I think we were part payroll, part research, and part customer service. The actual job wasn't so bad, but the supervisors and v ps were not only miserable, but they had no idea how to do the job. So you got very little training, were treated bad, and were yelled at for not knowing the procedures. Everyone in the job was miserable. My next job was hiring big time, and was a well liked company. I was hired first, and I let my coworkers know where I was going. The whole department ended up moving with me to the next company (not in the same positions) and told Shawmut to screw basically. I did give notice at this job, but I can't say a grin wasn't affixed to my face when I gave it.
11. Paul Revere, got a job in the customer service department. They paid for much of my college by the way. They were in walking distance from my apartment at the time. Awsome company (this has changed since, but the best times for the company are probably when I was there), awesome boss, great position, fun coworkers.... Loved this job. I liked to work with numbers, and my boss encouraged me and helped me transfer to business department. I was named employee of the month a few times, and was very involved in "quality control" and "team leader" projects for the company. The job I was transferred too was too easy, and I was impatient to use my newly acquire skills. This is the only reason I left the company. I have on more than one occaision regretted it. Especially recently when I saw a past co-worker (recently while I was still in one of my shitty corporate america jobs) and learned that she had nine weeks paid vacation . Owe that hurt. Plus the retirement benefits (and while they changed many of the old employees were grandfathered) were pretty healthy. Not to mention perks like the cafeteria (actually good food), the muffin cart, picture developing, stationary service, dry cleaning service, and groceries (in conjunction with the cafeteria). Great holiday parties and summer picnics that were all inclusive. I remember a spontaneous Easter Egg hunt lead by the CEO, Aubrey Reid. This was a company where you would find a birthday card on your desk from the CEO or president, and the VP of the division was sure to pop down and wish you a happy birthday personally. Businesses just don't operate with that sort of caring or respect or their employees any more. Let me tell you, Paul Revere had some happy happy employees. I did hear that some departments were't as "happy" or well taken care of as mine.
12. So I left Paul Revere with a more than 30% salary increase to Kring and Co, a CPA firm in Dudley MA. They were the worst. First of all, client's records seem to get lost by the partner, and he would ask you to "make it up". Yikes, huh? He would hide from clients and peak around the corner after he told you to say he wasn't there. He would also leave his infant son with you to work and babysit him. Horrid. One day they ran out of work, and needed to let me go. I was only sad because 1) I didn't have a ride home (partner had to give me a ride home) and 2) I earned the most money at the time. I needn't have worried as.....
13. I found a job in two weeks at Mintz & Norberg a CPA firm that hired me with recomendation from Kring & Co, and while I was still going to college. It was okay. I didn't like the old bat secretary, Olga, for reasons that I can't remember other than she was not a nice person. I couldn't stand Linda, who was another partner in the firm, and would talk to me endlessly about her husband, how he mistreated her, and her endlessly boring stories about her everyday life. Plus she was mean when she was in a bad mood, and tended to hover over you watching every move you made. But all in all, I had another increase, the benefits were good, and it allowed me my next best job once I graduated college at (then) Stevens, Kashuk, Bourgault, Kittredge, and Frustaci. These guys are still the best CPA firm that I know of, personally. They do quality work, at good prices, and are ethical. They also taught me the most about the business. So in that Mintz & Norberg lead me to this job, it was a good job. Had I stayed at Mintz and Norberg much longer (especially when they got sued over an audit of a big client), I probably would have added this to my most hated jobs.

***Worst most hated job above was definately Shawmut. I used to cry going to work every day for a long time. That is how bad that job was. Awful. Plus the mistakes that were made due to no published procedures. I remember a certain 100,000 that got transferred in and out of the wrong accounts six times in one day. Not by me by the way, but by a completely different department.