Beyond the Books - My First Job

This week I'm linking up with KissinBlueKaren for Beyond the Books.  This is a meme where we all answer a non-bookish question.  It's always so fun to see everyone's answers and get a peak at the blogger beyond the books.  This week's topic is - My First Job.

I was pretty lucky when it came to first jobs because like so many other people that I knew I never worked in food service!  In between the summer of 9th and 10th grade my mother insisted (for reasons I didn't understand at the time but so do now) that I find a volunteer position.  She even brought home a handy list of places looking for volunteers that she had picked up somewhere.  I stalled and stalled because I was much more on board with spending my summer sleeping late and not doing much of anything but finally she badgered me enough and I got to work calling the places on the list.

Since I had gotten a late start a lot of the places were full or had made other arrangements but finally I got to this one local museum and talked to a woman who said they really needed help both in the office and in the newly opened store and could I start the next day?  The answer was yes and I showed up there bright and early the next day.

Lisa and me - probably spring of 2002 at work.  Ignore the early '00 jeans and hair

Long story short that volunteer position turned into a part time job that I kept from 1995 until shortly before I graduated from college in 2002.  My position and responsibilities changed as time went on but that museum that had always just been a field trip location became woven into my life.  I learned how to work a cash register, answer phones, deal with crazy tourists and crazier wedding guests, brides, brides mothers, and one very belligerent groom.  I learned book keeping, small talk, how to polish silver, a massive amount of local history, how to lean forward with your body and not step forward with your feet when working parking lots for events (because people will run over your toes if you're not careful), and that kids on a field trip will inevitably call 911.  Unfortunately, I never did figure out how to wrap presents in a way that looked like I wasn't drunkenly throwing wrapping paper at boxes or count money without making a mess.   I also made some really good friends - including Lisa from Books, Lists, Life who then decided to move to South Dakota but that was later!

For awhile in college I worked as a runner for a law firm.  It was an entertaining job and I liked knowing my way around the courthouse and the downtown.  Plus the building I worked in was an old house that was haunted which is a story for another time.  But the boss was awful, I was working 7 days a week and taking 18 credit hours and about landed myself in the hospital with pneumonia so something had to give and it ended ended up being the runner job.

So that was my first job!  What was yours?  Did you learn anything that you still use or think about today?