Hello again. It’s Sunday very early in the morning, and I’m writing with what feels like sawdust in my eyes. I’m exhausted, but that’s so me; which is perfect, because that’s what this day is all about on my channel. Here goes nothin’
It’s no surprise that I’m writing this early in the morning, because I’m a night owl. I feel that I perform my best when everyone else is sleeping. I don’t like night time, and I abhor sleeping in the daytime, but for me, night time is prime time.
So, what is it that I want to share about myself this week? I think we’ll take “Jobs I’ve Had for 2,000 Alex.”
I started working at age 14 as a “Dining Room Girl” at a local nursing home. Sounds more salacious than it was. Basically, I got up very early on the weekends or rushed over after school to set dining room tables and make sure butter was properly defrosted while I set up trays for those confined to their rooms and filled glasses with ice. I ate meals with the elderly and learned to use proper manners and social graces.
I added a job my Junior year of high school because I wanted more money. Job #2 was a worker at a local grocery store. I enjoyed many things about this job. I loved the store owners and felt like they often spoiled me. I enjoyed the work – stocking Hallmark Cards and dusting the gift wares section, loved running the cash register and bagging groceries and loading them into customers’ vehicles was basically like playing Tetris. At this job, I learned to always use the post to push meat through the grinder and how to properly wrap a Christmas present.
After high school, I went to beauty school, so I had what they now call “Clinicals” there. Essentially, we performed cosmetology services on people in exchange for credit hours. I was also a waitress at a truck stop. I loved socializing with people, but hated the men who could be vulgar and rude.
When I graduated and became a licensed Cosmetologist, I worked for a Salon which had two locations. I worked them both, and when I got too big for the free room and board my parents offered, I moved to a tiny apartment and took 3 more jobs to support myself: Casey’s Donut & Pizza maker, Video Rewinder at 2001 Video and working at the local Dollar General. My aunt was the manager at the time, and while I loved working with her, the radio station was set to KCII the entire time and every song was from the 50’s, 60’s and if it was a really good day – the 70’s. The video store was full of female drama and I got fired because they didn’t understand my sense of humor. It was the only time I have ever been fired from a job, and I’m still sore about it today. Nothing but girl drama. Casey’s was tough. I mean because in order to make the donuts, I had to be there at like 3:30 a.m. which is basically a stupid hour unless you’re still awake from the day before.
Then I decided to give my life a make over (today I think the kids call it a “glow up” or something (?); and I began to rent my own chair at Profiles & Styles Salon. This meant that after I paid my chair rent, every penny I made was my own. Life would never be the same for me as a cosmetologist. Renting ruined me because I knew what I could pocket and I never wanted anyone to take my profit again. I also quit Casey’s and DG and went to work at “the calendar factory”, McCleery Cummings. There was girl drama there too, but the money was really good and I could get insurance after 90 days, which was the only thing my cosmetology career didn’t offer.
Oh yeah, somewhere in there I also worked for FSI, a now defunct financial planning/investment firm. It was there that I met Rich for the 2nd time. I met his momma when I worked at the calendar factory, and when I knew he was “the one”, I moved in with them and didn’t have to hustle so hard to make the ends meet.
Once I married Rich and we took off for parts unknown, it made no sense to me to go back to work in cosmetology. For one, it is a service industry which pays best when you have a loyal clientele. One thing the military is very good at is moving people around. So how would one build a loyal clientele when moving every 3-4 years? Impossible. So, I decided to just take whatever job was available wherever we moved.
As a married woman, I worked all kinds of administrative jobs. I worked as a contract writer for a Timeshare company in Virginia Beach. It was there that I got to meet Alonzo Mourning and Whitney Houston and The Bruce Smith of the Buffalo Bills. I also met some other characters who were more infamous than famous. I liked only the location and duties of the job and hated most everything else about it. It was too high pressured – timeshare salespeople are ugly mean and arrogant; the hours were horrible – I might be scheduled to work first “wave” then get pressured to work through second or third. At this job I learned that having skills and doing well meant that more would be asked of me with little compensation. On a personal level, I was reminded of the efficacy of the grapevine back home. I quit to work at an apartment complex as a temporary receptionist.
When my temp job ended, I found a job working for a Greek mechanic in an auto body shop. It was really a cake job – I got paid to watch the OJ Trail and serve coffee to the waiting clients; but it meant that I worked for a tyrant. I eventually quit there to work as a waitress at The Azalea Inn, which was also owned by a Greek (should have learned the first time), and while my husband was on deployment, I hung around a bung of night owls. Which wouldn’t have been bad had after hours clubs not existed in Virginia at the time. I spent hours dancing until the sun came up. It was probably the closest thing to a sorority house party that I would have ever attended. I quit when Rich came home from deployment. From these two Greek owned businesses I learned to hustle hard and that would get me some recognition. I learned to be kind to customers and give them whatever they wanted. I learned that music soothed my soul and that I should never wear a hairpiece when using the key making machine. That was a great lesson.
When I left the restaurant, we had moved for the second time, and were living in Norfolk. Not far from where we lived was an area called Wards Corner. I eventually got a job at the Wards Corner Amoco, owned by Frank G. Hill. Frank was a cool dude – probably the nicest man I’d ever worked for, and the most caring. His family had owned the station and he was very proud of it. Bonnie was the manager and her daughter Bev worked there. She had two other daughters, which I got to know well, as I became good friends with them all. I worked the overnight shift at this location and eventually, picked up another location on Hampton Boulevard. From these overnight gas station jobs, I learned that you can meet people who will change your life and you will have no idea the moment you meet them. I learned that people fall on hard times and they recover. I learned not to judge a book by its cover. I learned some basic sign language and how to avoid a stalker. I also learned the Federal Court system and how to testify against a criminal. I also learned that being gay is not the same thing as being transgender and that being transgender is not the same as cross-dressing. I hated those last four lessons. I hated receiving the “Witness protection” pamphlet the most.
After the gas stations, and because of them, I moved up in the world and onto the best job I had in Virginia – I don’t even know what the initial position was, but I worked in a bakery. An authentic European Bakery. It was operated by a Swiss baker who was married to the woman I met working overnights at the gas station. They because my best friends, and a source of great happiness during some very troubled times in Virginia.
While I worked my way up from floor mopped/dishwasher/donut maker to wedding cake deliverer, sample pusher, and schmoozer; I learned to use a computer, send emails, work on the web and create web pages. I loved those lessons. During that time, I accomplished probably my most favorite designation, Command Ombudsman for the VF-103 Jolly Rogers. While this was a really cool volunteer position where I got to learn the intricacies of the squadron; it also meant that i had big responsibilities and when we had an aircraft mishap and a pilot died, I had to represent the command (still abroad) at the funeral, comfort the family of the fallen aviator while communicating with frantic parents and family members all across the country. I absolutely loved the last two years of our life in Virginia, but I wasn’t sad when we moved to Pax River, Maryland.
At Pax, I started out delivering subs on base in a $500 hoopty that had seats stuck in permanent recline, one windshield wiper and a jacked up stereo system. I did love that car though. Eventually, I got a job for Charles Aud, the owner of Great Mills Heating and Air and a real estate investor who trusted me to run his books and dealings in the rentals. I loved having the responsibility and Charles’ respect. I felt pretty powerful in that position, but there were difficult days.
After I began to get ill, I started working part time for the PRNAMA, the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Association. Now that job was amazing! So I was hired to manage the capital campaign to get the actual museum off the ground; but somehow, amidst selling bricks and typing emails, I became the “Girl Friday” of one RADM L.F. “Gus” Eggert, USN Ret. Man I loved Gus. He introduced me to Pat Hall, mother of WWE Superstar Scott Hall, Patricia, an Air Force wife who was the embodiment of grace, and a bunch of old war vets who became the celebrities of my life. Tom, Pat, Tom, Bob, Bill, and Polly, who wasn’t a vet, but was the wife of one and she taught me all about being a good partner. I heard stories I didn’t believe and received an education I didn’t deserve. From the Pax River jobs, I learned that loyalty and dedication are worth more than a piece of paper that certifies any college qualification. At least when it comes to being a “Girl Friday” and running real estate properties.
When we moved to Jacksonville, I worked in the office of a construction company. The guys who owned it were decent, but very concerned about their bottom line, and when they wanted to hire temp staff to cover my position, I learned that not all employers really care about employees.
I worked at Peninsular Pest after that, which was super cool. The family that owned it were outstanding and kind, but I met Barbara at Peninsular and she became my BFF. I still love her to this day. She’s like my the first female that I had to work with daily that I actually wanted to hang out with, work alongside and be friends with. After Peninsular, I went to Vanguard Realty, which is where I stayed until we moved back home. Vanguard was the best job I’d ever had and still is to this day. Even though I’ve had jobs which fit my passion better, I can not say enough about my time at Vanguard. I grew as an employee, a person, and a Christian. All the while, I was treated more than fairly and compensated famously.
When we moved home, I planned to stay at home with our new baby girl; but ministry called, and I became a paid youth minister. I did love this job so much, and because it was my calling, I believe I did very well at it. I learned more about the human condition at this job than anywhere else, and I learned that church can be not so Christian-like, and most churches have a difficult time balancing business with relationship. I worked at a couple more churches as a youth minister before I “retired” in 2017. I worked for 2 local school districts as a Paraeducator during that time as well. I wrapped up my working life as the manager for our local mobile home community and while I enjoyed the work, I wasn’t sad to see it end.
In 2019 (I think), i finished working due to health concerns. Of course, we now know FRED’s real name, but back then it was just forgetfulness, strange episodes of confusion, and a ton of blurry vision and feeling unwell. I said all that to say that my main occupation these days is wife and mom. There’s going to be more about these responsibilities in later episodes of “So Me Sunday”, so stay tuned. Until then, remember that every job is an opportunity to not only make money but learn lessons that will carry over into other areas, and to meet people who just might change your life. I’ll tell you more about some of the characters from my life’s story later. For now, have a great Sunday.
Momma Rich's 