Show and Tell Tuesday!

Hi!! Hope your week is off to a great start!

It is Show and Tell Tuesday! I am joining Andrea, from Momfessionals, to tell about my first jobs I had as a young adult :)

 It is always so fun to look back at my much "younger" self- HA!

Here we go!

When my brothers and I were in high school (my sister was in grade school/middle school at the time), the rule in our house was that you HAD to have a part time job.  We were also required to get good grades (A's/B's), we were encouraged to participate in sports and clubs, but we also had to have a job.  Sooo...at the ripe age of 15, I got myself a work permit (because the legal working age was 16) and trotted off to Subway in our one-stop light town to get my first  job!  Well, to my surprise, I was hired on the spot and became an official sandwich maker.  As you can imagine, there was quite the eclectic crew working at one of the few "restaurants" in Chatham, IL in 1996. HA!  After I went through training and had worked for a couple of days, my manager pulled me aside and told me that she wanted me to start working the closing shift.  Our Subway closed at 10 pm- and then we had 30 minutes to finish all closing duties, because at 10:30 pm, an alarm was set and if we were still in the store, the police would automatically have to come and see if there was a problem.  I was totally sweating about this fact. Also- she informed me, that other than herself, I was the only employee (remember- I am FIFTEEN) that had the code to close the store- she didn't trust any of the other employees- HA!  

Soo....I started working the closing shift and my co-workers realized how nice and naive I was and would totally make up excuses why they had to leave work early and of course, I just went with it!  So, on a regular basis I was the only working from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm.  And since I was the only one working, I didn't have much time to get all the closing duties done prior to 10:00 pm!  This is where it gets a little funny :)  Since I had NO time to get prep work and cleaning done AND I only had 30 minutes to close the store, I started having my dad come up to Subway right when we closed and he would totally help me prep and clean the whole restaurant!! He mopped, he chopped tomatoes, wiped tables and cleaned bathrooms.  All while avoiding the security cameras because I was SO paranoid my boss was going to see him helping me close the store! HAHAHA! It was so funny and felt very crazy at the time.  Now it is just one of the best memories I have of me and my dad- he seriously would do anything for my brothers, sisters and I- and this was just one (funny) example of that!

After almost a year of working at Subway, I decided I needed to move on to bigger and better things and got a job as a hostess at Cracker Barrel.  I can't say I really loved this job...I know there are some HUGE fans of Cracker Barrel out there....but to this day...after working there for a just a few months...I avoid that place at ALL costs! HA!

After my short time at Cracker Barrel, I decided I really needed to get my act together and get a "real" job.  I got certified to be a lifeguard and swimming instructor and got a job at our local YMCA.  I LOVE swimming and being in the water- so this job was awesome and while I wasn't a huge fan of working at an indoor pool...it was great experience and set me up to get an even better lifeguarding job!

 

So I grew up in a small town outside of Springfield, IL- which is not a booming metropolis itself :)  Springfield has about 175,000 people- so there were very few places to get a lifeguarding job during the summer months.  I was determined, though, to get a coveted spot at one of the local country clubs- because I just knew it was going to be the BEST.JOB.EVER. HA!

I am not quite sure how, but I landed a job as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at a country club on Lake Springfield, called Island Bay Yacht Club....also known as IBYC by all the locals :)  I was SO SO excited I got this job!  IBYC is absolutely gorgeous, I was going to be making really good money (for a high schooler :) and I knew the people that worked there were really fun and cool.  Well...I was not disappointed!  This job ended up being one of my most favorite jobs ever and I worked there for 4 summers, including once I started college.  I worked with the BEST people (two of the girls were my best friends) and we seriously had a BLAST together.  I LOVE being outside, I LOVE swimming and I LOVE being around people- so it was seriously MY DREAM JOB!

The 2nd summer I worked at IBYC, I bought my first car!! Well, my parents bought it and then I had to pay them back :)  To be able to pay my sweet 1991 Honda Accord off in one summer, I needed to get another job- so I started working at Outback Steakhouse as a hostess and then as a server.  I would work the opening shift at the pool, and then when I got off at 4:00 pm, I would head over to Outback and work until closing.  I made A LOT of money at Outback (again- thinking in high school terms :) and was easily able to pay off my car!  I was really really busy working two jobs- but I had so much fun doing it! I loved working at Outback...it was extremely clean, run very well and the people I worked with were really cool.  I ended up working at Outback through my senior year of high school and even worked there my first summer back from college.  The money I made there was too good to pass up! 

And to this day, unlike how I feel about Cracker Barrel, I will happily eat at Outback and still think their food is awesome :)

Soooo...as you can see....I had some slight committment issues in regard to finding a nice little part time job....but it honestly was totally fun to hop around and get a new job every 6 months or so! HA! My friends could NEVER keep up with where I was working and it became the running joke that I was always getting a new job.  But once I got my spot at IBYC and Outback, I stayed there for several years before it was time to move onto bigger and better things! :) - which would be my college job of working at the SIU Recreation Center! HA! 

This was such a fun topic!! Lots of fun memories!!

Hope you have the best day!