2 of the Best and 2 of the Worst Jobs

I'm starting to find my groove here at work, finally. The first few months were sort of rough for me. I didn't understand what I was doing, but I knew I was doing it wrong. That's the worst of both worlds (I don't know if that phrase is supposed to be inverted like that, but it was certainly the opposite of  "the best of both worlds").

I'm the kind of person who wants clear direction, especially when it comes to complex evaluations for sustaining lives of children and families that need support. But you know, to each their own.

I have been fortunate to have honestly liked 90% of my past jobs. They were fun, or at least interesting, or if they weren't either, at least it was something to do. My favorite job of all time, and will always be my #1 is working at Hovland Computer Labs as a student worker at Oregon State University (Go Beavers!). My boss understood that first I was a student, and then I was his employee. He wanted to nourish my learning, not hinder it. I tried my hardest to model my managerial style after his, but different institutions value their employees in different ways.

Weatherford Hall = prettiest dorm ever!

Also, I made some kick ass friends for that 3 year stint at Hovland. Lifelong friends (Kim knows what I'm talking about), which are very hard to find.

 My 2nd favorite job was working at Florida State University, the people, my employees, they taught me so much, mostly how to strongly word your emails to make them almost crap their pants. I love those kids (kids = college students that were about 4 years younger than me). I miss them everyday.

University Center A: Where Admissions (among other, lesser things) is.

My least favorite job was my first "real" job (I did telemarketing for an insurance company under the table when I was 14). I was working at Deli Yogurt Express in my small hometown of McMinnville. I didn't need a food permit, but I had to make sanwhiches and wraps, and serve fro-yo. The no-food-permit thing should have been my first clue that this wasn't a legit place to work, but I didn't really care. My second clue would have been that there were gnats in the lettuce. My third clue was that this food establishment was sharing a building with a sketchy video rental/consignment boutique. MAN, those are a TON of clues, I was such a dense kid!

My shift manager had food issues, and would cry almost every shift and have to call her mother. It was scary, and her underwear would always be whale tailing out of her shorts, yikes!

The last straw was one day my car (the big blue beast plymouth acclaim) didn't start so I couldn't come in to work my shift, and I called my boss and he screamed at me, and made me feel horrible. I hung up the phone and cried, then my Dad came home from work, and I told him what happened and he called up my boss and told him I would be coming by to collect my last check. My Dad is amazing, he rescued me!

My other least liked job would be, the nursing home internship. I felt like I walked into a prison. The inmates, I mean, old people, would try and hide food at lunch and dinner, some would just put the food in their mouth and pocket the food in their cheeks like rodents. The nurses would have to come by and finger out the food in their mouth. UGH! Gross. Also, I saw an inordinate amount of poop from this experience.

 And just so you know, I think poop jokes are hilarious. I'm pretty sure I have the sense of humor of a 15 year old boy. But when I'm forced to observe poop(ing), it is no longer is a laughing matter.

On that note, you guys should all be grateful that your jobs do not suck, like really badly. Everyone's job sucks a little, but at least you don't have to feed people gnat infested lettuce, or deal with bodily fluids.

What are your favorite/least favorite jobs?