First Seven Jobs

(this was a draft from 2016 I never posted but have done so now) 

I really appreciate the meme of #firstsevenjobs so I'm going to answer it. I really enjoyed having to think back. Our jobs define who we are, and in our times so many of us do so many different things. I've kind of condensed a few of these, as I'll explain below.

1) Lawnmower - Transworld Connections - My dad opened a factory in Campbell County, Virginia, in 1985. There was a very large yard. I got paid to mow that lawn and my lifelong dislike of yardwork began. I was 12 or 13 when I began mowing the lawn, and I used the money to buy comic books. This only lasted a couple of years. I was eventually replaced by people who knew what they were doing.

2) Pizza Hut Cook - There was a strip mall near my house and a lot of my friends worked at the Pizza Hut there. I applied in April 1990 and got hired at $3.90 an hour. I had a great time working with Jon Bruffy, John Blanchard and the late Brian Mercado. We all worked hard to make it great and we goofed off in so many ways. I'd love to write more about this time in my life. I quit in October 1990 because I was told I would be fired if I didn't shave off my beard. My first rebelious work activity. And the beard was just scruff.

3) Domino's Pizza Sign Guy - This was only a four day job, but it's worth noting. I held up a sign for four days because a former manager of Pizza Hut worked there and I thought about seeing if they needed a cook. I mean, I had pizza experience! But, it never amounted to anything and I spent the rest of high school not working.

4) Dishwasher - Virginia Tech dining / various media outlets: I have to lump these two together because they represent the first part of my college experience. When I got to Virginia Tech in the fall of 1991, it was understood that I would have to pay for my living expenses. Room and board and tuition were covered. The rest was up to me. So, I got a job working at the new dining hall. I've forgotten the name. I did this for three semesters, but in the fall of 1992 I became involved with a weekly newspaper called the Preston Journal. I got my first taste of being a writer who wrote articles in the public interest. I eventually opted to use my free time to spend there and was even appointed as managing editor just six months after I began. In 1993 we began publishing twice a week. By November 1994, we had crashed and burned.

4) Car director for FMLA conference at Virginia Tech - Another temporary quick job, but one that is interesting because it came right before a pivotal moment in my life.

5) Delivery guy / waiter / Manager at Backstreets

6) Intern, WVTF Public Radio

7) Waiter, Lui Lui restaurant in West Lebanon New Hampshire / Intern, New Hampshire Public Radio