I work...therefore I AM

Ugh! Elevator rides are sooo awkward. Each time I'm on the elevator I tell myself that it is that last time! But when you work on the fourth floor of a building and you wear pumps everyday, your relationship with the stairs doesn't last very long.

I mean, elevators are just never a good experience for me. I always get on when someone has just left an auromatic present(a.k.a. fart) and you can't call them out because there's 10 suspects leaving the elevator door. boo. Then there is the writhing of crickets or beetles stuck in the ceiling lights with their toasty-guts oozing out. OR I end up riding with the person I despise the most at work (yup, just you and that scut who's gift is to eternally torture you with their delightful personality).

Anyways, the longest relationship I had with the stairs was about 2 weeks. I just couldn't commit any longer than that. I HAD to go back to the sweet elevator ride that reminds me of how much I won't miss hyperventilation or swollen heals.

So I'm waiting for the elevator one day, right. As the door opens there are two very professional-looking gentlemen duking-it-out on what appeared to be a very in-depth complicated probably political convo. Entering the elevator was instant awkwardness because it was obvious there were some unfinished points to be made. And to top it off, I don't know why, but I decided to stand right smack between them ( I KNOW!). What was I thinking? Why didn't I just veer off to one side and let them finish their debate. But NO. I had to stand right between them.

The ride down was filled with unspoken animosity (between the professionals of course), wary-wandering eyes, and a stagnant stench with a mild scent of cheap cologne. And I thought to myself every last second of the-man-sandwich-elevator ride, from the moment I first entered to the moment of departure, that this was the last time I ride an elevator. Again.

Posted by Becca at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's so good to be back in the blogging world. I miss it so much. Not a day goes by that I don't have an experience I'm dying to log on my websites. It's just that being a grown-up sucks all the energy out of you and robs you a little of what you enjoy. I have sooo many stories I want to share with you, there just hasn't been the time. So many things have happened to me since I last wrote.

BUT, I would like to start off my "season-premiere" story, if you will, with a little tribute to all the pychoes that have to buy like five different lottery tickets slash quicksteps slash tx two-step slash pick threes at a convenient store at 6:50am in the morning. Mother! You have a got issues if you are gambling that EARLY in the morning.

I was already running late to work, and I thought I would stop and get a snack for the day like I always do. As I grabbed my last snack from the candy aisle my eyes met up with a gentlemen on the opposite side of the store from where I was standing, but equidistant from the cashier's desk. Covertly, we both started towards the front. Not long into our stroll to the front counter we decided to lay aside our composure and just race. Needless to say he beat me, (dang pumps!), and also decided to purchase every gambling scratch-off ticket possible. Would should have been a quick stop was a 15 minute break. I made it to work on time (counting the 7 minute grace period of course). Yay for me. I always have a way of pushing the limits, but for some reason I seem to pull through. It's a gift, I know.

Posted by Becca at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

My Second Job was a little bit of a hook-up from my big bro. He was working for Gateway Cinemas at the time, and they were hiring for the Christmas Holidays like crazy. He said I could probably go in and be hired on the spot without an interview if I was lucky. And that was exactly what DIDN'T happen.

I walked in a little too professionally dressed for the job position, but what did I know, it was my second job. And Gateway is like the "stuck-up" theatre of Austin where all the preppy kids that have mommy and daddy's credit card go. I felt instant smugness when I walked in. Everyone was looking me up and down like they've never seen a person of color before. And then I realized it was because my zipper was down. ha.

After twenty minutes of waiting for the manager, Miss Teeter (later deemed The Teeternator), took me into her office to start the interview. The interview was drawn-out for like an hour and I thought to myslef, "how hard can working for concessions really be?" Towards the end of the interview we finally got to the meat of the interrogation and it went as follows:

"Rebecca, so, what qualifies you for this job?"

I said, "I get along well with others, and I'm great at Multi-tasking."

"Great. Rebecca, and what weeknesses do you have that might be of concern?"

I said,"Well, I would say CHOCOLATE."

[awkward pause]

"hahahahahahahaha!"

"Oh, um, heh...you mean about the job?....(still giggling about the joke)...well, I really don't have any. The only thing I can say is that my weekness might be over exerting one of my strengths at times."

"Interesting. Sooooooo, can you start this afternoon?"

Score!! My first successful interview integrating the great humor factor. It took a few seconds for her to catch on, but she got it and that's all that matters.

Later on that afternoon I returned to start the big day. Teeter took me in to the back of concessions, upstairs, where the lockerooms were. Saw the video, got the t-shirt, got the vest, got the bow-tie, and off to concessions for training.

To be continued....

Posted by Becca at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

So my first job didn't work out, but it DID teach me a little responsibility like my parents thought it would. I learned punctuality is a must, I learned that sleep is a must, and most importantly I learned that you can't get away with anything when a only a two-sided window separates you from your manager.

I was a good employee though not to give ya'll the wrong idea. It was just that one little mishap. And I learned quick. But I'm like that though. I like to try things one time to see if I can get away with it. If I get away with it-which never happens-I'll see how far I'll go the next time, and if I don't God makes SURE I'm bombarded with a series of consequences that remind me never to cross the line again. Even growing up my parents would tell me that it just took one spanking to set me back on track...that I learned quick. lol. And so far that's still true.

I did my duties well while I was there. I was sad to leave the laid-back ambiance. I wouldn't know how much I would miss it until I started working for the theatre, job #2. I would ask you to wish me luck, but it IS a little too late seeing as how it's been four years already.

Posted by Becca at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

My first job was basically a hook-up from my grandpa. He worked for Symetry Corporation in Pflugerville making wood furniture for other businesses. I was fifteen and my parents thought it would be a good way to learn responsibility. Pfff!

My official title at Symetry was Receptionist and my job description entailed answering the telephones and filing. That's it! The only problem was that the job was during the summer, and the shifts started at 6 a.m. Yeah, I know...what was I thinking??!! Needless to stay, staying awake prooved to be a harder task than the ones listed under my job description.

My manager's office was behind me seperated by a HUGE one-sided window where she could see me, but I couldn't see her. I would fold my arms so that it looked like I was awake from the backside, but in reality I was sound asleep (especially for the first couple of hours every day). One day I was caught though. I was awakened by my manager pounding the glass behind me, I turned around to see what the noise was, and then turned around again only to be confronted by what looked like a very beligerent customer. I only got a verbal warning. Fair enough.

What was wierd though was a couple of weeks later the manager called me in to her office. She told me that she had to "let me go" because an employee that worked there was on parole and his terms were that he could not be within so many feet of girls under 17 (okay?). I argued it a little like, "Why don't they fire him instead?" She said it was illegal to fire someone on those terms after they've been hired or something to that effect. So sadly that was my last day. boo. I got over it though.

Posted by Becca at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've worked so much; I've worked in so many fields-so to speak; and I've worked with many-many different kinds of people; therefore I know this blog is going to be successful over all my other blogs. pfffff!

I realize I have 6 years worth of working experience that I need to catch you up on, so I will try to make the subsequent blogs as trite and truthful as possible so that I can talk about what I really want to talk about...and that is the State Job I have currently.

Until next time amigos.

Posted by Becca at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments