100 Things - How I've Earned My Dough

Well, campers. After this we'll be at the half-way mark of the update of my 100 things list. And tonight? I'll be back in Georgia and back to the grind! If you don't see a post tomorrow, then I've dumped it all for a life in Antigua. Come visit if you can!

Back to reality. Today's 10 list is:

10 Things I've Done to Earn Money
(I swear, Fab, no hooker jokes!)

1. I worked as a student-worker at my college's student recruiting office. This was, technically, my first job. I processed applications to the college, pulled transcripts of former students, gave campus tours when needed, and generally had a great time. I held down this job for four years and by the time I graduated, I could process a North Georgia College application like nobody's business.

2. I worked as a sales associate at Express. Oh, I loved this job for the clothes but hated it for the selling. I hate selling. I couldn't even sell space heaters to Eskimos if I needed to. I'm just that bad at it. But, damn. I was one stylish college student!

3. I soldered keypads for my father-in-law. This lasted all of one day. After I soldered the fifth one wrong, I was put on warehouse-sweeping duty.

4. I spent a summer doing undergraduate research. The summer before my senior year in college, I spent ten weeks at the University of Alabama in Huntsville doing undergrad physics research. I got paid $2,500. Excellent, easy cash, baby!

5. I was a data entry clerk for the West Virginia Department of Parks & Recreation. I spent the summer after college graduation entering accounting data into the state's accounting program. Boring, mind-numbing, and dull. They wanted me to stay on. I said bye for greener Georgia pastures.

6. I wrote technical manuals and designed computer circuit boards. This was my first real job out of college and it was with my father's-in-law company. They design proprietary software for the FAA.

7. I was an office manager for a start-up company. Two anesthesiologists started a company with new technology that would make the billing of anesthesia patients more accurate. No one bought into it. I spent four months reading eight hours a day and answering the odd phone call here and there.

8. I was a course developer with ExecuTrain. Here. Write this manual on the newest version of Microsoft Word, using the beta version of the software and no help files. Write the accompanying instructor guide, post-class test, and class slide show. Oh, wait. It's a year later. Do it all over again!

9. I was scuba diving instructor. The pay sucked but while others were shackled to their desks, I was in a pool doing back flips with students. Ahhhh, the life. Until the shop owners expected me to sell the gear. Then? We had problems.

10. I was a dive travel agency Girl Friday. That was a great job until the cold calling began. Run away!

And there you have it, my jobs, all ten of them, right up to motherhood. And that job? Has been the best (albeit somewhat frustrating and frightening) job of all. Tune in, at some point, for the next ten... ten things that make me cry!