I don’t know if I’ve got a typical work history or not. When I talk to others about what they have done in life and where they have worked, their story differs from mine. Maybe I just went about it a different way…

I did not work at all during high school, and that includes summer jobs. Sure, I did some things here and there for money, but was officially unemployed until I was 18 and out of high school. Surprisingly, I had a tough time finding a job in the fast food industry since I had no work experience. Can someone please tell me what experience is relevant to flipping burgers or pushing buttons on a cash register? Counting? Showing up to work? I was surprised how long it took to find a job in that industry. When I finally did, I landed a delivery boy job for Round Table Pizza, a west coast pizza chain with some really good pizza.

I worked there for three months before quitting without notice. I was bored with it. My departure was evidently a surprise to everyone there. Apparently, it was common practice to give an employer two week’s notice before leaving a job. You learn something new every day. Either no one thought to tell me that, or I wasn’t listening. Both options are equally plausible.

Did I tell you that I was running a business and teaching school at the same time? Well, not exactly the same time, but there was some overlap. I was at that time self employed as a certified personal fitness trainer, which assisted in landing me a teaching job at a private school. I suppose California law allowed for private schools to hire whomever they wanted.

I guess I met some minimal requirements, because I got the job. On my father’s advice, I had written a proposal to the school board, asking them to hire me and purchase some fitness equipment so I could teach general weight lifting and fitness to the 7 - 10 grade (the school was K - 12) students. I was awarded the position and paid in what amounted to slightly salted peanuts in cash form. I taught the whole year, and it was really, really bad. I was 18 and just out of school, so I guess that’s my excuse.

After that year, it was off to college! In my next post, I’ll tell you readers a bit about that experience, since it’s relevant to my flight from the cubicle life and into the real world. Following that, it’s on to my work-wandering, where the real root of this quest is found.