Monday, March 30, 2009

First Jobs. Tag You're It.




My first job was at a donut shop. Yes, I was a Dunkin Donuts gal. If any of you are getting up in age like me, you'll remember this ad...Time To Make The Donuts.


That was actually my job. Well, I didn't "make the donuts", I was a donut finisher. That meant that I got to play with all the little pumps that filled the donuts with their processed faux fruitlike substances. I also got to put my hands in big vats of goo to fills up the donut filler machines and pastry bags and no, we weren't provided gloves.

It was a job right up my alley. Even back then I was antisocial and this allowed me to work in the back room safe from fucked up customers and their stupid pointing, hemming and hawing.

Some people treated choosing a dozen donuts like they were deciding what college their precious spoiled brats should attend.

On Saturday morning though, I had to work the dreaded FRONT COUNTER. Man this sucked. The only halfway good part was that even though there was a big obnoxious sign over my head that said "NO TIPPING", most men didn't let any fucking sign deter them from tipping the 16 year old in the pink smock and big boobies a few coins.

God Bless them.

Saturdays were so busy that sometimes I would bring the gentlemen (it was only men who sat at the counter alone in those days) their coffee and donut and was never able to go back and take payment so they would just leave it on the counter. That coinage went right in the ole tip jar.

Hey, how could I be sure what that money was meant for?? I was busy!

The greatest part about working at the donut shop was that it was opened 24 hours a day. Even though I had a curfew of 11pm, my parents would let me work until 2am when the managers needed me.

It was amazing how often I was desperately needed on Friday and Saturday nights through high school! Fortunately, I borrowed the only car so they could never stop by and visit and personal calls were strictly prohibited. (Or so I told them).

At that time, Dunkin Donuts was a franchise and each store was individually owned. The one that I pillaged was owned by a husband and wife team with the sister in law working as manager. You could just imagine the drama that went on in that place. Voices raised, donuts flying...

One of my most vivid memories is when I met my first husband across the counter. He was kind enough to warn me never to drink the grape or fruit juices as he and his friends routinely reached over, lifted the lids and put their cigarette ashes in it.

How could you not love someone so considerate?


So kiddos, how about doing a blog entry about your first job? I am tagging all of the kewl kids and the rest of you that are still in the initiation period. If you've already blogged about it, send a gal a link please.

Have a great week.

20 comments:

The Girl said...

We had the same first job. My Dunkin Donuts was on Hooker alley and I had to kick them out of our bathroom non-stop. Due to my experiences there, I'm not the type to run out and get donuts on a saturday morning.

razorbeck said...

My first job was the one I do now plus a few dozen promotions.

I was 15 and I spent spring break helping the company to move to new facilities and my summer shoveling gravel

I have infact only ever had 3 jobs, this one, delivering Domino's pizza for 2 months and I worked 18 months in a sheet metal manufacturing plant turning flat pieces of steel into wrinkled holey pieces of steel

Its been a glamorous old life

GiGi said...

Oh, the memories...thanks for giving me something to blog about this week - I ain't got shit! :)

The Dish said...

My first job was McDonalds. Yeah, I admitted it. I would post about it but it wasn't very exciting. Plus I tell plenty of exciting current work stories ;)!

Anonymous said...

I picked up shit at a petting zoo. Worst job of my life, and paid below minimum wage too. Fuckers.

Evil Twin's Wife said...

My first real job was at a Rax roast beef restaurant. I don't even think they're around anymore. It wasn't very exciting, although I do remember you could get free food (I was a vegetarian, so no roast beef sammiches for me), but I would order fries on a break - they wouldn't give you a container. They just put the fries directly on the tray. Apparently, they could give you the fries for free, but the cardboard holder was too precious a commodity. WTF? I'm surprised we didn't have to hold the drink in our cupped hands.

Christine said...

Alex..come on..more details than that. How did you get this job? Did you think you were going to be caring for animals and they handed you a pooper scooper?
ETW: That crackes me up about the cardboard container. How stupid. Although I have heard of places that allow you one cup a day that has to be reused. That seems reasonable.

Christine said...

The GYDBHM: Hookers would take their John's into the restrooms?
Razor: That happens a lot in a family business. They start you out and you never leave..yikes! Sorry, that sounded depressing.
GIGI: Can't wait to read it!
Bitchy: I never worked fast food. I don't thinkDD counts. It seems like everyone else was doing it but they wore polyester at that time and I simply refused to be seen in the uniform. I was even a snot then. Only the cotton DD uniform for me thanks.

Coffeypot said...

My first job was selling hotdogs and hamburgers at the Atlanta Crackers baseball park (Ponce De Leon Ball Park.) The broadcaster (Hank 'The Prank' Morgan) set up in a box over home plate with a catwalk to his location. During the 7th inning stretch I would have to take him two hotdogs and a Coca Cola. He would let me sit with him and watch the bottom half of the inning and listen to him broadcast the game between bits of hotdog. After the game I would have to take the bus home (transferring twice along the way) arriving after midnight. I was 16 years old. Can you imagine letting a 16 year old do that in Atlanta now?

Olly said...

Hahahaha! I worked at McDonald's for about 3 months when I was 14. My best friend worked there, too. We used to show up for our 2 hour shifts together high as kites and spend the entire two hours eating fries and seeing how little we could get away with doing!!!

Olly said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I was a KFC girl. It was actually a lot of fun. It's not like it is now where all the fast food places are run by Mexicans. It was just a bunch of other teenagers. My boyfriend worked at the Wendys across the street. We were the geeky fast food couple. Sometimes after I got off I would go through his drive through and order a Todd McGeehee.

Christine said...

Lots of fast food workers..I guess that is pretty typical for first jobs. I like coffeys though.. That would be kewl to sell stuff and be able to watch the game.

And no, I don't know many parents who would let a 16 year old ride alone with transfers in this day and age in Atlanta. Sad. I was thinking just the other day how at about 11 my parents let us go all by ourselves to Jones Beach. Two young girls tranferring once to get to the beach and coming back alone as well. Amazing how different things were back then. I couldn't even imagine putting my kid on a bus to the beach and saying...see you tonight at 11 years of age. I just think our parents weren't all that attached to us. lol

Libby said...

oh, chris! is that jones beach where you thought there was gonna be a free concert, peter frampton? i remember you told me about that once...& i'll blog about my first job later...

Christine said...

Yes lib..one and the same. You have a great memory!

Special K said...

My first job is not even worthy of a blog entry.
It was a summer job, before senior year at a chicken plant (the norm here we are Tyson country). I had to wear a hairnet, stinky rubber aprons and gloves. I got chicken itch on my arms, google it, it's nasty.
I went on to college after my senior year. "Nuff said.

Christine said...

SK. You people don't give enough information. What exactly did you DO at a chicken factory?? Did you have to take feathers off or cut up pieces or box things or what?? What is boring to you has me quite curious.

Burfica said...

My first ever job was when I was still in elementary school. The church hired my mom and my sister and I to clean the church "hall" (it's the big room where they held dances and socials and all the bit, with a big ass kitchen) My sister would be cleaning the kitchen, my job was to dust everything, and wipe down all the million tables and gazzilion chairs, and put the chairs up on the tables. So..mom and sister could do the floors.

But once I was a teenager, my very first job was training horses. I had my own horses that I had trained, and people started asking me to help train theirs or their kids how to ride right. I even got work release from school to do this.

Just Me said...

My first job is not really worth a whole post. I worked two summers in a packing house during high school. We only packed nectarines and bell peppers. It was hot, dirty, back breaking and we would pray that the machines would break down so we could get off our feet. The only thing that made it bearable was that I worked with my Mom, Aunt, Cousins and one of the GNO's. We had some good laughs at lunch time but the rest of the day sucked!

The Girl said...

Christine: Here's my link to My First Job Post

http://clarkiegirl73.blogspot.com/2009/04/nightmare-i-called-my-first-job.html