I Don't Work at All

When I had lost my job, I was shocked.  (but not super shocked, I didn't like the job and it showed)

It isn't easy being fired.  It beings emotions of not being good enough or being a loser.  Truth be told, many successful people have been fired.  Google it if you want.

When I was down and out, I decided to make a list of all of the jobs I had over the years:

Babysitter
Custodian
Student Research Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Walmart Associate (CSM)
Laundry Cleaner
Hostess
Busser
Bartender
Waitress
Financial Aid Employee
Order Entry Clerk
Club Manager Assistant
YMCA Guest Services

The list goes on and on....I held many hats over my lifetime.

The point of my list was to help me figure out which job made me the happiest.  Which job did I enjoy doing despite the compensation.  Which job I wanted to focus on.

This helped me target my next employer.

I loved my Walmart job the most with being a hostess as a close second.

Then I listed why I liked this (these) job(s) the most.

It was simply because I enjoy customer service and not being tied to a desk for eight hours a day.

I worked for Walmart in the mid 90's.  This was before I had kids and I was able to work the whacky hour schedule and I could live on a minimum amount of money.  I loved the people I worked with.  I still see a few of them when I stop in my old store.  They welcome me with hugs and smiles.  They ask how everything is and then they ask when I am coming back.  This always makes me feel good about the type of people that Walmart hires.

So I decided to apply again at a store closer to where I live now.  I didn't expect too much as I thought that they might think I was more of the office type since I haven't done customer service in a million years.

A week later I was offered a job in the sporting goods/automotive department.

I was stunned and happily accepted.  

I was nervous of course since it meant a pay cut from what I was used to and the hours aren't the typical 9 to 5.  

I was also nervous because I was afraid that I lost my customer service touch.

It was been almost two months since I started there and in these two months I have received many compliments from my supervisors on my job performance.  I also have such great satisfaction in talking with do many different people on a daily basis and helping them find what they need.  

Now this may seem silly and kind of dumb for someone to enjoy their job at Walmart but what really matters is that so many people have jobs because they just pay the bills.  People go to a job where they don't enjoy it.

I finally can say that I love what I do so it really isn't work at all.

Where to Go From Here...

So I've been unemployed for about a week now.  The novelty of staying home has worn off and I am beginning to climb the walls.  I have watched enough Law and Order SVU to actually solve a murder, try the perp and sentence him/her to the appropriate amount of time for the crime.

Thank God I haven't started in with soap operas and game shows.

Lately I've been working on my crafts (while watching Law and Order) and making wonderful things with wire, beads and hair clips.  It takes hours to come up with a few things since I have the equivalency of writer's block.

sigh

I've signed up on job service websites.  I cruise those to see what's out there.  I giggle as I refrain from applying for a detective or something legal like a lawyer.  I can't put Law and Order on my resume.

I also have been thinking about working for myself.

What could I do that would pay the bills and that I would enjoy?

I think of all those designers out there that design shoes, handbags, jewelry, hats, and other things.  I design barrettes and bangles for cell phones.  How do other designers get noticed?  How do they design and then mass produce it?  hrrmmmmmm....

So many questions....

I have a friend who is a travel writer.  She travels and writes.  I would love to do something like that but I don't think I am that great of a writer nor can I just pick up and leave with kids.  I just live through her writings and pretend that I went with her.

So much goes through my mind as Eliot and Olivia (reruns) solve crimes.

How will I pay the bills?  How will we eat?  

I need to figure something out.

How do others find jobs that they enjoy?  I haven't enjoyed a job since I worked at Walmart.  (I know, right?)  I loved working with people.  I loved supervising cashiers.  I loved little old ladies who couldn't find the right TV.  I loved the fast paced holiday season.  It didn't pay well, but I loved it.

My second favorite job of all time was working as a hostess in a local restaurant when I was a teenager.  I think I made $4.50 an hour but I loved it.  I loved the customers.  I loved my co-workers (Hell, I even married one of them).  I loved the holiday seasons.  I loved the smell of ribs cooking.

I guess the theme here is that I loved the two jobs that didn't pay the greatest but where I could work with people (customers).

So, maybe I have my answer just by writing all this out.

hrrmmmmmm......