Friday, August 8, 2008

A2A: The Teen Years - Berries + Soap Operas = Lucky

Tip of the Day: Check out the Class of 2k8's blog. This week we've interviewed Printz winners and award winners and it's a great read! http://classof2k8.blogspot.com/

Wow, you people have had some interesting jobs! And cool. And even fun! Man, I had *nothing* even close to cool or fun.

I basically had three jobs to pick from as far as jobs I had as a teen. 1) The occasional babysitting I did (I babysat a LOT as a tween). I didn’t mind the work, but boy the pay sucked. I remember this one lady across the street had four kids and only paid me $1.00/hour. Now, granted, this was, ahem, many years ago, but I can promise you that $1.00/hour for FOUR kids was not even close to fair. I guess that shows you how desperate I was for money. 2) I picked strawberries the summer of my freshman year. 3) A clerk/receptionist at an insurance agency during my junior and senior years.

The clerk/receptionist was a GREAT job because I left school at like 2:00 and worked there for 3 hours every weekday. I had my evenings and weekends free. During summer vacation, I worked full-time. The people were nice, the work was fairly interesting, and the pay was more than minimum wage!

But, I’m gonna tell you why I loved that strawberry picking job the most. Okay, at the time, I'm pretty sure I thought it sucked. It was REALLY hard work. But now, looking back, I have fond memories of my dear grandma driving me to the field every morning and coming back at lunch time to pick me up. I didn't want to work the whole day, and she didn't make me. We’d go back to her house, have lunch, and then she and I would sit and watch soap operas together. Because of me, she totally got hooked on General Hospital.

For those three to four weeks of berry picking, I made about $80.00. Uh, yeah. So I didn’t break the bank with that job. But I was trying to earn money to buy myself a purebred cocker spaniel. My grandparents ended up matching the amount I earned, so I then had enough to buy a puppy from a breeder.

My dog, Lucky, soon became the love of my life, thanks to that berry picking job.

That's why Berries + Soap Operas = Lucky! :)

~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I’m Pubbed

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was nice reading your entry and finding out that you too used to watch GH! It was an outlet for me during a bad time in my life. Love your articles!

Emily Marshall said...

How sweet Lisa. So glad you have fond memories of your jobs. I used to babysit a ton as well. I did get better than $1 an hour, which is ridiculous for 4 kids. But I didn't make that much more.

Never picked berries, but my sister used to have a corn detasseling job and would come home in the summers dirty and sweaty. It looked like a down-right horrible job. I don't envy anyone that's had any food picking/farming type job.

DeenaML said...

Lisa, berry picking sounds fun now!
ghfan, I watched GH for years when I was a tween (too old for cartoons after school, too young for a real job).
Em, a CORN-DETASSLER? HAHAHAHA! That's awesome.

Kristina Springer said...

Awwww- that's such a sweet story! Some of my favorite memories are watching All My Children with my mom when I was 4! I guess that is why i still watch it.

And $1 for 4 kids? Wow. Um...wanna babysit? Hee hee.

Kate Fall said...

Lisa, that's such a cute story. Berry picking for a puppy, that's so Strawberry Shortcake!

My soap was always Days of Our Lives. Me and my girlfriends had a Days vs. GH running joke. My dream job as a teen was to become a soap opera writer!

Lisa Schroeder said...

ghfan - I loved GH, and would probably still watch if I didn't have the stupid work thing. :) Thanks for stopping by.

Em - You never picked berries? Boy, you missed out. ;)

Deena - I don't know if it was exactly fun, although it was quite filling, since I often ate as much as I picked.

Tina - I know!! That lady took advantage of me and I was always too afraid to say anything. I'd totally babysit for you for free if I lived nearby. :)

Kate - Wait a minute. Soap opera writer? You mean, none of it's real??? NO!!!!