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2002: The Danger of
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2003: The Hours
Creep on Apace
2004: Famous
Last Words
2005: It's
Really Over...Sigh
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"Trip to New Norcia"
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EVERYBODY'S DOING IT
9 February 2006
Well, maybe not everybody,
but Jim, at least--and, really,
who else matters?
Yeah, everybody is listing
all the jobs they've had throughout their lives, so I thought I'd give it a shot. A
lot of these jobs were held concurrently, so I've always despaired of trying to put
together a resume in chronological order because nobody would believe it.
My very first job, I
have mentioned before, was passing out campaign literature, door to door, for a guy who
ultimately lost his bid for a seat on the SF Board of Supervisors.
There were numerous
babysitting jobs
I washed specimen
slides, petrie dishes and test tubes for a medical laboratory. Occasionally I helped
hold down the arm of a nervous patient who had to be poked for a blood sample.
I worked for a summer as
a "biller/clerk" for a company that sold cheap tools.
I was a secretary for my
high school for six months, after graduation. This was the six month period when I
was trying to decide if I was going to enter the convent after all.
I worked in the
development office for the Newman Center on the UC Berkeley campus. "Sell
Memorials," was the watchword. We were raising money to build the new Newman
Center (Ned was later baptized in the church that my efforts helped to build).
Then I had my first
"real" job, as secretary to three physics professors at UC Berkeley. I
loved that job and held it for four years, until I left to give birth to Jeri. I
continued to work for the office at home for a bit, but that didn't last too long.
I did typing for
students for far too many years. That I never killed at least one of the PhD
candidates when trying to type their theses on a manual typewriter is a great credit to
either my self control or the fact that we have never owned a gun.
When we moved to Davis,
I started doing day care, unaware that I was supposed to be licensed. I had to give
up that job when my neighbor reported me.
I went to work for The
Secretariat, a typing company which typed for students and professionals in town. We
met a lot of nutcases in this job, including a guy who would have conversations with
people from outer space in our office, and the guy who came in wearing short-shorts and
nothing else and literally "let it all hang out."
During this time I
started working for "the psychiatrist"--or maybe I had been working for him
before this; I don't remember.
Did some private in-home
typing of PhD theses too.
And I worked 2 days a
week in San Francisco, at The Lamplighters, mostly as a volunteer, but they did pay me a
little bit.
I was also a cake
decorator during this time. Davis didn't have any bakery except Safeway, so I was
decorating and selling cakes out of my kitchen; I later became the first cake decorator
for the new bakery that opened up.
Worked with the
newspaper for the first time, writing a school news column (I got paid for doing it).
I later wrote a monthly newspaper column for the Mental Health Association and quit
after 2 years when I told the committee that I had exhausted all of the topics in my own
life that I was willing to make public (so later I started an Internet journal!
LOL.)
Left the Secretariat and
went to The Typing Company, where I did More Of Same, but also learned medical
transcription.
Worked as on-call
medical transcriptionist for most of the doctors' offices in town.
Did a 6 month stint in a
different psychiatrist's office, typing forensic reports.
Back to The Typing
Company till the owner decided to close up.
Went to work as the
in-house transcriptionist for Women's Health Associates.
Took over as office
manager for Women's Health Associates.
(during all this time
continued to work at home for the psychiatrist and one other psychiatrist)
After David died, I also
started typing for a psychologist, who had been David's therapist for awhile.
Left Women's Health and
took a couple of years off, when I only continued to do transcription at home.
I also started my own
business, Double Click, which never really went anywhere. I was helping
people--especially older people--learn how to use their computers. I helped a few people,
but then the Senior Center started giving lessons for free, and that pretty much ended my
business. The most difficult part of having my own business was asking people for
money. I did a lot of unintentionally free work!
Took over as theatre
critic, while continuing to work the other jobs.
Got hired by Dr. G,
where I worked managing his office for 2 years until my bike accident
Continued doing at-home
typing after I left Dr. G's office.
Took a job doing
shit-work for a local public service agency, which fired me after one month for reasons
they declined to state.
Now I just transcribe
for the psychiatrist and write theatre reviews and feature articles for the newspaper.
Gee--this list was longer
than I expected it would be. And I didn't even begin to list all the
volunteer work I did during all this time, like being the newsletter editor for La Leche
League, as well as a counselor for breastfeeding women, being a member of the President's
Council for The Experiment in International Living (didn't earn a salary, but they flew me
around the country twice a year to meet with all the other members of the council), and a
bunch of other stuff.
Most of my jobs, whether
paid or "major volunteer," lasted roughly 7 years, though I was at Women's
Health, in various capacities, for about 12 years.
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