Your Place..Your Pace...

Lately I have been reviewing my life in work and career..remembering all the careers I had.
Surprisingly Undercover Boss, made me think about my careers- It was the new chain "Freshie", in Vancouver, Fuck that if I want to toss salad, only place I'll do that is in the bedroom. The show however was a real tear jerker, and made me think about how far I've come today.

Reviewing some of the careers I had, some bad, some good and more importantly some that have shaped me of who I am today.

My first job was in a donut shop working graveyards and surprisingly I loved it! Next MacDonald's"s, then a fabric store, Smart set, Kaman Bearing to land me finally learning to be a Dental Assistant and cooking and tree planting for a forestry company. This all took place in Terrace BC, these jobs were from age 15 to 26. The split in between these Jobs was when I saved my MacDonald's money and moved to Edmonton, I worked in Raglans then worked my way to store assistant in Le Chateau.

When the kids were toddlers I went to collage and took my first two years of transferable university courses, all Psychology, science, English Lit and creative writing, anthropology, sociology. I did two more years of Psychology via correspondence.
I did my third year at Douglas Collage, I plarred my 4th year.

I remember clearly when I started to realize one of my passions. I had gotten sick twice in the OR of the Terrace hospital trying to assist during oral surgery on a baby, for nursing bottle disease. I realized, after that I could not see myself doing that for the rest of my life.

I started to think creatively within. I wanted to take makeup in Vancouver. I had big dreams.
So I left with the two small baby's after having a divorce and started bar tending in several places.
one to raise money for school. I worked at Extra Foods in North Van, Then took a coarse threw The Roxy on Bar tending.

I did very well learning how to bottle sling, becoming the main assistant to the Elephant Castle in Guildford.
I was now a expert on reading customers and understanding them, I was also a server and cute and the tips couldn't come in fast enough.

I managed to go to makeup school, I was a casual at The Bay, a rep for Christian Dior and The Bay fragrance, I finally got a position at Biotherm, they were introducing makeup and I was going to be the new manager.

I worked part time at Shoppers Drug Mart and got a few TV gigs, such as Vancouver Breakfast and Urban TV. I started to do makeup as a permit tee for IASTEE. Mostly I was managing the makeup counter for Biotherm. This lasted about 5 years. I was part of the XMEN crew, for a short time.

I really wanted a career that was stimulating but less on the feet, I was finding it hard with the commuting, 16 hour days then raising my two sons, I was stressed out to the max. I looked into legal. I remember I saw a advertisement for a corporate paralegal, I knew nothing about legal-However at the bottom in small print it said, "will train". I decided to start admin courses on the side from a placement agency- Jacob Secretarial, I was placed as a court runner for DYE & DURHAM, I hated it, but I knew it was on my resume. I worked exactly one month part time in hopes this paralegal position would still be available.

I went into he office and asked to speak to the lawyer, I told him straight up I knew nothing, I was a sharp learning and was trainable, I have a amazing memory and would be the best paralegal he ever had.( I wore a very short pencil skirt)

I was also the administrator. The lawyer had a few veteran paralegals also in the office who also shaped me to be good at my career. I was now making what I call a real salary. I learned corporate law and how to split stock, create shares in a company, make the company in a binder, set meetings, refuse client accounts, do receivables and payables, I specialized in helping single dads hide their money from their wives. I was officially playing in the boys club.

Then I was in a bad car accident, I could even whip my own ass, they said it would be a year of rehabilitation.

The boys went to my dad, I lost my job, I was pretty much a vegetable. I was in a call center 6 months, later trying to regain use of my arm, shoulder and I can honestly swear that my left hand never types like my right.

I didn't know what I was going to do. I kept working, until my settlement came in, which I settled for a mere 16k to get my kids home and start over with me and my new boyfriend,  they were not thrilled to meet.

When we picked up the boys, they had massive head lice, and as I hugged my oldest son, I saw them crawling on the top of his head, I ignored it and said-we have to make a trip before home. He smiled up at me with a clearly rotten tooth and said, POP was great. ..lol

The money went fast and I still didn't know what to do. I had one risky job I did which will probably haunt me forever, while I was at the call center.

 I did pantie chat online, a friend convinced me that my role was very innocent, basically I sat in panties and introduced the site live for members to join.  I was constantly being told I should try the porn due to my looks and the money...but  from what I saw, no way was I going to do any of that.

I did the pantie chat for $10hr on weekends. On one random day, the boss of the company said there was a guy looking for a collage girl, mostly talking(dirty talk) I thought ok that seems innocent enough, well it really wasn't that innocent, and I saw in 30 minutes 3k appear across the screen...so I went with it.

However that one very small incident of me playing with myself led to my family getting wind of it, my father hearing of it..and next thing you know I was a porn star on the Internet, a dirty disgusting ho.

 I believe I was called. I quit the pantie chat that day, I never went back..lol, and now to think of it, it was really silly, not even what one would consider porn.

 The worst part was the fire chief calling me up ( My father) "what in gods name are you doing down there, pantie chat?" "You are my daughter and I am sickened and embarrassed about this, you remove yourself immediately." I could feel the bile rising in my throat, and wanting to explain, but then the horror struck, and I did get sick, did my father see me play with myself? And what the fuck was he doing on there?

No, it was of coarse one of my sisters. Of coarse,lol how could it not be. The real funny thing was until last year one of my sister's thought I was a fucking handy dart driver, telling me I've never held a job and what a complete loser I was. Handy dart actually makes good money..lol

One thing I learned from this little underground world, its everywhere in Vancouver, its is very popular and you'd be surprised on what type of people have done this or much more in depth. This place was a hidden door in a very popular area, inside were several assorted rooms, most of the shows were girl on girl-no men.
The odd time they'd call a man in, but this was rare. Even still I watched the spare Screens one day of what some of the women did , and I was mortified. I really was the innocent one of the bunch.

I worked several retail jobs, at least all were managerial, mostly clothing stores. I was not happy. I did a few fashion shows, non profit. I did some very small contracts in makeup and still worked seasonal hours for The Bay and Sears.

I finally landed a larger career at a jewelry store that was rapidly growing in Vancouver. Then my partner left me. I really had no idea, I was severely depressed.

It was my mom who said, "why don't you just clean toilets, be a house keeper or nanny, go on IE or welfare, take a break, get well. Don't think"

 So I did- and the women was like my guardian angel, she was hard to work for-but she healed me. In every way, after awhile of caring for her kids she learned of my sales background and I helped do some small secretarial, assistant stuff.

I was bonding with girlfriends and they were helping me decide how to re-train in something.

There film industry was on strike, no work there, retail had cuts in wages, and I did not want to go back.

I finally got a part time job in the caregiver field, I was getting training rapidly, going back to school and next thing I knew I was a residential manager(way over my head) After two years, I knew I had to bail or get fired and get more training.

I did , more courses and did a attempt at the union positions- I was in!
3 years later and back to school I was then a licensed facilitator and SSW of a high behavioral group home, and now I knew what I was doing and I excelled for 5 years. Word spread...not only was I working for this union, I was now employed by 4 others...I did not know I was hitting burnout fast.
Basically I could work 24/7 in this field, I could even get paid to sleep!

So now..It's 8 long years. I am tired. There's come to a point where you just don't give a fuck.
the only thing you can think about is, sleeping in..have a numerous amount of time to do everything you want to do. I don't know where my place will be..Do you know where yours is? I do know I live every day for today, I don't regret anything..it has shaped me for who I am.

I don't know what my ending story will be. I do know I will be a writer, have a garden and have traveled.
I know that my days will be at my pace. I will have someone to share it with.
That is all I need to know.

Gvix Signing off