Three-Piece
by Anthony–Age 25—Raleigh, NC
At the end our Sunday School lesson about the perils of masturbation, the teacher offered me my first job. I was 15. He was a contractor. My only other option was Chik-fil-a. I accepted his offer. I started in June and quit when it got cold. My last day was Halloween.
My second job was restocking inventory, 3rd shift at Kmart. I was 16. I started November 2nd, and left December 31st, just over a year later.
My next job was a quick climb up the ladder from data entry to mail room to sound tech to production manager to assistant office manager. I stayed for 3.5 years. I was laid off when the company moved out of state. My severance package was one month’s pay and one month’s health benefits. Two weeks after my last day, I broke my arm and discovered my insurance had been cut without my knowledge – before I was notified I was being laid off. After leaving the hospital, I called them, drunk and on Vicodin, ranting about the situation—”You’re a Christian non-profit organization, for fuck’s sake!” They agreed to pay my medical bills.
It took 10 months to find another job—this one at a law firm. I was 23. I became a legal assistant. My job was to be as sycophantic as possible, whenever an attorney was present. I stayed for 2.5 years, leaving when I landed a job as a paralegal, working for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee.
Halloween was a week after I started, and I went to work in drag. My costume won me a paid day off. A month after I started this job, my girlfriend totaled her car, so I got a second job, working weekends at an independent art house movie theater, since I would soon be making three car payments. Money is still tight, and so I’ve landed a third job at a city recreation center, working phones in the evenings, during the week.
I was told in 2000 when I graduated from high school that I was entering the most prosperous era our country had ever seen. In 2005, when I finished college, I was told I was entering the worst economy this country has seen since the Great Depression. I am 25 now, and if you’re hiring, I’d be happy to send you my resume.
i liked what i read…and would like to read more…
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