Last year I started joining in with a lovely bunch of ladies with the Not Just A Mom linky, each month following a prompt and I really enjoyed it. Finding new blogs to read and writing about things which I wouldn't normally. This year the Not Just A Mom ladies are rebranding and it's now called Share Our Lives. There are new topics to blog about each month and I am very excited.
This months Share Our Lives prompt is: Introductions and Jobs you've had.
Hello there I'm Kim and you can read all about me on my About Me page and for once it's pretty up to date. hehehe I live in England which makes this linky so interesting as the majority of the bloggers are from America and Canada.
That's the introductions over with and I can get on about writing about the jobs that I have had which are very varied.
My first ever job was a Saturday job at some riding stables near where we lived when I was 12 or 13 years old. In exchange for mucking out horses and grooming them I would get riding lessons. The stupid thing was I had my own horses at home and knew how to ride them but the grass is always greener and someone else's horses were always better. I learned a lot from that job. I certainly learned how to deal with difficult horses and ponies.
When I was 15 I worked in a launderette folding clothes and I only wanted that job because I had a crush on the owners son. lol When I turned 16 I got an extra job, working in a Bookmakers/Betting shop. I was the cleaner. I would go in every evening after it had closed and tidy up and clean. The funny thing was that I was underage so when it was pay day I had to stand outside and get the attention of a member of staff to get my wages as I wasn't legally allowed in because of my age. It was a great little job and I loved my manager and one year ended up with a £50 Christmas bonus as one evening they had started cashing up and hadn't finished. There were bags of coins near the till, I phoned the manager and asked if I should put them somewhere safe. He could have lost his job if I hadn't have rang and said the money was left out.
When I was 18 I started working in McDonalds and the money was fantastic but I am sure they broke some laws about the hours that they had people working. There were many times where I was on the late shift finishing at midnight, not getting home until coming on for 1am and then starting work again at 6am. I didn't question it at the time. There was no set work either, one day I could be cleaning, the next in the kitchen and the next on the tills serving people. It was great for experience but there was little training. I was shown how to make a Big Mac once and just muddled through. Thankfully there were no complaints and the biggest bonus was that I would get a free meal each day that I worked. I stayed there for a couple of years.
I saw a job in a factory closer to where I lived and I had an interview and started the next day. It was making Black and Decker power tools. I absolutely loved that job. One week I worked 7am until 3pm, the next 3pm until 11pm and the next night shift 11pm until 7am. I made some fantastic friends and had such a laugh. Some shifts it didn't even feel like work. We had a target to work to and if we hit it we could just go for a coffee until the shift ended. I think if you asked me to put a Black and Decker Jigsaw together now I still could. hehehe I knew all the jobs on the assembly line.
The only reason I left Black & Decker is because I had my appendix out and it took me a while to recover after having a bad reaction to the anaesthetic. There was no such thing as sick pay as I was classed as a temporary worker despite working there for over a year. I soon got another job, a cleaner in a care home. I didn't last long as the manager seemed to take a dislike to me. I was expected to clean the whole top floor of the home in the same time as 2 other members of staff did downstairs with less private bedrooms to clean, less bathrooms and less used spaces, it was impossible. One day I was taken into the office by the manager and was given a talking to, she spoke to me like I was a child and said I had to work to the end of the week then I was sacked. I said screw that, I'm out of here now, you know where the mop is, do the job yourself. A month after I left the manager was sacked for many different reasons but one of them was being awful to her staff.
I wish I knew back then what I know now about the legalities when it comes to jobs and working. Unfair dismissal, working hours, reporting people who don't do their jobs properly and what training I should have had. Were there even the same laws back then in the late 90's/early 2000's?
Over the last 20 years I have been lucky to be in a position where I haven't had to work. Some people will say I am lazy and work shy but I had my girls, then they were diagnosed with their heart defects and Ellie had a lot of other problems. There were hospital appointments sometimes we were there twice a week and there were times when I was up and down to the school at least 3 times a week. I shouldn't have to explain myself but I feel like I do. I have really enjoyed being a stay at home mum to my girls and feel so lucky that I could be at home but they are 21 and 16 now and this part of my life is coming to an end. I have been looking for work and applying for jobs over the last year and as much as I love living where I do it is no good for finding work as the buses are not great and no one wants someone who's been out of work for the last almost 20 years. I have had a couple of interviews but nothing has came of them. I will still keep looking.
I am linking up with:
Dara from Not In Jersey.
Jen from Show me & Sweet tea.
Joanne from Slices of Life.
Sarah from Toronto Sam.
People might say I'm lazy too as I stay home and my kids are mainly in school. But it works for me! Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with us! I love the stories about your past experiences!
ReplyDeleteYou can assemble a Black and Decker Jigsaw?! That's impressive!
ReplyDeleteAre you considering being a carer? I think the situation changed from 20 years ago and it might be a fulfilling role, helping others. It might also be emotionally draining though. Anyway, I hope you find the job you like. Good luck with the search!
I just read your girls' heart stories, and wow! So little to have to go through such a tough thing! I'm a heart surgery survivor myself, and I just can't imagine having to go through this with both girls. Thank goodness they are ok! It's been so interesting reading your posts! I'm glad I found your blog! I'll be reading along!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool about working at Black and Decker! Those kinds of jobs are great - where you enjoy what you do and the people you work with! I was really concerned about getting back into the workforce after being a homeschool mom for so many years - and the jobs I'd had over the past several years were someone contacting me or recommending me - but the one I found has been a great fit. I don't know how many job openings there are where you live, but responsible and reliable people who want to work and can be counted on are very valuable in any industry, so don't sell yourself short! Hope you find something that really suits you and that you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we had any of the same labor laws back then as I remember lots of kids in my high school working very late shifts at Mc Donald's and other places like that. I don't think you need to explain yourself at all; I have always felt so fortunate that I was able to be a stay at home mom... and while my youngest will be off to college soon I have zero plans to enter the work force, but I would like to try volunteering at a few places!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with us. I enjoyed getting to know more about you. So funny about the job b/c of a crush. haha!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of you as you look for work... And don't feel like you have to explain why you didn't work while your girls were around -- taking care of our kids IS work and a lot of things get put on hold when both parents work at jobs outside the home. Also, there are DEFINITELY aspects of jobs I had when I was younger that I now wish I would have reported -- especially the conditions at one babysitting job I had.
ReplyDelete