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Saturday, February 28, 2009

High School - College Job

I think I've mentioned here that I have a Facebook page (just look for Stephen Albert in Scranton), and yesterday I added a friend that I had worked for...I believe she was my manager...during a job I had in High School and College. It was great to add Kathy (the new Facebook friend), as I have seen her once or twice over the years, and just as was the case "back in the day", she's still a terrific person and I am thrilled that she is doing well.

Having Kathy on Facebook reminded me of what it was like doing the kind of work I did back then. While most of my peers had jobs washing dishes (I actually did that too for many weekends while in high school), the job I had during summers was working at a private facility for the mentally retarded. I know, "awwwwwwwwwwwww". It was an unlikely job for me, as in hindsight I have no interest in that kind of Human Services work. I got the job mainly because my mother was a night-shift supervisor at this place. But so I digress. Anyway, it was an "interesting" experience, to say the least. Some of the things that happened to me include:
  • I lost 3 or 4 watches that were flushed down toilets by the clients (I would take them off to help with showers/baths, and for some reason flushing my watch was considered to be a sport of sorts)
  • While working at the summer camp of this place, I had a door slammed in my face by an angry young man; this caused a cut on my nose. Sounds bad? Hahhhhh...it got worse. There must have been something on the door because I ended up getting some bizarre fungal infection on my face that took weeks to clear off. It looked for a time like my face was being consumed by some alien infection. No wonder I didn't get many dates.
  • I got chicken pox at age 18 or 19. I was never so sick in all my life. In addition to the fever that spiked at 104 degrees, I had the sores everywhere...including the soles of my feet.
And those were just the top three....there are other stories, but I think you get the drift.

It was, shall we say, quite an experience.

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