TTA: The Working Girl

Being one of 8 children I was quite anxious to obtain a job and make a little moola. I think I was about 15 when I got my first job doing some telemarketing with a couple of my girlfriends. My mom had to drive me to and from work every evening (good think gas was cheap back then) - I remember all sort of shenanigans going on. We weren't very good at following the rules -the calls were pretty brutal at times - we did make a few friends over the phone though. That lasted a couple of weeks.

Then I got a job working at the big waterpark in town called Wet n' Wild. WORST JOB EVER! I worked as a cashier in the hot, hot summer - which in Texas is REAL HOT! I liked this skater boy named Chris that worked there so that made it at least little bearable. I tried out lots of jobs- several were at clothing stores....The Gap, Lerner, Foley's (now Macy's) and Talbots. Most of my paychecks were spent filling my closet to the brim.I sold furniture and home accessories for a while at This End Up while I was in Design School. We still have some of the furniture - that stuff is real wood and lasts and lasts - the best part was the Oops! Sale. We got an outrageous discount like 90% off.
I worked 1 day putting toys together at the Mattel factory.

Barbie was not my friend. You've seen all those stinking wires they use to put those toys in the packages right? Enough said.

I also did the waitressing thing at The Grand Prairie Diner (high school) , the Outback Pub in Downtown Dallas, and Del Rio Mexican Grill (college) - boy those were good times - lots of friends from school worked there too. Many, many 'after hours' parties.

One of my best jobs was working at The Nana Grill. I was what many of my waiter friends termed The Hostess with the Mostest! As a uniform we had to wear these pretty little black suits that had lovely rhinestone and pearl buttons - high heels too. Yeah, we were hottie hostesses!

Nana is located atop the Loews Anatole Hotel (now the Hilton Anatole) on 27th Floor. This restaurant possesses a magnificent view of the Dallas skyline. It is named for a painting "Nana" by G. Marcel Suchorowsky which hangs in the bar.

Yep, a full on nude painting of the lovely Nana.

The painting is part of Trammell and Margaret Crow's art collection that is displayed at the Anatole - there are Picasso's, Wedgewood and bunches of other great pieces. It's fun to go exploring there just to see the art.
The restaurant has changed since I worked there...of course menus and chefs have come and gone. I worked with some amazingly talented chefs that have gone on to bigger and better things. Working at Nana was the period in my life when I became a total 'Foodie'. It was a 4 1/2 star restaurant at the time. The menu was Neauvou American and there was an Exhibition Kitchen right smack in the middle of the place. The atmosphere was amazing. The food was amazing and they hosted the most glorious Sunday Brunches EVER...even more glorious and over the top on holidays like Easter, Mother's Day and Thanksgiving! I still haven't seen or eaten anything that quite compares. Luckily, I was able to swipe a few recipes of my favorite dishes. Nana Salad....mmmm....need to put that on my menu list for next week!

I did my Interior Design internship with Daiker Howard Architects & Design in Dallas. I was hired on after the internship which was cool, most of the kids in my class weren't so lucky. We specialized in Hotel & Restaurant Design.

I was a grunt.

Spent most of my time driving around to pick up samples and doing basic drafting projects. One interesting thing of note....our firm did design work on one of the restaurants in the World Trade Center after the first bombing.

A year or so later I got a call from a guy named Ron he wanted me to come interview for a job with him. Random. He had obtained my resume from a friend and had an opportunity for me. This kind of thing didn't happen everyday so I went to check it out. The firm was R.L.S. & Associates. They did Financial Planning and investments. The owner was a self made millionaire and a very generous man. He had built a very lucrative investment portfolio for himself and had retired in his 40's from an executive position in Printing. He was my mentor. I worked under him, learning along the way for over 9 years. I got all my financial and insurance licenses (the Series 7 was a seriously HARD test!) The first time I took it I made a 69 and dang it, you need a 70 to pass! The second time around I made and 89. The options trading kicked my butt for a while, but I finally got the hang of it. The market rocked for most of the years I was there. WE MADE A TON OF MONEY FOR PEOPLE!!! I loved what I was doing. I was married and had my first child in my 8th year working there. I was even able to take my daughter to work with my on Fridays (thanks to the owner's daughter-in-law having a baby at the same time) We set up a little nursery in one of the back rooms. Then the market tanked and the tech bubble burst. My commission based income was no longer so great. My husband was in school - I had to get a salaried job.

Enter Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. I transferred my licenses and worked there for a year. Not very exciting....not very challenging.....I did get to take a fun trip to Minneapolis for the annual meeting though.

My youngest sister works for an Orthodontist - she referred me to a job with 6 Day Dental & Orthodontics. The home of the mighty Molar Man! It was a bit of a drive each way but the increase in pay was nice. Fortunately, I am able to pick up new things easily because all the dental jargon and protocols were totally new to me. I had a hard-core, crash course in all things dental and basically flew by the seat of my pants for the first couple of weeks. This office sees ALOT of patients - at the time we scheduled for 3 doctors and 4 hygienists. It was BUSY...and there was alot of drama going on ALL the time because there was an office full of GIRLS. I worked up in to managing the front office...what they called "Team Leaders". I loved that I only worked 3 days a week, though they were stressful, long days. The office sponsored The Frisco RoughRiders Baseball team. It was a exciting to go out on Title nights and pass out goodies with Molar Man and just hang out and have fun with co-workers and our families.

The down side: The doctor that owns this practice is - to put it as nicely as possible - horrible. He is NEVER satisfied with your work performance. It's never good enough even when you produce $50,000. in one Saturday! He had me in tears on several occasions. He fired or ran off mostly every competent employee. I am thankful for the training that I received at this job. It led me to the one I have now and I am SO BLESSED!

Oh and I did get free braces while I worked there - these are my chompers...they used me as a mouth model for their website- *hehe*

I am currently employed by a wonderful female dentist as her Practice Manager. There is never much drama or stress and just a few employees. I still love the fact that we have a short work week and I get to spend long weekends with my family. Adam and the kids meet up for lunch some days...it's the best job to have when you have to work outside the home.

I am so grateful for all the opportunities that I have had over the years. I feel as if I am well rounded. I'm still a full time mother to my 3 children, those duties don't get passed off even though I am not home with them 24 hours a day. I'm looking forward out a couple years in the future - I think I'll be ready for another change by then and Adam will have completed his certifications - maybe I'll stay home full time, maybe I'll start a new adventure.

What jobs have you held over the years?