Firsts Friday - First Job

When I was 17 years old I decided that I needed a part-time job to make some money. I wasn't a party kid so what I needed the money for is lost on me now. Books probably. But anyway I decided that I needed to get a job to get away from my parents, learn some responsibilities, and earn some cold-hard cash.

Of course when you're 17 you're not going to be the CEO of some internet website. You're going to be working in retail or in the restaurant biz. I ended up working at a seafood restaurant called Barnacle Bill's. The chain has since closed down which means I don't have any pictures to show you (thank god).

I honestly don't even remember what my job title was. But I basically put the sides on the plate. Fridays were our busy nights. I remember being so overwhelmed sometimes and not even caring if I accidentally missed a ticket or two.

Because Fridays were so busy I remember how sometimes we'd have to stay late on Thursday to peel shrimp. Yes. Peel shrimp. We'd all go hang out around a big trash can and peel shrimp until we had enough pounds of it ready to go for the rush the next day.

Even though the job wasn't horrrrible, I try to forget about it. I didn't make any friends, I never really use what I learned and overall I just don't ever admit to having worked there.

So what was your first job? Or for those who still haven't had one, what do you wish your first job would be? Join in on the fun and link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Firsts Friday - First Boyfriend/Girlfriend

For this month's link-up, we're going to talk about First Boyfriend/Girlfriend. Yup, it's time to get personal. If you're looking for last month's link-up - First Memory just click!

So, when I was in 8th grade I had this super girlie crush on this guy a year younger. He was super cute, cool, and totally goofy. We were friends who'd hang out before school and occasionally after school. We were both in choir (I know how that sounds but it was the only extra-curricular activity that had a pizza party at the end of year. Also, you didn't need to try out.) which meant we spent a lot of time together during the Christmas play.

Anyway, this guy was cool and I was diggin' him. I would talk to my best friend about him on the phone, imaging how awesome it would be to date.

Never mind the fact that I was all of 13 years old. Never mind the fact that I couldn't drive or that my mother would forbid such things. Never mind the fact that we couldn't really "date" anyway. It was just one of those things I'd read so much about in my YA books and saw on TV all the time. I wanted a boyfriend.

I never though it would happen. I was too scared to ever broach such a subject with him and I was totally fine just hanging out as friends albeit with my stomach flipping every other sentence or so. I thought that was all that was going to happen...


Untilllllll one of his friends comes over to me and says "Hey, *Bob likes you. Do you wanna go out with him?"

Which like completely threw me off guard. I'm not fast on my best days, but add in some awkward teenager-iness and the fact that I'm supposed to tell his friend - and some other guy too - that I've been crushing on their friend forever made me just completely lose words.

"Umm. Ok. Yeah." I stutteringly told the messengers while nodding my head.

They went back to tell him. I can't remember but I think he looked over and smiled. Maybe we talked alone later that day?

So, that was it. I was in a relationship. I had my first boyfriend. And I hated it.

Not because he was horrible or because he changed when we got together. He was still really sweet.

But I hated that everyone knew. I went to a small school. Like...super tiny so of course everyone was going to know eventually. But...everyone knew right off the bat. His friends, my friends they would try to get us to talk more, hold hands, sit together whenever possible. It was like being an ant in one of those see-through ant farms. I felt like everything I did was being judged and discussed. Not just the good things either like when I'd laugh at his jokes but all the ways I was clueless as to how to be girlfriendly.

Am I supposed to want to hold his hand all the time? Is it okay if I don't call him tonight? 

Then one of our teachers, one of my favorite teachers, made a comment about it in class and I felt like everyone and their mother knew.

Believe it or not, this girl who blogs about her life is pretty private. I hate when people know things that I haven't expressly told them. I don't like people knowing my business so I decided the whole relationship thing was more trouble than it was worth and I had to put a stop to it.

I ended up breaking up with him.


A whole 3 days after we first got together.


Yup, I'm that girl. I think I went up to him before school or at recess and did the whole - it's not me it's you, can we still be friends thing.

I think you can imagine how that turned out.


We're Facebook friends now but we never got over that whole dating ordeal. Occasionally I think about him and the decision I made so quickly and I regret it because I've learned to say fuckit when people judge. Also, I learned that if anyone was talking about us it was probably for a whole two seconds. Apparently my mother was right and the Earth does not revolve around me.

Science.

So that's my embarrassing (does anyone else notice a trend?) first boyfriend story. I'd love to hear about yours. Did you fall madly in love in the produce section? Did you meet on a blind date? Tell us all about it! We'd love to hear it. Just grab the button and link up.

An InLinkz Link-up

Firsts Friday - First Memory

Every Friday, Da and Mum and I would go out to eat at a restaurant. Then, Mum would go shopping and Da and I would walk around the mall or shopping center. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we'd be by a Barnes and Noble that we'd treat like a library. It was our routine and had been since I could remember.

Some days though I was just tired. I was a cranky kid and it seemed to me that Mum was taking for.ev.er shopping and buying things she probably didn't need. Da would keep me busy by walking with me and pretending to "find" my mom in the crowd.

Well, one day we're walking and Da's been telling me for what seems like hours that the stores are almost closing and we'll be leaving soon. I'm getting antsy to go home. I want to find Mum, get in the car, and fall asleep before we reach the house.

So we're walking and all of a sudden I see her! She's a bit a ways but it's definitely her. She has jeans and a T-shirt, short black hair, and of course shopping bags in her hand. As soon as I see her I run all the way to her, throwing my arms around her legs.

"Mooooooommmmm."

Then, I pull back.

And realize that the woman I have just run to, hugged, and called Mom is NOT my mother. She is someone who upon closer inspection looks pretty much nothing like my mother. My dad is behind me laughing.

I give this poor lady an ugly look, as if it's all her fault I got her and my mother confused, and I storm off in the other direction.

When I reach my dad he's still laughing but I'm too angry to see the humor in it. Eventually we find my mother. I don't want my dad to tell her what happened but I know that by the way she's trying not to laugh he already has.

The sad thing is that I kind of have a feeling this wasn't the only time I mistook a random lady for my mother. As to why it's the first thing about my childhood I remember, I honestly couldn't say. It's probably because my young life was full of embarrassing moments that shaped me and traumatized me into the neurotic thing you see today.


So what's your First Memory?

An InLinkz Link-up

Introducing Firsts Friday

Do you remember your first kiss? Your first best friend? Your first boyfriend? Your first grade teacher? Well, if you join up with my Firsts Friday link up we'll write about all these Firsts and more.

I've been meaning to write some of my firsts for a while but then I figured, I would love to hear some of yours as well. Firsts are so much fun because they can tell so much about a person and sometimes they are just so hilarious. Yes, we will be doing first date stories and I can only imagine the answers.

If you want to join in just link up! Every First Friday of the month I'll be here with another prompt and my personal anecdote.


So, grab a button, link up this Friday, June 5 and tell me your First Memory.

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