When I was 16, I was told by my parents that I outgrew my allowance and needed to earn my own money.
I wanted to work at Wherehouse Records – and not just cause they had………….X-RATED VIDEOS.
Sadly, you had to be over 18 to work at Wherehouse, and yes, for that reason.
My parents had a favorite pizza/deli they’d been going to for years. They were chummy with the owner, and asked if he needed any part-time help. He said yes, but at his other “counter” location at a nearby supermarket.
So I went to speak to the guy who ran the deli counter there. After a brief talk, I got hired to work weekends.
MAN it was hard! I basically had to take people’s orders for salads, cheeses, and meats. I also prepared sandwiches. But geez…I just had the darndest time remembering what all the cheeses were, and what precisely was a half pint.
“You said you want a half pint of American cheese…what’s American cheese?”
I was slow, I couldn’t remember people’s orders, and sheesh…that first five-hour shift felt like 90 minutes of Gigli.
For the next weekend, I came better prepared.
I brought a pad of paper and a pen so I could write the orders down and be more efficient!
Ended up taking me even longer than expected.
And then, it happened…
While slicing turkey on the meat cutter…
ZIPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
I sliced off part of my thumb.
Finger sandwich, anyone?
A bit after that, the guy who ran the counter called me over.
He walked me out to the customer side of the counter and said those Seven Chilling Words:
I’m gonna have to let you go.
At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant.
Go where?
Oh…he’s firing me.
I was devastated.
So devastated, I couldn’t even respond.
My lips were quivering and I was seriously about to cry.
I felt humiliated.
Dammit, why can’t a 16 year old put away X-RATED VIDEOS at Wherehouse?
Of course, I got over it — and finally managed to nab that job at Wherehouse two years later.
And I have to be honest…
I’ll take When Larry Ate Sally over a severed thumb any day.
*****
Andrew Wisot is a freelance writer for The Jay Leno Show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and an US Weekly Fashion Cop who’s “between jobs.” Andrew will blog for LOLs until he’s employed again or 50,000 miles, whichever one comes first.
Email: andrew@willblogforlols.com
Tags: articles about getting fired, finding part-time jobs, finding part-time work, first job, funny porn movies, funny porn titles, getting fired, getting fired from your first job, getting fired stories, getting let go, gigli, how to earn extra money, how to earn money, how to get fired, how to handle a termination, how to handle being terminated, how to handle getting fired, how to not get fired, losing one's job, losing your job, part time jobs, porn, porn titles, stories about getting fired, warehouse records, when larry ate sally, wherehouse records, wherehouse records and tapes, wherehouse records videos and tapes, x-rated videos
February 22, 2010 at 11:51 pm |
Guess I should give your first job experience a big severed thumbs down.