Let's continue the celebration. Today, I want to share with you the many occupations I have held throughout the years. I didn't really have a job until I graduated high school, but I sure made up for lost time.
Since I was 15, my career goal was to be a broadcast journalist.
And, as I approach the big 3-0, I am happy to say I accomplished that dream. Although I didn't quite make it to
"Katie Couric Status," 
as I had hoped, I did make it big for a small town country girl...I am happy with that.
Here goes...Some jobs are definitely better than others.
1. My first job was at the local
Winn-Dixie. There I won the award for friendliest cashier and met a guy by the name of Casey Jones, you know, like the song.
2. Let me back up for a moment. I did work a little before graduating high school. My aunt and uncle owned a
video store in Ardmore. They would pay me like $20 to work with a lady that didn't like to be alone at night. I was probably 14 or 15. Interesting though, I did meet Vern Gosdin. Yep, you heard me. The big Vern. Didn't know who he was until he left though. He asked me something about Sun-Drop. Don't be jealous.
3.
Cowart Elementary School was the next stop. I don't remember liking that job too well.
4. Then it was on to
Bennett's. It was hard not to spend my whopping check on their merchandise with my big 10-percent discount.
5.
Upward Bound, a program at the big HOUN Dog, was my next stop. I was a camp counselor and lived on campus for like six weeks. Pretty cool. There I met Lucas Black's girlfriend. Granted they were like 13 at the time but still. You know Lucas Black...the little boy from Sling Blade. UMM HUMM, I reckon I remember that...
6. This also coincided with my first internship. Yep a job for free. I interned for the summer at
WAFF 48 news. If I remember correctly this is the summer Liz Hurley announced she had breast cancer.
6. Then off to UNA where I worked multiple places. For starters, I worked for the
Sports Information Department for 3 years. It was a media related job but I did a whole bunch of sports stuff and IF YOU KNOW ME, I know very little about that. I kept stats at basketball games, made media packets at football games, wrote press releases, filing and so on and so on. Fun job!
7. During that time I also worked at
Parisian's in the Florence mall. What department might you ask??? Well, menswear of course.
8. I picked up these
two kids from Mars Hill and took them home and stuff. Weird job but o.k. Wonder what those kids look like now.
9. I worked for
JoAnn Reeves during accounting season making copies of tax info. BORING.
10. Worked as a hostess at
Emerald Coast Cafe. Classy Joint for a Classy Gal. It was the type of place where I would lay your napkin in your lap.
11. Another internship. This time in radio at
Star 94. It was cool. I got to go on a bus all the way to Nashville to see Def Leopard in concert. Pour Some Suga on me.
12.
SOAR COUNSELOR. This is a group of students picked to live on campus for the summer and be the guides and register students during summer orientation a UNA. This was a blast.
13. Internship No. 3.
NewsChannel 19. I got to go to the Iron Bowl for this one and I was so excited. Bummer though, I ended up with food poisoning or something and stayed on the bus during the game. I felt like such a BIG DOG though. I also met Dave Ramsey during this internship.
14.
Whitt's BBQ. This is a little late in the post but I worked here on and off several times during my college years and after. My dad works there and it was always a job to fall back on when I needed it.
15.
WKAG TV 43. My first "real job" out of college. My pay...a whopping $14,000 a year. WOW. At the time, it was more than I ever made so I was happy. This was a news reporter position in Hopkinsville, Ky. I was so excited but a little scared. I was sort of dating Matt at the time and hated to leave him behind. We both made out OK. Don't you think? I lived in an apartment attached to the back of a house. I was so scared staying there by myself but it was nice too. During this job I got to travel a little including a trip to New York to cover something related to 9-11.
16. Insert here....I forget the job as a
sales woman in Manitowoc, WI. In college I got pulled into the hype of this job. A group called "I can't even remember what," draft college students to give up their summer moved to another part of the country and spend like 13 hours a day selling some books that I can't even imagine anybody wants anyway. But little ole' me, who was always up for an adventure, packed my bags drove all the way to Wisconsin with no where to live and had at it. Me and two other girls found a single woman and her cats to live with and pay like $20 a week in rent. Oh yeah, I am scared of cats so I had to barricade my door each night and share a bed with this girl from Memphis. It was May when we started the job and I had to go to Goodwill and buy a coat. As a part of our routine with this job we were supposed to take cold showers every morning. Did I mention I quit this job in less than six weeks.
17. During a brief job a
Whitt's again (after deciding to quit my job in KY because I was in love with Matt) I was offered two reporting jobs in Huntsville. One at WAFF as their Shoals reporter and one in Huntsville at WHNT as the weekend reporter/ camera woman. See all those internships paid off. I was so excited!!!
18.
WHNT NewsChannel 19. I was so excited to take on this position as reporter/photographer. I would work very long days as a one man band. That means I shot and edited my video, drove the live truck, set up my camera and got in front of it all on my own to report the news. This started off as 2 days reporting and 2 days as a photographer. It turned into 5 days reporting with three of them overnight. A LOT OF WORK!!! Stormy weather was one of the worst parts of the job. They actually made you go the direction of the tornado!!!
19. After deciding overnight reporting was not for me I worked at
Retina Specialist in Huntsville. Not much to say. Not fun.
20. Then back into this biz. I got a gig at
WZYP/WVNN. This was a news anchor position. I covered a visit from Pres. Bush in Birmingham during this job, went to Montgomery and reported on the trial for Roy Moore ( Ten Commandments) and went to the scent of the crime while the Farron Barksdale ordeal was going on.
21.
Wilmer & Lee P.A. I worked for a short while as a runner here. Not much to say.
22. Then back into the biz as a news reporter for the
News Courier.
23. Worked for like two months for
Charles Page at the Courthouse.
24.
Athens State University in the admissions office. That was the last job I had before Allie was born. I took a year long maternity leave and never went back.
25. Now, I clean a few houses and do a little bit of odds and ends to make me some of that sweet Ole' spending money us girls' gotta have...
Quite a resume huh? Maybe one day when I am on the job hunt again someone will want to hire me.
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