Teabag detente
June 9th, 2010
I remain impressed by the quality of the quotations on Good Earth herbal teabags. (As well as its sweet and spicy flavor.) Today’s was “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely,” by Auguste Rodin.
I like that rather a lot. I spent a summer working as a housecleaner one year in college, which might not seemed to have had much to do with my main interests — theater and sociology — at all. But you can tell a lot about people by the inside of their houses. I decided to look on that summer as an experiential tutorial in set design and the sociology of class and taste, and I think I learned rather a lot.
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5 Responses to “Teabag detente”
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My very first job was selling magazines by phone. Yes, I was a dreaded telemarketer. I was 16, and the money was a bonus, not a necessity (for the entire 6 weeks I lasted at the job), but many of the people I worked with were doing this as a last resort, out of sheer desperation. It was an easy job physically, so a few of my coworkers were disabled. Others had odd schedules because of trying to trade shifts with a spouse to avoid childcare or because of religious observance (met my first 7th Day Adventist there).
I hated hated hated that job. But I learned why telemarketers are so persistent — they aren’t allowed to give up and hang up until you have said “no” three times. They also generally get paid based on sales or calls. I don’t think anyone wants to be a telemarketer, but sometimes you just need a job with a paycheck. So I’m always polite but firm, and I always remember that whatever they have interrupted, that is a person calling me, not a punching bag.
Wow. I like that so much that (now here’s a characteristically 2010 endorsement) I added it to my Facebook page.
I feel much that way about my first marriage. Long in the past, no ill will felt, and I try not to be embarassed about what a lousy choice I made in marrying Sean: was a very unhappy time, but oh my gosh I have probably not learned more from any other epoch in my life.
It doesn’t even have to be something icky. I have a degree in Anthropology that, beyond being a BA and therefore getting me over a fence for some jobs, has been useless professionally in any direct way. On the other hand, anthro gave me a way to look at how the world works and figure out the various dynamics at play in any organization I worked in — a HUGE help.
Just goes to show, with the right attitude you can find interest in anything. Good for you.
I am a firm believer in the notion that EVERYONE should work in retail or food service, if only for the patience it teaches you.
I spent three Christmas seasons working at KB Toys…I believe that is one of the innermost circles of hell, and I never want to go back there.