Working Girl

"I have a head for business and a bod for sin." - Melanie Griffith, "Working Girl"

"Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine.)" - Don Ho


My fifteen year old daughter has always been a hard worker. Her friends like it when she comes over because she cleans their rooms. She often steps in and helps me without being asked. When she wants something, like her new IPOD, she works and earns the money to get it herself.

She helps filing paperwork for our family business, babysits for her younger sister and for a couple of our friends' kids, and is trying to find a "regular" job.

I can remember as a teen walking into places, with my dress and heels, an eager yet professional expression on my face - asking for the manager, filling out applications and waiting for interviews. I usually got an interview and was usually offered the job, but I always received follow-up calls from the places where I'd applied.

I guess I've been out of the circuit for way too long. My daughter just sits down at the computer and goes to town. As I checked in on her progress in the process, I thought to myself: No wonder we spend so much time teaching kids how to answer with the "righter" answer in school. And there's such focus on the importance of proper bubble filling!

You don't "walk-in" and fill out an application anymore, or even call for an appointment. Ask for a job at most places and they refer you to their online process, where they offer to keep your information for sixty days (they'll call if they need you) and run you through a weird psychological evaluation: "It is maddening when the court systems release guilty people. Slow people annoy me. I am a private person." and you have to choose: "Strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree."

"Maddening?" Do they mean that it drives you mad, like CRAAAAAZY, or that you just get angry about it?

"Slow people?" Does that mean that I dislike people who are not fast, or that I am also "slow" and therefore not annoyed by much of anything? Or do I freak out when I see a "Slow Children At Play" sign?

"Private?" As in, "I don't air my personal business at work" or "Psycho, does not get along well with other people or small animals?"

And, what really gets me, is that none of the cashier jobs had the ability to count back change as a requirement!

My questions would be: Do you recognize that the customer is important? Can you smile? Can you keep what you did last night to yourself? Would you be able to count back my dang change without going, "Here!" and dropping it in an unceremonious lump into my hand???

And, I would want to get a look at my potential hireling and see that they cared enough to look clean and professional. She did all that "bubble filling" in her sweatpants, for cryin out loud!

I don't know how anyone could keep their head focused on business while they're filling in all of those tiny bubbles. I strongly agree, it's pretty maddening!