Day 23: My First Job

   My first job was working for my Dad. My Dad is an ophthalmologist (meaning eye surgeon), and I worked as a filing clerk/gopher. I didn't mind filing or collating or any of that stuff. What I minded was that there was never ENOUGH stuff to keep me busy the whole time. I may not be the best worker, but I am a quick one, so I would burn through whatever they had for me to do, and then end up sitting around. And I hate sitting around and getting paid to do nothing.

  This was a problem for me at my other jobs, too, because I would quickly organize/fold/sweep or whatever my duties were, and then have nothing to do. And management never saw when I was dedicated to my work, plowing through without pausing. Of course not. No, they always saw me when I was looking around, trying to find SOMETHING to keep me occupied. And then they'd get huffy. I PROMISE I was trying to be a good worker! I'm just not good at looking occupied when there's nothing to truly work on. That's my problem.

  A highlight from working with my Dad:

  One summer I was also Dad's . . . scribe? I don't know what it's called, I wrote on the charts for him while he examined patients. I always felt awkward when we'd go into a new patient's room, not knowing if I should introduce myself, act like I wasn't there, etc. Dad usually ended up introducing me.

  One man, after our introduction, cheerfully said, "I see you're looking at my pee bag!"

  I was taken aback. I had not noticed any "pee bag" and was unsure how to respond. Then I noticed he was indicating to a bag with a tube that went into his pants leg. I had assumed the bag was an IV type of thing, and it wasn't unusual (since most of Dad's patients were older) for patients to be toting such a thing. But now I noticed the bag was, indeed, full of urine.

  "Oh, I, uh--" I stumbled, but he didn't seem to be looking for a response.

  "They hooked it in through my penis!" He told me happily.

  Okay, then.