One for the Resume
A story that doesn't start out related to tango, but ends up there. (Don't they all? Damn tango.) At 15 I got a job as a busboy in a restaurant. Shortly after, I was made a cashier. At 16 I waited tables for three weeks until a guy pinched me in front of his wife and I caused a bit of a scene. I quit, was wooed back immediately, and then it was back to the take-out counter for another two years.
I have made more hummus platters, arranged more pizza toppings, constructed more salads, and sliced more cake than I will ever be able to count. When I left the restaurant, I decided that food service was absolutely out of the question in any future jobs I might have.
I have, of course, been responsible for food service in all subsequent jobs I have had, whether that was part of the job description (event planner) or not (trivia question writer). Some things actually do stay with you through your life. Please let one of those things be tango, because if I forget tango and remember how to toss a pizza crust I am going to be so mad at someone, seriously.
If I had known early jobs were so important to future endeavors, I would have paid more attention to the bookkeeping than to the arrangement of toppings. On the other hand, some people will not eat pizza if all toppings are not evenly distributed, and it's good to be aware of things like that so you can spot those people as you walk through life. Someday I might meet the President, and I will be able to shake her hand and say, "Madam, I can assure you that each serving of carrots has exactly sixteen pieces," and she will nod and smile politely because I'm probably not supposed to be there and just wandered in off the street looking for directions.
So it'll be more like, "Madam, I can assure you that each serving of carrots has exactly sixteen pieces. Speaking of sixteen pieces, there's a Vermeer exhibit at the National Gallery; would you happen to know the way? I mean, since you're local."
I have made more hummus platters, arranged more pizza toppings, constructed more salads, and sliced more cake than I will ever be able to count. When I left the restaurant, I decided that food service was absolutely out of the question in any future jobs I might have.
I have, of course, been responsible for food service in all subsequent jobs I have had, whether that was part of the job description (event planner) or not (trivia question writer). Some things actually do stay with you through your life. Please let one of those things be tango, because if I forget tango and remember how to toss a pizza crust I am going to be so mad at someone, seriously.
If I had known early jobs were so important to future endeavors, I would have paid more attention to the bookkeeping than to the arrangement of toppings. On the other hand, some people will not eat pizza if all toppings are not evenly distributed, and it's good to be aware of things like that so you can spot those people as you walk through life. Someday I might meet the President, and I will be able to shake her hand and say, "Madam, I can assure you that each serving of carrots has exactly sixteen pieces," and she will nod and smile politely because I'm probably not supposed to be there and just wandered in off the street looking for directions.
So it'll be more like, "Madam, I can assure you that each serving of carrots has exactly sixteen pieces. Speaking of sixteen pieces, there's a Vermeer exhibit at the National Gallery; would you happen to know the way? I mean, since you're local."
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