for your VINformation

Vinnie’s Workin’ It

1. Lemonade and Book Seller – Duration: the gas crisis

2. Job Title: Golf Caddy – Employer: Bonnie Brier Country Club – Duration: two summers

Clubs swing, balls fly. Eighteen holes?

Carrying one or two golf bags for uppity, pretentious, rich folk.
I was not a good caddy.
Working at BBCC proved to me I was not made for manual labor…
By the end of the first summer I was only assigned to the “lady bags” and “Putters” – Putters is the worst, the caddy is forced to follow around a golf-cart full of drunken assholes and be responsible to keeping your eyes on their balls.
My father was the Asst. Greens-keeper so they had to keep me, otherwise I’m sure I wouldn’t've been hired back for a second summer.

3. Garb-O-Liner, Office and Warehouse Asst. – Duration: four months

4. McDonald’s – Duration: three hours

Day one – deep-fried. Day two – quit.

5. Rite Aid, Stock Boy & Head Cashier – Duration: nine months

6. Potter’s Asst. – Duration: eight months

7. New Rochelle Public Library, Page – Duration: nine months

8. House Painter – Duration: one garage

9. Gardener’s Asst. – Duration: two summers

10. Police Anchor Camp, Arts & Crafts Counselor – Duration: two summers

11. Work Study, Niagara University Library – Duration: one semester

12. Work Study, Niagara University Bursar’s Office – Duration: one semester

13. Typist – Duration: six hours

14. Work Study, N.U. Theatre – Duration: six semesters

15. Artpark Repertory Theatre – Duration: three months

16. The Cellar, Bartender – Duration: four months

17. T.R.’s Homestead, Waiter – Duration: four months

18. Job Title: Bill Collector – Employer: Citibank – Duration: six-ish months

Called my own account – left message…

As a collector for bucket-three cases, I was the last person the debtor spoke to before his/her account would be turned over to the in-house collection agency.
I worked second shift – 6 to 11, so most of my calls were to the west coast. We tried not to call anyone after 9pm.
I quit the day after I saw my name pop up in the system…

19. Greater Miami Opera, Prop Manager – Duration: one season

20. Clean water action, Door to Door Canvasser – Duration: five months

21. Pizza Hut, Waiter & Shift Manager – Duration: three years

22. New Rochelle TheatreWorks, Director – Duration: three shows

23. White Plains Bowling Alley, Shoe Guy – Duration eight months

24. Fabric Bonanza, Crafts Manager – Duration: nine months

25. Job Title: Craft Fair Vendor – Employer: Self – Duration: Two years

Sold Americana to the American housewife.

Made, marketed and sold crafts at local Westchester craft fairs.
Designed and sold merchandise ranging from throw pillows to decorated straw hat wall hangings, from padded photo albums to bunnies dressed up for the holidays.
Supplies were extremely cheap, I worked for a string of craft stores during the time I was vending for extra money…I got them on a healthy discount.
Over the course of two years, I did about 20 shows – turning a profit at all but one – I stopped when I no longer worked the craft stores and the cost of supplies became too high.

26. A.I. Friedman, Crafts and Custom Framing Departments – Duration: nine months

27. Rye Day School, Arts & Crafts After-School Program Teacher – Duration: two semesters

28. Decorative Painter – Duration: four hours

29. Craft Class Instructor – Duration: nine months

30. Job Title: Waiter – Employer: The Larchmonter – Duration: two weeks

Lights, off. Doors, pad-locked. Job? Gone!

Just under the dance studio I was currently taking tap class was a great little pub style restaurant with a help wanted sign in the window. I applied and was hired on the spot.
Duties include: taking orders, delivering food and busing tables.
I worked lunch shift 11:30-4:30.
On my sixth day, I arrived at work, the doors were locked and the lights were off, the owners had closed-up shop in the middle of the night and didn’t inform any of the employees…

31. Treasure Island, Floral Manager – Duration: nine months

32. Christmas Tree Decorator – Duration: one Holiday Season

33. Broadway Grill, Waiter – Duration: two years

34. Stella’s, Bartender – Duration: nine months

Slinging drinks was not the dream.

35. Stella’s, Male Strip Show MC and Booker – Duration: six months

36. Pimp – Duration: six months

37. Stand-Up NY, Bartender – Duration: one year

38. Make Me Laugh, College Tour – Duration: six months

39. Planet Hollywood, Waiter – Duration: three days

40. Job Title: Office Manager – Employer: Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) – Duration: Three Months (Short term job)

Worked for Jews – learned about sushi.

Responsible for setting in place an organized method of storage of office supplies and marketing materials to be processed for shipping.
Reorganized both the storage room and mail center making both user friendly and easily maintainable.
Responsible for filling and shipping orders for reference materials (Pamphlets, donation card, etc., etc.) as to the cause.
I was the only non-Jew working there, they joked I was sent in by the Pope to sabotage the cause.
The job was only short term to begin with, but I left a few weeks before my contract was up. I was sleeping the with person who go me the job, and when the office came back from their big yearly convention, he broke up with me and told me the reason was because he was seeing someone else and SHE worked for CAJE as well! Awkward!

41. Macy’s Santaland, Elf – Duration: six weeks

42. Olive Garden, Waiter – Duration: seven months

43. Jeff Stryker Does Hard Time, Off-B’way – Duration: twelve weeks

44. New York Apple Bus Tours, NYC Tour Guide – Duration: one year

45. The Riviera, Waiter 7 – Duration: four months

46. Freelance NYC Tour Guide – Duration: three years

47. Jekyll and Hyde Pub, Grimm (Costumed Character) – Duration: two years

48. Camp Broadway, Theatre Instructor – Duration: one year

49. Americana Tickets, Sheraton New York & Crowne Plaza Times Square, Concierge – Duration: two years

Hooker, huh? Sure. Male or female?

50. DC Comics, Events and Retailer Services Representative – Duration: two years, two months

Herding nerds, as hard as cats!

51. eBay Entrepreneur – Duration: on-going

52. Job Title: Referee – Company: New York City Social Sports League – Duration 6 Seasons – Approx. two years

Balls to face – painful, go figure

As one of the original players in the league, I began reffing after I left my job at DC Comics – it was a great way to get a little money off-the books to help supplement my unemployment checks.
Responsible for taping the courts before match play began and cleaning the space at the end of the evening.
I had to follow six balls at any given time, flying through the air in different directions, making sure the folks who got out, got out – you be surprised how many people try to cheat during a dodgeball beer league…
Job helped me develop an even thicker skin. People always seem to hate the ref!