When I was little, I told my parents I wanted to be a waitress and a cheerleader when I grew up.   I did both by the time I was twenty-two.  In trying to identify the career path I should explore next, I thought looking back to my childhood ambitions would give me clues.  So a waitress and a cheerleader…  well, it kind of makes sense:

Waitressing – I love food.  I love restaurants.  I love being around food, tasting food, learning about food.  I also get bored easily and I like a fast pace – where I’m not sitting behind a desk all day.  Instead, I’m running around, on point, remembering things, working quickly, multi-tasking.  I’m also quite social and when waiting tables, you’re meeting and interacting with people all day long, working with your fellow servers and the cooks and making sure your customers are comfortable and happy.  In addition to that, I like performance-based compensation and when waiting tables, the nicer you are and the better you do your job, the higher your tips!

Cheerleading – I like to encourage and inspire!  I like to give advice and cheer people up.  I like to surround myself and others with positive energy!  I like being happy!  I like being active!  I like being outside (again – out of an office).  I like being part of a team.  When I think about it – I’m a cheerleader now to everyone I care about in my life.

So what does this mean?  I don’t know – I am looking at the deeper picture here – what are the qualities of these two areas of work that attract me?  What are the skills I use in these positions that I enjoy using and what types of work call for these same skills?

I told Adam last night I was thinking about getting a part-time job waiting tables in the neighborhood – just breakfast and lunch shifts – to make a little extra dough and to add a little structure to my days until I decide what it is that I really want to do.  I explained to him that waiting tables was always sort of my favorite job (though that was in my twenties… not sure if I’ll still feel the same ten years later).  He thought this was hilarious!  He put it perfectly.  Most waitresses out there are just waiting tables to get by… they’re really dying to break out and make it big as actors or models.  Here I am, married to a film director, who wants to make me the star of his projects – and I want to be a waitress.  I guess it is kind of funny.

Will think about this some more – feel free to share comments. 🙂

Here are some pictures I’ve taken recently:

Risotto with peas and seared scallops

I made this last week for dinner… my first crack at Risotto.  It came out delish!  Next time I want it to be a little creamier though.

Peeling paint in the subway

I liked the design created by this peeling paint.

Dog on stoop reading the paper