Door Project - Work

Looking back on my life, I realized that I didn't have that many paid jobs. The ones which paid me more were already covered in the first Door Project entry covering Midtown Manhattan.

Former FH Community House Day Care

My first paid job was as a day care assistant at the Forest Hills Community House Day Care Center. That was the summer when I turned fourteen.  I went searching for the place last week, but there wasn't a sign anywhere to be seen.  I guess they have since closed down. 

Each day I looked forward to when the kids had nap time and when I got to leave for home.  There were two important things I learned that summer: (1) I don't like to be with a large group of four year olds; and (2) they bite! Yup, I was bitten by a small boy.  He didn't want to go back inside after playground time was over. As I reached to hold his hand, he bit me on my forearm.

During my middle teenage years, I did have another job which I did at home -- crocheting the finishing touches to knitted evening wear.  It's hard to explain but I'll try.  Pieces of a sweater set or gown were made on a knitting machine and packaged together.  My sister and I would go pick them up from a place in Flushing (no photo because I don't remember where it was exactly) and bring them back home to put together into wearable items with fancy designs on the collars, hems and/or sleeves.  Since we were paid by the number of outfits we finished, I learned to do it really fast.  Many people who see me crochet are amazed by how fast I can do it.  Well, this is how I got to be so quick with my hands.  The two important lessons I learned from this job: (1) The faster I worked, the more I would be paid; and (2) stay in school so that I wouldn't have to do this type of work for a living.

One Hogan Place - Manhattan DA's Office

I spent a summer at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office - my dream job, or so I thought. As a legal intern working in the Frauds Bureau, covering white collar crimes, I did research, wrote memos, and even transcribed some wiretaps.  The people in the Frauds Bureau were really nice. 

The pay was really low. In fact, I received a public interest service grant from school to supplement my stipend.  Instead of fancy meals and events that big firms lavished on summer associates, I got to see "The Tombs", the Morgue, 911 dispatch center, and Central Booking. One of the highlights of my summer was a police ride-along with the 13th Precinct.

The three important lessons I took away from this experience were: (1) the criminal justice system isn't fair; (2) I did not have what it takes to be a DA; and (3) the police have a really tough job on the streets.

NYC Corporation Counsel

An unpaid legal internship that I had was with the New York City Corporation Counsel.  This is the City's legal department which handles non-criminal legal matters.  I was working in the Strategic Litigation and Medical Malpractice (SLAMM) unit doing legal research and writing legal documents.  I even got to write a motion to dismiss and won!  It was a pretty straight-forward case which shouldn't have included the City as a defendant but some lawyers sue everyone.  What did I learn from this job? (1) NY City gets sued for a lot of stuff and a lot of money; and (2) I hate lawyers who do things to give lawyers a bad reputation!

And there you have it, the doors which I walked through for work and the lessons I learned from each place.  I will have to discuss all the places I have volunteered with in another blog entry.