Today is the first day of my new job... housewife, and in 6 weeks, stay at home mom. My dad says I've been anxiously waiting for today since I was two, and I believe it. As I rode the bus home from work for the last time yesterday, I thought about how excited I am to be a full-time mom, but also how crazy fun my past jobs have been. Here is my resume:

Summer of 1998: Lake Arlington, Sailing Instructor.
CFQ (crazy fun quotient): 9. I sat on a zodiak motor boat, learned about the necessity of sunscreen, and ate Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough for snacks.

Summer of 1999, 2000, 2002: Pier 1, Candle Girl.
CFQ: Range from 5-10, 5 being the day that I realized I was allergic to the harvest spice candles, and 10 being the day that all of the stockroom shelving collapsed. Messy and also hysterical.

Summer of 2001: Manor Care, Alzheimer's Activity Assistant
CFQ: -10. This was not a necessarily "fun" job, but I think it helped me to be a little more sensitive and patient in general. Also, I'd I bettered my urinary tract health by drinking gallons of cranberry juice with the residents there.

2001-2004: University of Illinois, Biology Lab Assistant
CFQ: 9. Watched Stargate SG-1 with our Lab Manager everyday at lunch. 'Nuf said.

Winter 2002, Spring/Summer of 2003: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Biology Research Fellow
CFQ: 9. We had extravagant Friday lab outings to cheese shops in the Hamptons, Peter Luger's Steak House downtown, beaches, etc. Thank you, NIH grants.

Winter/Spring/Summer 2005: Lonestar Steakhouse
CFQ: Range from -10 (Kids Eat Free Nights, ask me about this sometime) to 10 (free cheese fries and "cookie wrangler" oreo shakes). It should be noted that following my stint at Lonestar, my cholesterol level was high enough to fill all the arteries of an epically large man.

2005-2008: Penn State University, Bollinger-Krebs Lab
CFQ: 10. Other than a few calamities with liquid nitrogen, this was probably the best job I've had so far. And probably not just because my advisor was german and brought billions of pounds chocolate every day. But it helped.

2009: University of Washington, Baker Lab
CFQ: 9.5. Friday bagel days, chocolate tastings, group meeting beer and cheese feasts, need I say more? Plus, I made some great great friends, and actually got some research accomplished.