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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Fashion for less at TJ Maxx!

Mama's Losin' It

I'm participating in Mama Kat's writing prompt link up today...I think it's usually a Wednesday link up, but it's ok to be fashionably late, right?  I've done it before, but I don't remember what day I usually do it on.  My goal is to keep up and do it each week because some of the prompts are just so great!

Today's prompt: A Memorable High School Job.

I had a small handful of jobs throughout high school.  I started working as soon as I legally could (14 here in NY).  See, it was just me and my mother growing up and at the age of 14 I needed my own money.  I wanted clothes from some place other than Ames and I didn't want to have to beg for $3 to get the newest Superteen or TigerBeat issue:



Oh the simple times, the times when my money could go to total crap and not bills...I kind of miss that money.

I digress...

When I was 16 I was able to get my first "real" teenager job, the job I was LONGING for (I worked at a theme park when I was 14 and McDonald's when I was 15)...a RETAIL job.  I walked into the mall on my 16th birthday and dropped off my application at every store.

A day later I got my first phone call from the manager of TJ Maxx.  Now...I hadn't ever shopped at TJ Maxx, it was kind of the store that when I was at the mall I just kind of didn't pay attention to, but I was stoked.  I got the job and started the following week.

I worked at TJ Maxx for my entire high school life as well as into my first year of college.  At the time...it was a frustrating job.  Picking up clothes all over the floor that people just tore off the racks, stuffing clothes onto racks when there was no room, ringing people out...ringing BITCHY people out...the list goes on.

But looking back...I'm really thankful for that job, so many things happened in my life because of that job:

* The first phone number a guy had ever given me.  I was working the register at the store and this guy just kept talking to me and guess what?  He went through the line AGAIN just to give me his number.  I didn't get it at the time (I was a late bloomer with boys) and I wasn't interested so I "lost" his number.  However...

* A few weeks after that in the same summer, I met THE boy.  You know, the boy that I mention on here once in a while?  The once dating, then friends, then dating, then friends with benefits, then friends boy.  That's right, I met him while working at TJ Maxx at the tender age of 16, (holy wow ten years we've been terrorizing eachother!).  He was working in the movie theater and one of my good friends at the time went to school with him...apparently he saw me bringing carts in from inside and it was love.  I'm cracking up just thinking about it right now. 

All of my firsts in the world of boys happened because of TJ Maxx - and well...that's just so silly to think about, haha

The most important thing that came out of TJ Maxx is the friendships.  I had some really tight friendships throughout my time at TJ Maxx.  They would fizzle out for various reasons, but the most important one sticked and that was with my BFF Alison.  The one I hosted the Princess Party with!

I thought Alison was a total weirdo when she started working at TJ Maxx about two weeks after I had started.  She always said, "Hey!" to me when we passed (clearly, she was a complete bitch!).  One day we bonded over a Ferrero Rocher.



Alison knows me best.  My BFF Alicia who I've known for 15 years doesn't even know as much as Alison does...I mean we LIVED together for two years!  We've had our ups and downs, but I'm glad we've always found our way back to eachother.  Our friendship is definitely the best thing to have come out of working at TJ Maxx.

Oh, and the cheap clothes.  I had the best wardrobe then.


8 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like it was fate to work there. Sometimes the Universe actually points us in the right direction.

Unknown said...

What wonderful things happened do to TJ Maxx!

Bees With Honey said...

Ha ha ... your job at TJ Maxx reminds me of my job at Chuck E Cheese. Met a lot of boys at that place, believe it or not.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Brandy@YDK said...

i loved reading this. i feel like i learned so much about you. i remember those teenage jobs of FREE money. to just spend on anything.

Jessica said...

Sounds like a nice place to work as a teenager. How exciting to get a boy's number while working. I remember that happening too.

E said...

I totally love TJ Maxx! I get the Maxx for the minimum!

stephanie said...

Sounds like a great job!!

Connie said...

I always forget about TJ MAXX.

What fun memories!