More Firsts – Old Skool

The Kickin’ it Old Skool Blog-a-Thon is encouraging us to share the following firsts. Do I dare?

•     Your First Job
•     The First Thing to Your Left
•     Something You Remember About First Grade
•     The First book you ever read
•     The First Thing You Do In the Morning
•     The First Food You Knew You Didn’t Like
•     Your First Memory

Sure, why not?

FIRST JOB – I worked KP (that’s ‘kitchen patrol’) at a mess hall at Camp Williams, Utah. This is an National Guard base that houses an Officer Candidate School for the United States Army. My father was Commandant. I was 16. It was hard work – 13 hour shifts of washing and cleaning – but it was fun! And I had an unexpected amount of power on the base. After all, my dad was in charge. No one wanted to mess with the Colonel’s daughter!

FIRST THING TO MY LEFT – A mess.

SOMETHING ABOUT FIRST GRADE – My teacher was Mrs. Mednick. And I drew pictures for her of me sitting in class, eagerly raising my hand. Yes, before there was Hermione, there was me.

FIRST BOOK – I don’t recall a time in my life when I wasn’t reading whole books. I remember reading parts of Gray’s Anatomy in middle school.

FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS EACH DAY – Well, let’s see. After repeatedly snoozing my alarm, I frequently check to see what notifications have hit from Twitter, Facebook, and my various e-mail accounts. Yes. That’s obsessive behavior. I have OCD. I force myself not to act on the notifications. I get myself out of bed and try to be dressed before I delve in too deeply.

FIRST FOOD I DIDN’T LIKE – There’s one food that I always think I should like, and I try it, and I don’t. A few years pass, and I think again that it looks appetizing. It ain’t. What is that food? Cranberry Sauce. Wretch.

FIRST MEMORY – This comes from when I was around four years old. Nothing really tangible. I only remember the soft light of the sun passing through my yellow curtains. And I felt warm.