My First and Only Job, So Far

Hard as it is to believe, I have had only one paying job in my entire life.  I know, weird isn't it?  I never had a part-time or summer job all throughout high school and college.  My mom thought I didn't need one to learn about financial matters or a work ethic, and she worked for employment services at the time.  I didn't need the extra money for school, so I never worked.  After I graduated college in December 1994, I had first tried for graduate school, but I missed some deadlines.  So, I tries applying for some jobs.  I was going to be a journalism major, but I ended up going to school without a program or even a school paper.  I applied to a few local newspapers, but I wasn't hired.  After a few months of searching, my mother used her connections to get me a job as a paralegal for child support services.  Not only didn't I have to apply or interview, but I also think I was chosen over much more qualified candidates.  If I had interviewed, I would have found out that I wouldn't be receiving any benefits my first year (I wouldn't be staying that long anyway) and, due to the unique nature of the position, I wouldn't be receiving any retirement plan or pension as well.  I would have had to furnish one on my own.  As I naive twenty-three year old, I didn't think anything of it; in hindsight, it now seems somewhat suspicious.  Anyway, I started working with little training in legal matters or in the computer systems.  On my second day, I got a phone call from a relative congratulating me on my new job.  I got a warning for it not to happen again.  Still, I went through the motions of trying to do my job, although most of the time I wasn't really doing anything.  I re-arranged my office (only a desk and chair, I didn't have my own computer and had to use other people's instead).  I even tried to clean up the office a little, but I got a notice not to do so anymore.  I didn't see any reason why they were keeping outdated forms anyway.  At the end of my third week, I had to leave early that Friday for an appointment out of town.  The staff were busy trying to sent out dozens of letters in time to be dated before the weekend, even though I thought it was already too late.  I purposely didn't use my mandatory breaks so I could leave, but they still made me feel guilty for doing so.  The next Monday, I received some information that would have been extremely useful if I had had an interview.  I would be going to Frankfort the following week for special training, directly the opposite of what I had been told from the beginning.  My mother would never have allowed me to travel that far by myself (she still doesn't for some reason), and I would not want to either, considering I wasn't going to make this my career.  Together, we created a reason of me going back to school for a second degree (technically true) as an excuse to quit.  On the downside, I got stuck on jury duty for five months and was unable to go back to school and I missed a deadline to apply for grad school again.  I also might have gotten a bad reputation around the area (or perhaps blacklisted) because of me quitting that job.  On the upside, the rest of the staff got fired anyway a few weeks late when my employer got sent to federal prison.  So, at least I didn't get caught up in that mess.  Anyway, I was unable to get another job for the next four years, and that is how I ended up running a book store, even without any business acumen.