pt. 5: austin in the nineties, troy aikman and government bureaus
All of which I did not. But I did know how to fill out a job application and did know how to wear lip liner, quite well. Here is a quick summation of my early years, circa 1990-1996.
The Census:
Steve and I both worked here, needing to earn money to pay rent at our apartment located on a hill at the intersection of Capital of Texas Highway and Great Hills, then called Aspen Hills. Now it's the Falls on Bull Creek. I'm sure it costs more than my house payment to live there now.
I opened mail at the Census Bureau, and also called people who had not fully filled out their census form but decided to mail it to us anyway. After a couple of weeks, I got up to take a break but found myself walking to my supervisor's desk instead and telling him I needed to give my notice.
"When do you want to leave?" he asked.
"Right now," I replied.
This was before cell phones so I couldn't really let Steve know I had quit until a little later. He was pretty happy with me.
The IRS:
Steve and I both worked here, once again finding temporary work to support our high living in West Austin. We took tests to see where we would be placed in this demanding field. Steve got a job crunching numbers on tax forms. I got a job opening mail in the middle of the night. So now, when anyone complains to me about the job situation in Austin, I do NOT feel sorry for them.
Medifax, Inc. :
Medifax was a medical transcription business where a group of transcriptionists worked for doctors all over Austin. The doctors would transcribe their notes on tiny cassette tapes, and our delivery guy would pick them up and you get the idea. Then we went kind of digital. It was kind of neat.
I started as office help, then got promoted to assistant manager. My boss had a storage closet turned into a tiny office for me. At the time I was a huge Troy Aikman fan, and all my co-workers knew it. It wasn't long until my office was filled with a life-size Aikman poster, an autographed plaque, and a stolen hotel book from Dallas with his chiseled face on front. Which I proudly displayed next to some job manuals. I went to the Cowboy's spring training at St. Ed's with my boss and Troy threw me a ball. Which I did not catch. I had Dallas Cowboy magazines, cups, pencils...you get the picture.
In between pretending to know how to fix computers, I dealt with salesmen selling paper. One sales guy in particular came around a lot, and while waiting with me for my boss in her office, he let me know he thought I was very beautiful. Which I laughed off.
The next time he came to personally deliver the paper, he came into my tiny office and over a few reams of paper asked me out. "I'm married!" I said, pointing to my wedding ring. He pointed to my Troy Aikman shrine. Point well taken.
I worked at Medifax for seven years. I became restless in the end, staring out the wide expanse of windows in our office building that held a view of the green hills of Austin, overlooking Bee Caves Road and Walsh Tarlton. I just did not want to be there anymore. I just did not want to settle. Steve was starting to want kids and I was wanting a job I loved.
I left Medifax and found temporary work while looking for a job in television or radio. As luck would have it, the local CBS affiliate was hiring and in the middle of a station change. There was a job as a promotions assistant in the promotions and advertising department. The pay was hourly, about half of what I made at Medifax, but we could still make rent.
I was thrilled to be among people who shared my love for Kyle Chandler (on the CBS show Early Edition), anchormen and women, and the magical, not-so-glamorous behind the scenes world of television production. I bought my first fancy pantsuit. I was on my way.