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Twenty-eighth Job of Bob - YMCA customer service desk worker
This entry was posted on 1/5/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
While working in the aquatic center at the YMCA, I noticed a blurb on the bulletin board seeking a part-time front-desk person. I popped my head into what was their version of a human resources office and inquired. A week or so later I was being trained to work the front desk. I of course kept my part-time lifeguard position as well. I the mid-1990s, the YMCA I worked at had a computer software program that seemed to be only a couple steps above Disk Operating System (DOS). And, I had just started my college studies, at 40 years old. My knowledge of computers at the time was minimal. At least I had taken typing in high school and I still remembered how to peck the keys. Soon I found myself working the front-desk at night. I worked my lifeguard shifts in the AM, then went to my college classes, and then on the way home, took a shift about three nights a week at the desk. I got to see the many people from the many social strata that "The Y" tried to accommodate. There was the poor, the better off, the well off, the handicapped, the working single moms, the kids, and the elderly. Everyone had a story. Everyone had a life. And, they were all logged in in the near-obsolete DOS-type software. It was an nuisance, but I learned a lot about people and a bit about computers. There was a young woman I worked with at the desk that was always the boss - thank god. I wanted nothing to do with managing the computers, fees, and general problems associated with being at a front desk in a place that tried to accommodate the many diverse peoples of the earth. She was maybe 25, with dishwater blond hair to her shoulders; and she was not quite small enough to describe as thin. Boss-lady carried an expression on her face of perpetual understanding yet she had a slight aura of sadness at times. That seemed to draw me to telling her stupid stories to pass the time. She seemed to enjoy my tales about medical training foibles and the downfalls of working part-time in some of the many health care jobs. I remember she had an infectious laugh and made the shift go faster simply by her pleasant demeanor. It was quite a contrast to working the quiet morning shifts at the pool where I was subject to get through a whole shift without ever speaking to anyone and that time often languished. I don't know what ever became of my desk boss; I hope she was able to pursue a happy life and no one in life has yet managed to take away her pleasant laugh. Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology. Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Captain Derek Anthony Dobogai, 26, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin died on Wednesday, August 22, 2007. He was one of 14 soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while returning from a combat mission in Multaka, Iraq. Captain Dobogai was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Derek "was a gifted runner and a top student in his high school class." He attended Winnebago Lutheran Academy, and graduated from there in 1999. Derek was remembered as a good student, particularly in chemistry, and he had two brothers who also attended the school. He was one of the top 10 students in his senior year. Dobogai was also remembered as a track and cross country athlete, and he was recognized as an academic letter winner with good grades in each of his four years. Derek was the middle of three brothers.
According to a news release by Western Illinois University, Derek Dobogai had been a member of the Western Illinois University Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC), and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on Dec. 12, 2003. He earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in law enforcement and justice administration. Dobogai was a member of the ROTC Bulldog Battalion. He was among the top cross county runners and ran the steeplechase in track. Derek was a U.S. Army Ranger School graduate and also a U.S. Army Airborne School graduate. Dobogai served combat tours in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq, and he had recently been selected to the U.S. Army Special Forces
The Web site iraqnam.blogspot.com via information from the Fond du Lac Reporter noted Dobogai was an iron-man competitor and an academic standout. He was the fourth Fond du Lac County soldier to die in the Iraq war. At the time of his death Derek Dobogai was survived by his parents Lisa and David Dobogai and brothers David Jr. and Daniel. Derek Dobogai was the 79th Wisconsin military service person to die in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
99,285 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,815 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,433 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1445 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
834 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,106 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,828 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
103 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
27 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
145 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
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