After finishing an out of town gig, I found myself back in NYC, unemployed and desperate to find work, hitting up every temp agency in NYC I could take a typing test for. Finally, one of the companies came though and landed me a temp gig at the New York Stock Exchange.

I was hired at the Exchange to spend 6 weeks doing data entry. It was life’s purpose at that time to take all of the product orders for companies that NYSE had purchased and have them entered into their unique billing. I can’t remember just how many legal pages of entries it was, but it was enough that when I finished the assignment in 2.5 days instead of 6 weeks, the big bosses took immediate notice of this lowly “temp”.

Suffice to say, they enjoyed having me around and my ability to complete tasks quickly, so they extended me past 6 weeks. Then again to 3 mos, and before I knew it, I had been there an entire year.

The Stock Exchange is a cool place to work. The work I was doing may not have been the most flashy, but the happenings day in and day out in that historic building were fascinating and entertaining! Each day would bring in a different company that was going public, or a celebrity promoting a new movie. I can’t even count the amount of free food, promotional gifts, and special events that happened over my time there. For example, one day there was a live fashion show, and the next a Cinco De Mayo party. You heard that right, Cinco De Mayo!

When it comes to parties, the best thing you can do is have good sponsors, or in the case of NYSE, good clients. When a holiday like the 5th of May rolls around, the true professionals step forward. Corona came in and threw a huge celebration for the entire company. Corona and Corona Light, Chips and Salsa, Guacamole, and live music were all supplied for the festivities along with some cool swag (Corona Maracas anyone?).I enjoyed between 1 and 5 Coronas (ok it was 5), at my work, for free. #GreatDay

Live For Fun, Spread Joy, Enjoy the Perks of Work!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!