Mike.koo

There was a point my life that I realized I was not going to live off of my mom’s hard work anymore.  I had 2 choices, either try to keep leeching or I could try to live on my own.  Fortunately, mom chose for me and I was off trying to find employment.  With nothing in my experience except a summer job at a local computer store, I made a resume.  I tried to fluff it up but you could tell I was new to the working force.  I ended up with 2 jobs, both at the same mall.  One was at brookstone and one at the Gap.

Now during this point in my life, I had gone through some legal trouble from getting caught racing my car and I ended up without a license for 6 months.  This was going to be the longest 6 months of my life.

Before I got the jobs, I made sure my bosses were aware that I did not have my own transportation.  This was fine for them and I started my transformation.

During the next 3 months, I went from a spoiled South Pasadena asian kid to a poor la brea mall worker.  Took the bus from 7 in the morning to 9 at night.  The hardest was probably the first month before my first paycheck.  Both my jobs required that I work for 2 pay periods before I got any money.  Scrapping by, I started to realize how hard life could be.  I spent everything I earned on bus fare, rent, food, and utilities.

In retrospect, I’m glad I went through that.  I ended up with a job at a software company, and the hardships I endured during that period helped me through the rough times at the software company.  “It can’t get worse than the mall,” I told myself.  I eventually got a promotion and I am currently in a meeting at Microsoft writing this blog.

So looking back, I was a little angry that my mom cut me off.  But now, I enjoy a pretty good life.  A nice house, cool roommates, safe driving, and most importantly, surfing the internet at work.