I've been all over the map with my experiences. I started, as most do, in retail, quickly working my way up to managing. From there I bounced to one of the most interesting call centers I've ever heard of - doctor's offices one minute, tow trucks the next, followed by selling novelties of an ... ahem ... adult nature. I spent a brief time doing debt collection, which I was only able to do because the company encouraged us to be nice to people rather than make them feel horrible for having no money.

Finally, I ended up managing several different groups at an outsource company in the mortgage industry. My core group, which I built from the ground up, was involved with forensic auditing on the loans we handled. I quickly lost count of the other functions I headed, as it was a common practice to send underperforming functions to me for just long enough to get them back on track.

In the years since I left that job (more on that in a minute), I've focused on writing, volunteering, and activism. Specifically, I volunteer as a crisis counselor (and webmaster, and trainer, and writer, and on and on) for a suicide prevention organization. I also work wherever possible to help educate others about and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

In 2011, I was forced to leave the workplace. I suffer from chronic migraines - I have for my entire life - and by that time they had escalated severely. After missing three months of work due to non-stop debilitating pain, I gave up the ghost. Things haven't improved much since, but I am at a point where I can be productive - just nowhere near enough to allow me to return to work. So, I volunteer when I can.