Wow Mike.. perfect read for me. I think im even going to print this one up.
Much like you my career started out... I was one of the laziest gas pump attendents ever, followed by a Subway Sandwhich guy. I took the 8pm-4am shift because no boss was around and I had freedom to deal with the booze patrons coming in with the munchies. Lol
Surprisingly these jobs actually got me hired at an F100 as BDR. Which then jumped to NAM at another F100... went back to uni to do my graduate degree. Came out and worked for a small firm, but good environment. Quit 3 years ago to start my own biz.. and it is now self sufficient with managers running the show.
So here I am, this time to go back to an F500 but sitting behind the "doors"..
If this was 3 years ago i would have been plastered by now in "celebration".. but then again, I would never have had the same composure in the interview (s). Irony indeed.