Tuesday, August 19, 2008

My Jobs: The Good, Bad, And Ugly

Sallie's Niece asked me why I don't get my fun job now. Good question. Simple answer...I don't know what that job is! I think it will take some time to experiment for a while which is why I am trying to give myself some financial cushion.

Let me think back on all the jobs I've had...

Lawn mowing-dirty, hot, sweaty.
Babysitting-I'm not an entertainer.
Chicken tending-I like chickens, hope to have them again one day.
Helping my sister with her paper route-The early morning weekend thing was a challenge but riding my bike down empty streets was fun. Oh, and the fireworks we earned from selling subscriptions were soooo cool.

My first real job:
Pet store kennel cleaner-Learned about puppy mills and what happens to dogs that don't measure up (they go to the pound). Had a terrible manager and very little training. Quit after a month (with enough money to buy a leather jacket, which I still own :)
Plumbing store cashier-Learned how to count change back to a customer. Boring job.
College cafeteria-College kids do gross things to their un-eaten food.
Cleaning staff for classrooms-Learned some tricks for cleaning bathrooms. Kind of fun to roam the vacant halls and draw on the chalkboards.
Copy room clerk-Better student job. Interaction with the teachers was more interesting that cleaning toilets.
Honey-baked ham clerk(winter break job)-That foil gave me papercuts. Tried not to bleed on the hams. (That is so gross. I hope they give them gloves now.)
Bookstore cashier (summer break job)-Showing new students all the books they had to buy was quite fun.
House cleaner-Gets old really fast.
Certified Nurse's Assistant-Worst job EVER!!! I quit after 3 months and luckily didn't cause any deaths.
Office Furniture Set-up-I think they hired me because I'm a girl and they didn't want to look sexist. I wasn't a very big help.
Convoy Driver(contract job)-This one was fun. Drive around the desert in old army vehicles with other drivers and see if the army plane can target your position.
Newspaper ad inserter-Worked with some colorful characters. Learned a lot about the cycle of poverty, crime, drugs and welfare...second hand thank goodness.
Drafting-Boring but much better pay. Opened up some interesting opportunities.

I probably forgot some jobs or maybe I blacked them out of my mind. My favorite was the college bookstore job. It was fun to help bewildered students find their books. And the convoy driver was fun too. Lots of hurry up and wait, it was for the army after all. Obviously, I haven't found my dream job yet.

I have always struggled with either getting a job I like or getting a good paying job to pay for my hobbies. I've haven't found a job I love that pays well yet. Someday it will happen!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Search for RV Home Yet? She has a few of the facts wrong, but....

I think you need to think about everything, but continue to stay focused on your goal. If you try to do too much at once, then that sharp laser becomes the wider flashlight beam. How is that for a metaphor?

If you are interested in producing art, can you start taking a class that might get you more motivated. Once a week at night? It would cost though. Or just make yourself do something on your own. Volunteer at an art gallery once a week or once month. Good networking - maybe lead to a job later?

Want to build a house? Take classes out your technical college in electrical or carpentry. Carpentry good for framing, but also make furniture - which you could sell, and use in your house. Possibly good pool of men? Maybe not, but who knows. The stock broker who got canned and now is looking for another less stressful career, lol.

Daizy said...

Oh oh!!! I found it!
http://rvhometown.typepad.com/rv_home_yet/2008/08/extreme-budgeti.html

Thanks for the help.

Actually, I have thought about selling my 5th wheel RV and buying a smaller Class C truck camper. Then I could drive it up to visit my parents and drive it back when it starts to snow. I would be a very young snowbird. I could do seasonal jobs in Washington and Arizona and anywhere else along the way. I've been telling my mom I'm going to be a snowbird for a couple of years now.

Nice metaphor. Flashlights make me think of tarantulas...I've seen 3 this week!

I do look through the community art classes every semester. I took a torch bead class last November and almost bought $1,000 in supplies before I stopped and thought about it. Dangerous! I had to stop looking at craigslist because I wanted to buy a kiln, potter's wheel, and loom! I have a terrible addiction to art stuff. What I need to do is get rid of more stuff.

The house building thing I do want to do but not yet. Lots of people tell me I can meet some handy guys volunteering for Habitat. I had to stop going to the Habi-store, which sells donated building supplies because I wanted to start buiding something. I don't even know where I want to settle down so building something at this point isn't practical unless I want to build a regular size house and sell it off with a piece of land for a profit.

I don't mean to shoot down all your ideas. Keep them coming! I have a lot of time to think about this stuff at work. I've settled on selling my stuff and worrying about my renters as my top priorities for the moment...oh, and what to write next on my blog.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

Hi Daizy
What about not having a job? No, I haven't gone completely crackers but people pay you to do things without employing you. It would keep your options open much more. How are you with older people? Maybe Old Folks Homes would pay you to do session of Occupational Therapy with their inmates/guests. You could teach them some of your crafting stuff. My grandma made me a knitting bag when she was in hospital. They use the low level excercise to help them recover form a stroke. or hopw about a Pet sitting service. Looking after peoples animals when they take a holiday (vacation - I am learning !)so they dont have to go into kennels. Or if you land is big enough to running kennels from there. The possibilities are truly endless!

Daizy said...

Yes, Lizzie, the possiblities are endless which is why I haven't talked about them much. My Mom seems more concerned about my after-mortgage plans than I am. The more financially stable I am the more possibilities there are. The main idea is to be able to jump at any opportunity that comes along.

Speaking of the elderly or infirmed, I have also thought about getting a nice dog to bring for visits. That is quite popular here and I have always wanted a dog.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

That woud be great. They started an idea here recently copied form Holland (where they tend to be quite advanced in social care things)where there is a little petting zoo outback of the nursing home. SO cool. Apparently all the oldies loved it, even a couple who had alzeimers. Perhaps a moobile zoo would be too much!

Daizy said...

Ooh! That reminds me of another idea I had. I wanted a pygmy petting zoo. Miniature horse, pygmy goat, bantam chickens, miniature cow and donkey, dwarf bunny...um, is there a mini pig?