What was the best job you ever had?

[AmyStrange]

-

Some people spend their whole lives working the same job, and that's cool.

My favorite job (other than being a writer) was working as a bartender.

What's yours?
==============

[CatMor]

1. Owning an antique shop for awhile.

[AmyStrange]

9. Interesting...

-

what was your specialty? Early American, French Provincial (SP?), furniture, books, or did you just sell old stuff?

I always wondered how they priced that stuff, and did you ever sell something really old and worth a lot of money?
=============

[CatMor]

21. Mostly early American in the furniture ...

but smalls from different eras. One thing I'll never forget is selling a 1920's Japanese made Mickey Mouse tin toy that walked. It had the original box with a original price tag of 69 cents and sold for $3,300.00. That was in the 1990's. It sure wouldn't happen today.

[Lunabell]

2. I'm doing it now.

Private duty nurse for a 10 month old baby with a feeding tube. She is so much fun and the smiles and giggles i get are precious. She is active, curious and so much fun.

So, after 25 years of hard knocks floor nursing, 5 years ago, I took a little pay cut to do this, but it was worth it.

[uppityperson]

7. I got to do that for a while also

1-4 yrs old and they moved away. It was so fun, though exciting when toddler learned how to dislodge their trach.

But still, so fun.

[AmyStrange]

12. Sounds like it WAS worth it...

-

Hard knocks floor nurse doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but I'm sure there were still some good memories, right?
================

[Lunabell]

23. So many.

And floor nursing was my passion but the knees are getting older. I'm just one of those born caretakers.

[padfun]

3. High intense job but

Software Engineering Supervisor at a computer manufacturing plant.

[AmyStrange]

14. That's the kind of job that I'd like too...

-

High end computer systems for businesses or did you also engineer laptops and tablets?
===========

[padfun]

27. It was Packard Bell back in 1995-6

I know they have bad rep but it still was a good job. We put out 10,000 in the day shift and 8,000 at night (my shift).

My job was mostly support but we did have to write batch files for the production stations.

[MLAA]

4. Working for an American based company in Shanghai for a few years.

[AmyStrange]

17. Did you get shanghaied?

-

Sorry for that, but I couldn't help myself.

Anyway, what did you do specifically?

Don't bother answering if that would result in you having to kill me.
==========

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. The one I have right now.

I provide daycare for my 3 granddaughters.

It’s like a three ring circus. I go home with a face sore from smiling every day.

[AmyStrange]

18. You are one of God's people, aren't you?

Last edited Tue Dec 22, 2020, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

-

Smiling all day makes it worth it, huh?
========

[Generic Brad]

51. That's how I feel about my current job too

After a career in banking, I transitioned to working for a credit union. Had I known the skinny on this industry long ago, I would have made the switch 20 years ago and had a less stressful and more rewarding life.

[RoadRunner]

6. Carpenter

Later on I became a university professor, but carpenter I’ll never forget.

[onethatcares]

15. I still are one,

older, slower, smarter but I'm a carpenter. Tools fit my hand, plans fit my mind, knowing the entire set of steps to construct a home that someone will live in, while they are looking at an open lot, it's all there.

Now I do junky little jobs for side money and spend that money on dirt for my garden. I can't bring myself to sell off tools I'll never use because.............just because.

I started 40 years ago and bought a carpentry book called, "Building for Permanence" It saved my butt many times. But I my work is still standing, And I'm proud of that.

My one regret; I wish I would have learned to do custom stairs and stairways. What an art.

Peace to ya, I wish you the best.

[AmyStrange]

19. I worked in a wood shop once...

-

it was mostly repetitive work, but I did love the smell of sawdust in the morning.
================

[onethatcares]

26. My problem

I hate the to see the old growth forests chopped up for 2 x 4s.

Back to the subject though, what were you building or making? Cabinets made out of particle board? I tried that until I watched folks cut their thumbs off on table saws.

[AmyStrange]

48. Mostly chair frames, but...

-

I did help my boss build a garage for his brother-in-law, and that was very interesting.

I cut my finger on a bandsaw once, so I know how you fell.

Out of all my jobs, my boss at that job was the best one.

We were friends before that, and he hired ne at a party we were both at.

At the end of the day, we'd hit bar after bar after... well, you get the picture.
==============

[RoadRunner]

33. There's nothing like it

Working with your hands and brain at the same time makes a person feel downright human.

Speaking of old tools, I still have a brace & bit from back in the day. Kinda’ glad they invented power drills, though, although some old skills are becoming obsolete.

Keep doing what you’re doing.

[AmyStrange]

49. I had a friend who replicated really old furniture...

-

from around the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, and he did it using only the tools that were available at the time.

It took months for each piece, but he loved it and his shop was AMAZING!
===========

[MyOwnPeace]

54. When my Grandfather died in 1982

I got to go out to his tool shed and take my pick of what I wanted. Found something that I never knew existed - a right-angle brace! I had recently bought a right-angle drill so I really appreciated the genius of it all!

[Mad_Dem_X]

8. Worked as a receptionist for a trust company

There was only one other person in the office. It was a very low-stress job (quite the opposite of the job I'd held before). Mostly filing, but I didn't mind. The only downside was that I had to catch the bus to and from the office, but even that I didn't mind much.

[AmyStrange]

24. Did you get to talk to a lot of people?

-

On the phone or otherwise?

I always found that to be the best part about bartending, except for the BAT-SHIT CRAZY people!
===========

[Mad_Dem_X]

138. Not really. The phone barely rang and

we had very few visitors, except for the mail delivery person. But I didn't care. It was such a laid-back place. I was devastated when they let me go.

[justgamma]

10. Worked in the same factory for 40 years.

Favorite job was as the Stockroom coordinator.

I did spend a couple of years working for Swift tucking the skin around the turkey rolls.

My favorite job there was tucking the whole chicken into the can. I just thought it was fun.

[AmyStrange]

29. I can certainly see the appeal of being able to tuck something, and...

-

I also worked as a Lead Inventory Specialist, but I had no say in anything.

I eventually quit because they were all idiots.
============

[Freddie]

11. Payroll manager at a mid-sized community hospital

Really one big family. Everybody knew each other and watched out for each other. Great boss and co-workers. Then it got sold to a for-profit hospital chain and they made our lives so miserable that my whole department jumped ship one by one. 2 jobs later (both were fine but not as “family”) retired now.

[AmyStrange]

52. For profit hospital chains suck!!

-

People who invest in those things should be forced to use them.

Anyway, jobs that make you feel like family are definitely some of the best around.
============

[Freddie]

79. I was there 20 years

Wanted to retire from there.
The for-profit chain discovered you can’t make a profit in a hospital around here due to 2 insurance companies (Aetna and Blue Cross) having a near-total monopoly; they call all the shots. So they sold it to a local non-profit health system.

[AmyStrange]

83. Insurance companies suck too!

-

It's getting harder and harder to NOT believe that money is the root of ALL evil.

Well, maybe not ALL evil, but it's certainly up there near the top.

Anyway, thanks for sharing.
===========

[secondwind]

13. I did not go to college... my very first job was as a "gal Friday" in a small law firm in NYC...

I learned the ropes, worked hard, added to my duties, and eventually became office manager... little did I know that a few years later I would "marry the boss", one of the partners.

[AmyStrange]

32. Nothing wrong with marrying the boss...

-

were they one of the good guys, or BAT-SHIT CRAZY like a lot of my bosses?
==============

[LisaM]

16. Working at a bookstore.

I did it for nine years. Problem was, the pay wasn't quite enough and - it was a college bookstore - the people around me kept getting younger. There was a core staff that stayed on for years after I left, and I'm still in touch with most of them. I liked being around books, of course, I liked the physical aspect of lifting cartons of books and walking around, and I really liked interacting with customers, especially in the trade book section (I was mostly in textbooks). I liked book rush a few times a year, and I liked being exposed to the books that professors chose for the higher level English and history classes.

Best of all, I liked that when I wasn't at the job, I didn't have to worry about it, which is one of the best things about retail, at least for people who are just on the floor. I liked working retail, I wish that it was respected more as a profession and paid better. I work as a paralegal now and the stress is untenable at times, especially since we're working at home and are always on the clock, even when we're not. It's just deadline, deadline, deadline and lawyers are under their own stresses and can often be unreasonable towards staff in return.

[peacefreak2.0]

35. I was a bookseller for 20 years.

There are some things you do for love rather than money. It did teach me to live poor. Good skill to have now.
The Bush recession hit. The store tanked. I worked in other retail after and people still remembered me as the woman who sold them a really good book. Not a huge legacy, but not bad.

[LisaM]

109. Yes, I did learn frugality.

I was young, and my biggest non-essential spends were clothes, the bar, and books! I still calculate money in funny ways - this will pay the rent for two months, this will buy three weeks of groceries, etc. I stuck my stimulus check in the bank as a rent payment backup (working at a bookstore did put me behind the salary curve, and I never caught up as far as owning a house went, so I still rent).

But not having to stress over my job when I'm not there - little did I know what a blessing that was.

[AmyStrange]

37. I LOVE retail people who interact with the customers...

-

One of the reasons I liked bartending was THAT interaction, and it also teaches you how to remain calm, even when a customer is giving you the business for something you have no control over.

I was so good that people would even tip me when I threw them out of the bar!
==========

[LisaM]

110. I do, too.

Nothing can give me a lift more than cracking a joke or something in a retail setting and having the clerk get it, and respond.

Once they started putting headphones on clerks and making them multi-task on the floor, the experience changed dramatically, and not for the better. I remember the first time I saw this was at Eddie Bauer - I think I was asking a question, and the clerk had to answer a phone call in the middle of it!!!

[TlalocW]

20. Balloon Twister - And I'll be returning to doing that after COVID

Last 10 years, twisting, magic, and general entertainment has been my main source of income. I'm really not feeling the Xmas spirit this year because normally I would be full-on booked with gigs. It's not just the money, but I was so surrounded by festivities and decorations that it's kind of jarring not to be now.

TlalocW

[AmyStrange]

39. Balloon Twister is a new one on me, but...

-

it certainly sounds like a whole lotta fun.

I've seen you guys before, but it NEVER occurred to me that it was a job.

It sounds more like a hobby!
===========

[Sedona]

22. I was a disc jockey on a major market rock n roll radio station

80's early 90's.

I had really big hair

Seems like another lifetime ago.

[secondwind]

25. ahaha... sounds like you had fun!!

[onethatcares]

30. you did good though

no one ever complained about your choice of music. Thanks

[AmyStrange]

40. Now that you mention it...

-

I did that for a while and I loved that almost as much as bartending.

My favorite gig was Halloween parties, and my favorite one was doing a Halloween costume party around a campfire in the middle of the woods. It was right near their house, but it felt like we were in the middle of the woods.

I set up my equipment in an old rusted van that was down by the river.
==============

[Freedomofspeech]

28. High School librarian....

I had a beautiful big library...over 50,000 titles. There would be many periods during the day that I would have over 75 students in the library. My library aides were everyone from special needs students to the football quarterback. We were like family and I still hear from many of them. I was so blessed to have that job.

[onethatcares]

34. yes, you were.

it's not often people get to walk around with all those authors. Thanks for what you did..........I was the guy that hid out in the stacks because he didn't want to go home. Thanks.

[Freedomofspeech]

36. LOL....you are so welcome!

[AmyStrange]

41. I've NEVER met a librarian that I didn't like, and...

-

I've been to a lot of libraries.

After all, you were the guardians and guides to all the knowledge that I wanted to get at and learn.

Thank you for all you did and probably still do... somewhere.
==============

[Freedomofspeech]

80. I am retired...

I started out as an elementary librarian. I quit my job when my first son was born and opened a preschool and ran it for ten years until both of my boys were in school. I was then hired as a high school librarian in a large rural school district. I had never worked with high school students before but it was the best job ever. I loved those kids.

[AmyStrange]

107. That seems to be a common theme here...

-

being treated like family and/or loving the people you worked with.
=================

[Newest Reality]

31. I am still

an Itinerant Mendicant, though a lot less itinerant than before.

My favorite position so far.

[AmyStrange]

42. Itinerant Mendicant?

-

What does that entail?
===========

[yellowdogintexas]

38. I did medical records research for a couple of doctors to test

a new diagnostic tool

It was so much fun. The grant ran out right before I delivered my daughter .
The docs were so good to work for and the work was fascinating.

I helped them with a chest pain study and an anemia study.

If they showed up here with a project I could work on, I would jump at it.

[AmyStrange]

43. I was a guinea pig in a study like that.

Last edited Tue Dec 22, 2020, 08:37 PM - Edit history (1)

-

It was a copper study at the University of North Dakota, and it's also how I was able to move to Seattle (long story).

I love to research things, and I can definitely relate to the fun you had.
============

[yellowdogintexas]

113. we were studying thyroid, to develop a lab panel which would

recommend the appropriate further testing..sort of an AI thing. I read records and recorded the data according to a list, then entered the data.

Best part was reading the records.

Instead of just a basic thyroid lab followed by a group of different tests, it would predict the best test to use.

[madamesilverspurs]

44. Food Bank

Went to work as the receptionist there after trusting someone I shouldn't have and losing the business I'd created. Needless to say I was soured on people in general, and viewed the new job as something to fill the time while I put myself back together. Little did I know that the job would prove to be the exact remedy I needed. The staff was comprised of phenomenal people who could earn much more in the corporate sector; the level of caring and compassion and commitment was (and still is) salvific.

Then the day came when the meat plant across the highway was raided, making national news in the process. We stood outside and watched in disbelief as huge buses with windows painted over took away dozens of workers, with helicopters buzzing overhead and sometimes dipping down to make sure we knew they were watching us. It was a lousy way to enter into the holiday season.

In the following days my desk grew increasingly busy. People from the community and surrounding towns came in to donate food for the impacted families; many brought cash and checks, and still more asked if we knew of programs that would help get Christmas gifts for the children whose families had been torn apart by the raid. One woman said that she and her husband were lifelong Republicans but this was something they could not countenance; she was telling me this while writing out a check that she tore up, writing another for twice the amount. She and other donors gave their names and phone numbers and told us to call if more was needed.

Did I cry? Repeatedly. After seeing the worst I was gifted with seeing the best in people.

That was more than a dozen years ago. I had to leave the job after just a year, had to start chemo. I've stayed in touch with some of the staff, most are still there. When I left I told the director that my year there had done much to restore my faith in people and that I would be forever thankful for that. I meant it then, and I still do.


.

[AmyStrange]

57. When my apartment building burned to the ground on Christmas Eve...

-

it was folks like you who were there to help us all out.

THANK YOU!!!
========

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

45. Besides being retired?

Two very different ones: Law clerk for a state supreme court justice, and flight instructor.

[AmyStrange]

55. The pay sucks, but I know what you mean, but...

-

being retired also gives me more time to write.

What do you do to pass the time?
===========

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

101. I paint, I sing, I'm learning Norwegian, gardening when it's not winter,

cross-country skiing when it is (it's snowing tonight, hope I can get out tomorrow), reading, hanging out with the cat, trying to learn Bach's French Suite #5. Got more stuff to do now than when I had a job.

[AmyStrange]

103. Got more stuff to do now than when I had a job...

-

Ain't that the truth, but I have to ask. What's Norwegian gardening?
=======

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

104. Jeg planter mange ting, men ingenting vokser.

[AmyStrange]

105. Well, that was clear as mud, but...

-

I get the message.
========

[AmyStrange]

106. Ha ha ha

-

"The biggest problem with gardening in Norway is not to get the plants to root into the glacier, but rather keeping the polar bears from knocking them over…

https://frozengardener.com/2018/07/18/gardening-in-norway/
=============

[applegrove]

46. Waitress, cook, dishwasher at Lake Agnes Tea House, above Lake

Louise, AB. It was heaven to live off the grid in the mountains.

[AmyStrange]

59. Living off the grid,...

-

in the mountains, would be heaven for me too?
==========

[applegrove]

73. I took a shower in a waterfall every second morning.

[AmyStrange]

74. Stop it!!

-

You're killing me... heh heh heh.
=========

[applegrove]

75. I know. It was quite something. We'd close at 6PM, clean up and put

dinner on till 8, eat dinner till 11 while drinking Donini white wine (2 litre bottles only as it had to get carried up the mountain). I was 18. We opened at 10 AM the next day (it was a two hour hike up from Chateau Lake Louise for our guests so we could sleep in up there).

[AmyStrange]

77. Why won't you listen?

-

Probably because it was AWESOME, huh?


Got any pictures?
======

[applegrove]

86. Big Beehive is on the left. Tea House you can just see at the top of the

waterfall. That is me back in skinny days. I was 15 in this picture. I worked there a few years later. They rebuilt the teahouse when my sister worked there before me. My older brother worked there first. My younger brother after me.

[AmyStrange]

88. Nice!

-

Thank you for sharing.
========

[Ptah]

47. Instrument Maker (machinist) for large scientific instruments.

[AmyStrange]

60. What kind of scientific instruments?

-

Just curious.
===========

[Ptah]

63. Telescopes.

The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two 8.1-metre (26.6 ft) telescopes, Gemini North and Gemini South, which are located at two separate sites in Hawaii and Chile, respectively. The twin Gemini telescopes provide almost complete coverage of both the northern and southern skies. They are currently among the largest and most advanced optical/infrared telescopes available to astronomers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_Observatory

And other smaller telescopes.

[rownesheck]

50. Easy.

I worked at a video rental store when I was 18 and eventually became a district manager, but those early days were awesome. I made some great friends and some great memories. I often think back and wish I could relive that time period. To quote Andy from The Office, "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them."

[AmyStrange]

64. I wish that too, and...

-

your post also reminded me of that song by Macklemore:

==============

[Fla Dem]

53. Running a soft serve ice cream stand at a theme park.

[AmyStrange]

65. Did you get free ice cream too?

-

Sigh, another job that would be close to being in heaven.
==========

[Fla Dem]

96. You betcha. That's why it was a great gig.

[Aristus]

56. Tank crewman in the Army.

Loved it...

I didn't so much love being in the Army, but they were the only game in town...

[AmyStrange]

67. How do you drive those freakin' things?

-

Sounds like being in a live action video game.
=========

[Aristus]

70. The tank in the video is a Sherman from World War II.

They used tillers (or what we tankers called the laterals). Pull back on one or the other, and it steers the tank in the desired direction. Pull back on both, and they act as brakes. The Sherman had a manual transmission and the standard accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals.

The M1-series Abrams tank, which I crewed from 1989 to 1993, had an automatic transmission, so that was cool. And steering was with a motorcycle-style yoke and handlebar assembly. Driving the beast was incredibly fun.

[AmyStrange]

71. More knowledge is always good, and...

-

thank you for sharing yours.
==========

[Aristus]

76. Sure.

Don't know when it will come in handy. You may never need to commandeer a tank in an emergency...

[AmyStrange]

78. But the characters in my books might need to, and...

-

then I can add you to my Acknowledgement page!
==========

[Aristus]

81. Cool!

Let me know if you need a consult on tanks and tankers. Wikipedia can give you a lot of stuff, but not the nitty-gritty of day-to-day tanker life.

[AmyStrange]

84. Gotcha.

-

Right now my characters are learning how to fly a plane that can turn invisible, so you never know.
========

[MyOwnPeace]

58. After teaching mostly elementary students for 24 years.....

I became an elementary principal. LOVED IT! Worked in 3 different schools in low-income semi-rural areas and the kids were fantastic. Plenty of parental problems (everywhere, I'm sure!) but the kids always brought the joy.

[Aristus]

61. Parents are the reason I don't see pediatric patients anymore.

Almost always, the kids are angels, and when they aren't, it's because they're scared.

Parents are almost all uniformly awful to have to deal with in a clinical setting. Usually they're scared, too, and concerned about their kids' health. But they too often express it by second-guessing the very medical advice they brought their kids in seeking.

And don't get me started on anti-vaxxers, the bottom-feeding, shovel-brained, substandard-human variety of parent...

[MyOwnPeace]

62. Common problem in both "careers"

I've always said that there are 2 things that EVERYBODY is an expert at:

1. Medicine (because they know somebody that knows somebody that had whatever they think they know about).

2. Education (because everybody went to school, even if it was only to the 3rd grade).

And that's what we have to work with/through/around!

[AmyStrange]

68. My aunt did the same thing...

-

she had the patience of a nun, which is what she was.
========

[mopinko]

66. cook. i've done a lot of things, but cooking was my fave.

working in a kitchen is like being in a flying circus.
such good ppl. and some of the funniest ones i ever knew.

[AmyStrange]

69. I love cooking, but...

-

not for other people.

I'm glad that there are people like you to take up the slack.

Thank you.
=========

[mopinko]

82. i dont do it any more.

i do love my current job- urban farmer. but for fun, there was nothing like my days in the kitchen.

[AmyStrange]

85. Urban farmer sounds so ultra cool...

-

Got any pictures?
=======

[mopinko]

87. tons at my sig link

dont have an account i can link from.
on the to-do-list, but...

it is great, rly. this was a tough year for a lot of reasons. but things move forward. planted a lot of trees and shrubs this year, and the wild things got more interesting this year.
but the part i love most- the teachin and preachin part, didnt get to do much of that. and w everybody home, lots of folks remembered why they never liked it.

next year should be great tho. there is a co-op grocery store set to open in the hood. i'm one of the owners, and i should have a lot to offer. fruit trees are starting to mature, and finally doing some winter growing.

[AmyStrange]

90. Moah's Ark... heh heh heh.

-

I love it and thanks for sharing.
==============

[mopinko]

95. a friend stuck that on my many years ago.

when i had a houseful of kids and critters. when it came time to name the project, well, i just couldnt come up w another damn idea.

[AmyStrange]

97. How could you?

-

That one was brilliant!
=======

[mopinko]

108. well, they taught me in art school

to never stop w your first idea, so i gave it the old college try.

[AmyStrange]

72. THANK YOU EVERYONE...

-

for ALL your interesting post!

The best part was I learned lot of new things, and that made today one of the Good Old Days.

===========

[frogmarch]

89. Year-round fossil preparator

at the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, for years, lotsa years ago. In the photo I'm preserving a mammoth skull after a summer Earthwatch dig.

[AmyStrange]

92. WOW!

-

How did you get THAT job?
=======

[frogmarch]

100. I'd taken a couple of college paleo classes,

and when the site was discovered, I lived in Hot Springs, so I visited the dig a lot and became acquainted with the scientists. After a while they decided to put me to work and sent me to the museum lab at the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City to learn all about it from the museum's fossil preparator.

[AmyStrange]

102. I wouldn't have the patience for it, but...

-

you look as happy as all get out.

You could probably relate to Ross on Friends, if you had any time to watch TV of course.

Anyway, thanks for sharing.
========

[Lady Freedom Returns]

91. KODE channel 12

Worked on the Good Morning Four States morning show. Good times.

[AmyStrange]

93. I'll bet THAT was hectic, and...

-

I'll bet you LIKE hectic.

What did you do specifically?

Just curious, but thank you for sharing.
========

[Lady Freedom Returns]

94. Started as a prompter operator.

Then tape operator, then camera person and then associate producer.

[LeftInTX]

98. Math tutor...got paid pretty good

[AmyStrange]

99. If you tutored me...

-

you would've asked for a raise.

Just kidding, but thanks for sharing.
========

[The Figment]

111. Tour guide in the Adirondacks...

The Rackett River paddling route from Tupper Lake to Lower Saranac Lake.
Did it for three seasons in the mid '70's,one of my better outdoor gigs.

[AmyStrange]

116. Exciting AND fun. Can't beat that and...

-

thank you for sharing.
=========

[Totally Tunsie]

112. Ski Instructor.

Worked nights at a local ski area and weekends at a NH resort. Best part-time job ever! What's not to like...free skiing, great people, happy atmosphere, healthy outdoor activity, decent pay but great tips (!), mulled wine. Good times.

[AmyStrange]

117. Damn good times indeed, and...

-

thank you for sharing.
=======

[Rhiannon12866]

114. Driving the purple train through the jungle at an amusement park

I got hired as Cinderella, didn't enjoy that all that much - standing out in the sun wearing a long dress, riding around in a pumpkin coach with kids (though I liked the kids) and not being able to run to the rest room without someone stopping me to take a picture. Plus, I had to deal with Mother Goose across the way who was about 90 and was really mean.

But my boss liked me, thought I was pretty responsible, so when a guy who'd had the job aged out - think he must have graduated and wasn't working just summers - my boss said he had the job for me, driving the train. It wasn't always easy, it broke down a lot and occasionally derailed, but I took pride in always being able to get it - and the passengers - back to the station as long as it didn't derail since I couldn't pick it up!

It was also out of the sun, went through 2 tunnels and the track ran through the "jungle" part of the park (woods) where there was a very verbal gorilla up in a tree at the entrance and an alligator rose up out of the swamp to greet my passengers - as well as various forms of wildlife that actually lived there, the water snake sunning himself on the dam at the end of the "river" we passed and the groundhogs who came out to nibble the grass right by "the cow that jumped over the moon."

I even went in early in those days to polish my engine and to wax the tracks on the curves so the ride would be smooth and not screech. I even got my pic in the paper when the odometer turned over 100,000 miles - though I doubt it was accurate since the guy who owned the park bought it used in 1952.

I still pass by the park fairly often (though due to the pandemic it didn't open this year) and I'm sad to see that they're no longer using "my" train, but if they were, I'd consider applying for that job again. That was my summer job for 4 summers.

[AmyStrange]

118. Sounds like the summer job of a lifetime!

-

And thank you for such a nice story. I read every word and NOW I want a job just like it!
===========

[Rhiannon12866]

119. Awww, thanks!

I loved my train! It took some work because of all the problems, LOL. But I looked at it as a challenge and it was a whole lot of fun!

[DFW]

115. The best job I ever had is the only job I've ever had

Full time, anyway. I was recruited a year out of college. I had a particular combination of skills that were sought by a small outfit based (then) in New England, now in Texas. They needed someone familiar with detection of counterfeit money dating back centuries, willing to travel a lot, and proficient in at least French, Spanish, Russian, German and one Scandinavian language.

Now, 45 years later, I‘m still doing it, albeit with a much higher ranking. I‘m now responsible for Europe (handed off Latin America and Asia a little over ten years ago), have learned Italian and Dutch. I already spoke Catalan, but didn‘t initially need it for work. Now I do. Covid-19 has curtailed my travel substantially, but I still get around a bit. The hours sometimes get long, I have to watch being tailed by some shady characters at times, and I have painted myself into a corner in that I can‘t find a qualified replacement. At some point the question will arise as to whether my job security is a comfort blanket or a straightjacket.

On the other hand, I get to live in Central Europe, make enough money to do what I want and buy what I want (modest needs, fortunately), and take as much vacation as I feel like when I feel like it. I am also fortunate to grant that to all who work under me (all Europeans), as long as the job gets done, though the qualifications are almost as stringent for them ss they are for me, so this is less than 20 people.

[AmyStrange]

120. WOW! Sounds like a dream job!

-

So, you know eight languages, including English, and you live in Europe?

I don't see that as a straightjacket, but thank you for sharing.
==========

[DFW]

121. Well, actually, eight plus English. Some would say 8 and a half.

I can also speak Swiss German, at least the big city dialects, like Basel or Zürich. The dialects of the mountain hinterlands are so off the wall, even the city people have trouble with them.

My wife is German, and while she enjoys our trips to the States, she doesn‘t want to leave Germany. Since I don‘t care where I hang my hat, and my work is now 95% here, it works out. Germany has its plusses and minusses, just like everywhere, but as long as you learn the language, put up with the ridiculous bureaucracy, and their penchant for making ten rules where one is needed, and accept the high cost of living, it can be a decent place to live. If you buy into popular myths that everything is free here, you‘ll be disappointed, but if you do your reality check beforehand, and accept that the surveillance state is here to stay, you‘ll be fine.

As for the straightjacket, I was more referring to an eventual retirement. Not yet, as I‘m only 68, but I don‘t see myself keeping up this James Bond different-country-every-day schedule when I‘m 80.

[AmyStrange]

122. I don't see James Bond doing that at 80 either.

[DFW]

123. My point exactly.

At that age, he‘d be lucky to face Dr. Maybe.

[AmyStrange]

125. Dr. Maybe!

-

I love it and thank you for sharing.
===========

[elleng]

129. Thanks for letting us know.

[DFW]

132. Not exactly a varied and diverse selection to choose from

But after the first couple of years, I knew it would have be something really exotic and fun to lure me away, and since this gig turned out to be exotic and fun already, why was I going to shop around for something better that no one was going to offer a nerd like me in the first place? I found my niche early. I never was the sort to ditch something like that just because there MIGHT have been something more lucrative on the other side of the hill.

[elleng]

124. Rail merger coordinator! (Edited)

Sounds exciting, right? Ended up very interesting and demanding.

This for Federal government, FREIGHT railroads, so learned the law, economics, and 'managing' bureaucrats with various specialties. Enabled a bit of travel too.

Freight railroads are regulated by the Federal government (now via a segment of the Department of Transportation,) and when they want to abandon lines, merge, and do some other things, they must seek permission to do so. I and my colleagues managed the process.

This article says there is a future in the endeavor https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mergers-and-acquisitions-still-likely-for-class-i-railroads even tho the years when I did the job seemed to exhaust the possibilities. Here's a list of them historically; my work was between 1980 and 2001. http://trains21.org/railroad-mergers-takeovers/

[AmyStrange]

126. I would if I knew what it was.

-

I was thinking that you're the guy who switched the tracks so trains could go on a different route.
===========

[elleng]

127. Thanks, just realized I should explain; will edit.

[AmyStrange]

128. As always, you're the best and thank you.

[AmyStrange]

130. It DOES sound exciting.

-

Thanks for the edit and for sharing it also.
=====================

[elleng]

131. Thanks,

you're welcome.

[Roland99]

133. The one I have now!

Link to tweet

One year ago, was at a pinnacle of my career and everyone was relishing in years of hard work coming to fruition

[AmyStrange]

139. Are you the guy with the red shirt?

-

I assume that was a play, creative exec and all that, or a movie,

What did you do?
==========

[Roland99]

143. It's part of Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios

I’m part of the Show Control team (we help manage/control special effects, animatronics, show logic, safety, etc)


Oh. And yeah. Me in the red shirt (thankfully it wasn’t a Star Trek ride!)

[AmyStrange]

144. Heh heh heh... Star Trek ride.

-

I don't get it?

That's the kind of job I'd enjoy too, but I'd probably crack up after a week. I don't handle pressure very well.

Thank you for sharing
==========

[Wicked Blue]

134. Newspaper reporter

Four newspapers in 25 years. Best was a large daily paper.

Also worked several years researching and writing energy efficiency case studies for the natural gas industry.

Got laid off in the collapse of 2008, finally gave up and went on Social Security at 62. Luckily husband still works.

[AmyStrange]

140. I wrote for college newspapers, but...

-

never professionally. I liked the creative energy and the organized bedlam, especially just before deadline.

Do you miss it?
===========

[Wicked Blue]

150. Oh yes, I miss it

Sometimes I dream about being back in the newsroom. The excitement of approaching deadlines. The clatter of metal typewriter keys, before the days of computers. Editors shouting "Copy boy!" Shoving stories into the vacuum tubes. Your story making Page 1. Better yet, getting picked up by AP and sent all over the country.

But also the tedium of sitting through long, dull public meetings.

[Ptah]

136. ..

[AmyStrange]

141. Good for you, and...

-

Welcome to the DU.
=========

[sakabatou]

137. Martial arts instructor

[AmyStrange]

142. Which discipline?

-

Did you ever attend tournaments?

Sorry, but all my knowledge of the Martial Arts comes from Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies and the Karate Kid.

Anyway, thank you for sharing.
==========

[sakabatou]

145. Karate and Northern Shaolin mainly.

Yes, I attended tournaments. I only won a single trophy (4th place, there's usually 10+ people per "square&quot . However, every year I went, my dojo has WON. As far as I know, the dojo I went to STILL has won the most times in the particular area.

[AmyStrange]

146. Ok, Shaolin reminded me of another TV show, Kung Fu...

-

It's kind of sad that most of my education about Asian culture comes from TV and movies, but thank you for sharing.
==========

[sakabatou]

147. Shaolin IS Kung Fu

[AmyStrange]

148. funny

-

heh heh heh... Make fun of the ignorant guy, huh? You just wait.

grrrrrrrrrrrrr
=============

[sakabatou]

149. I'm pretty sure there's some stuff you really know that I'm ignorant of

Last edited Thu Dec 24, 2020, 09:35 PM - Edit history (1)

BTW, I'm not trying to make fun of you. I'm sorry if it came across as such.

[AmyStrange]

151. No prob. The giant smiley face kind of made it obvious.