This Is Your Life
The most interesting things about blogging is the bloggers. I’ve only ever met four of you out there in the real world, but in some ways I think of many of you as friends.
But I don’t know very much about anyone. And it’s been a long time since we had a new meme. So here’s one.
It’s simple. Just list all the jobs you’ve had in your life, in order. Don’t bust your brain: no durations or details are necessary, and feel free to omit anything that you feel might tend to incriminate you. I’m just curious. And when you’re done, tag another five bloggers you’re curious about.
In the name of fairness, I’ll start:
Newspaper delivery
Door to door encyclopedia salesman
Surveyor’s rodman
Toll booth attendant
Cedar Topper
Finance company assistant manager (i.e. bill-collector/skip-tracer)
Shoe salesman
Construction Labourer (Sewer and Road, Pipe Crew)
Heavy Equipment Operator
Singer/Guitarist (still)
Roadie (sound and lights)
Cameraman/lighting technician (TV)
Shipper (industrial valves)
Audio man (TV)
Director/Producer
Broadcast Trainer/Instructor
Director of Human Resources
Civil Servant (PM-5, Secretary of State)
Executive Producer (Secondment from Sec. State for a special broadcast project)
Independent Consultant
Partner in a consulting firm (still)
Scuba Instructor (still)
Writer/editor (still)
And I will tag Stageleft, Lulu, The Dawg, Mike, and Candace. Because I trust them all to be good sports and play along. Right, guys?
And if you’re a reader of this site, consider yourself automatically tagged, and invited to respond right here in the comments.
Great idea! Just like meeting new people at a holiday party.
Blueberry picker
Plumbers’ assistant
Provincial Park staff
Computer salesman
Electronics engineer
Computer Programmer
Civil servant (Defence R&D Canada)
Which was more fun for you: Surveyor’s rodman or roadie? Both sound like fond memories to me.
The Dawg tells all:
http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com/2008/12/working-balbulicans-christmas-meme.html. A mover, eh, Dawg? And now a shaker too.
Brad, roadie beat rodman, by far. The band I worked for had a long standing gig the Green Door, the disreputable biker-basement downstairs at the Chaudiere (the Chaude) in the days of Jerry Barber. The drummer went on to found Mumbo Jumbo Voodoo Combo, but I lost track of the other guys.
Jerry Barber. A name to conjure with.
Conjure. Uh…yeah. Stand in the pentacle, WAY back from the edges.
Mine’s up now too Balb.
Hmmm, bouncer and roadie seem to be a developing theme here….I still think I have the ONE job (albeit short) that no one else has had..
Whooee! JimDandy idea, Balbu.
Odd jobs – painting, yard work, snow shovellin’ (startin’ at age 13)
Refundable pop bottle sorter (corner store)
Flier delivery kid
Stockboy
Shipping clerk
Furniture, flowers and corpse pickup/delivery helper (combined furniture store/funeral parlour)
Steel mill labourer
Good Humor man
Machine shop labourer
Flooring installer’s helper
Temp worker – day labourer
Janitor (I got fired the 1st day – only time I was ever canned.)
Carpenter/remodeller/jack-of-all-trades – fixin’ up slummy apartments
Pie factory worker
Carpet and flooring installer
Photographer
Contractor
Web developer/host
Volunteer
Bigtime blogger
Shit disturber (age 59)
46 years later and I’m still shovellin’ snow. Except, now I don’t get paid like back in the olden days.
JB
MIKE THE MALE EXOTIC DANCER??
JB: Dude, how do you get fired from being a Janitor?
I was fired from Bill Collector job for being too nice. Also got fired from one musical gig, long ago, for being…err…unruly on stage. The perils of playing Irish music.
Hey, if you could have saved two months rent in university, you would have too.
So for one night only, after a few drinks, I was able to “entertain” my landlady (who was only a few years older than me anyway), with the help of a buddy of mine that actually did it weekly to pay for school. The club in Gatineau is closed now…
It is much more believable 20 odd years ago when i was 50 lbs lighter, way more buffed and had no arthritis in my hip.
JB: Dude, how do you get fired from being a Janitor?
The year was 1970. I was a hippie university student. I got hired and started the next day. I showed up at the offices we were contracted to clean. The other guy had been there a week. His partner got fired and I was the replacement. He wasn’t exactly sure what the partner was supposed to do but he told me what he thought were to be my duties. Next day, the boss called me and said I hadn’t emptied the wastebaskets in a coupla offices and they were bitchin’ and I was fired.
The worst part was he made it seem like he figgered I wasn’t smart enough to do the job. He knew I was a 3rd year uni student and I reckon he didn’t have high school. Punk hippie students weren’t prime employment material back then. But… maybe I was jes’ plain stoopid.
Funny how you remember shit like that, ain’t it? One day, 38 years ago.
JB
Mike: I’m reminded of a scene from a Woody Allen film: can’t remember which one.
Friend: How did you live in Paris?
Woody: I had a job rubbing baby oil on strippers at the Folie Bergere for a hundred francs a week.
Friend: Wow. That’s not very much money.
Woody: Yeah, but it was all I could afford.
Man, this is scary:
newspaper delivery
flyer delivery
MacDonald’s
promotion company labourer
metal shop labourer
mail sorting foreman
Janitor at a country club
Texas Instruments assembly line
Electronics store retail
Public relations officer
mail sorting foreman (again)
Mailing list processor/manager
Door-to-door sales
Sysop/computer programmer, hardware sales
Ad sales for a magazine
Multiple small industrial jobs (temping)
Quality assurance and assistant production manager for a clone computer co.
Computer programmer, self-employed, multiple jobs (database-related)
Unionized Steelworker
Computer programmer (again)
hospital SARS screener
Passport Agency CR5 passport examiner
Computer programmer, self-employed (again) and hardware support
I think that’s it…
Not scary – amazing. What a fascinating bunch of people y’all are.
@balbulican – Balb, that sounds about right. I didn’t make much money that one night, but the benefits package was very good.
Did I mention 2 months rent free?
Ok not exactly “free” – I still had to make regular “payments”, sometimes more than once per day, but hey, If you find something you enjoy, its hardly work is it?
Actually, now that i think about it, I think I was less of an “exotic dancer” and more of a “whore”.
C’est la vie…
Let’s call it “kept man” or “boy toy”.
paper delivery
“after-four program” – taught little kiddies arts and crafts
Baby sitter
Baskin and Robbins
Mothers Restaurant (waitress, bar, and cook)
Parks and Recreation (park programmer)
Portrait Artist
Lifeguard
Retail
Window display artist
Wearable Art (first business)
At home day-care (second business)
Arts & Crafts teacher at various community centres
(back to school…)
Assistant to a senior advisor in a Ministers office
Economic Development officer (Tribal Council in BC)
Policy Analyst / Researcher(Children & Youth)
and the latest….a flavour maker :O)
“Flavour Maker’ is way too modest. Are you refraining from innate modesty, or are you waiting to gear up a bit more? Because I’ll give you a big and sincere plug, based on delicious experience (and so say everyone who was at the party!!)
paper-boy
mcdonald’s (in the kitchen)
maintenance/dock master (at a yacht club)
furniture delivery guy
graphic designer
dock/warehouse worker
twin spindle press operator (i lasted two days)
working the phones for a church (payed not volunteer)
art director
studio artist
photo retoucher
also, hi – been reading for a bit but i don’t think i’ve ever posted here before!
OK, my post is up here. Personally, I’m thinking that Mike wins hands-down with his role as a boytoy (much nicer than the word he picked, I think).
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Happy “Days Off Because of Other People’s Beliefs” – hope everyone enjoys a safe & happy holiday season, whatever the flavour.
Boy Toy, heh!
My list:
baby sitter
server (catering company)
kitchen staff (Burger King)
typist (35 wpm — yeah, that bad!)
sales clerk (maternity, fashion)
marketing/promotions coordinator (orchestra/music school)
research assistant (rating anger management performances for psych project)
immigrant/refugee employment/training coordinator
public relations clerk (University of Ottawa – got to meet Stanley Knowles and Maureen McTeer during convocation events)
bilingual proof reader/graphic layout (diesel engines/military manuals)
office administration clerk/manager (software development firm)
radio producer/ host (CKCU)
poet
Tokyo nightclub hostess (I was actually fired by the mama-san after a short 3-4 weeks of moonlighting)
promotions “model” (including dressing up like a cow girl to pass out coupons for the Pollo Loco outlet in a Tokyo shopping mall)
radio DJ (Tokyo)
chorus girl (Children’s musical theatre)
ESL instructor (Tokyo and Ottawa)
copywriter (marketing firm)
film maker (shorts)
production/training coordinator (film group)
film CCA/tax credit officer (Cdn Heritage)
cultural/arts policy analyst/adviser (Cdn Heritage)
VP marketing (failed international development start-up)
consultant (arts/culture/marketing/communications)
Wow, I feel old!
[...] Stageleft [...]
Ah I see I am not alone in using talents other than my brains to get paid.
Host at CKCU eh? I didn’t include it because it was a volunteer thing, but I read the morning news every Tuesday throughout the fall and winter of 1987-88 at CKCU.
Small world…
Balbulican, one day over a beer, I’ll tell you which former Cabinet Minister my “landlady” was closely related to…
Since nobody asked:
class newsletter editor & publisher (grade 5 – I charged money)
guitar busker
telemarketer (newspaper subscriptions, then chimney cleaning services)
food court sandwich maker
Canadian Tire stock girl, then cashier, then stock girl
art gallery co-owner (at 18, with my boyfriend – it lasted 6 months)
embroiderer
artist (sold one painting)
occult shop sales clerk
tarot reader
mail-order wood crafts business owner (still)
self-published author
print shop clerk & typesetter
web designer
Ren Fest merchant
soap maker
genealogy researcher
singer
video store clerk
movie critic
freelance writer
I still do the last five. What do I win?
Wow, those are some fascinatingly eclectic career paths. I’m wondering if they contributed to the LIQ politics most of you folks seem to share. Certainly I now have a much better insight into Mike’s fervent libertarianism. But nothing from the Blogging Tories yet, balb. Too bad, we might have seen some of that go-get-’em entreprenieurial spirit that made this country great:
cub scout apple route franchisor
essay writing and exam preview service (high-school–part time)
loan collection officer for Calabria Trust (contract)
prison guard
Partner–Libertarian Free-Choice Employment Exchange
Mercenary–Central Africa
Youth Choirmaster–Third Assembly of Our Lord Tabernacle (short-term)
Internet Dating Service promoter
Dispatcher–high-rise apartment window-cleaning service
Immigration Consultant specializing in nautical and overland travel
Auditor–Canada Revenue Agency
Sub-prime mortgage derivative designer
Constitutional Advisor to the Governor-General
Certainly I now have a much better insight into Mike’s fervent libertarianism.
Its freedom baby, yeah!
“I still do the last five. What do I win? ”
You have your choice: Mike will report to your location of choice, as ordered, for a private performance, or Jim Bobby will clean your house.
“But nothing from the Blogging Tories yet, balb.”
You have to follow the meme-stream, Peter. For example, the Dawg tagged Damian (who obliged), who tagged Shaidle, who also obliged. Follow the lines, and you’ll find Kate, RJago, and quite a few others. So far we have four Blogging Tory “Despoilers of virgins”, two “slumlords/widow and orphans a specialty”, bun only one “shadowy central American conspirator slipping phantom-like through the generalissimo’s corridors of power”. I’d have thought there’d be more.
@Mike –
LOL! I did “Special Blends” on Friday those same years Mike. Small world.
- Shanghai Training Centre: Majored in acrobatics and small arms assembly
- Third Army Women’s Tractor Repair Battalion
- Third Mate, The Anaconda (Thai Freighter), Liberian Registry
- Charter pilot, Unalik Airways, Brazil-Columbia run
- Import-Export, Universal Exports
- Owner, Jade Lily Cafe
- Director of Communications, Informatics and Surveillance, the Bunker.
I tag:
- Throbbin
- Unrepentant Old Hippy
- James Bow
- Arwen
- The Last Amazon
heh….rodman.
Yeah, but not like Mike.
Newspaper Delivery (11 YO – Ottawa Citizen)
Tourism Company lackey (family business)
Dishwasher
Busboy
Stockboy
Group Home caregiver
English/Math Tutor (in group home w/ handicapped children)
Human Resources Officer (Part time in high school)
Convenience Store Clerk (Part time in high school)
Math Tutor (High School)
Receptionist (Part time in high school)
Accounts Payable Officer (Government)
Hotel Front Desk Clerk
Communications Officer (Government, Summer Job)
IT Technician (Government, Summer Job)
ARCS Documentation Clerk (Government, Summer Job)
Consultant (Health Field)
Environmental Researcher/Program Coordinator (NGO)
Communications Officer/Consultant/Conference Facilitator (Non-Profit Org)
Consultant
Also include Sealift Freelance Contractor (Manual Labourer) every summer between aged 13-18 for local grocery stores.
Damn, now I feel old…I’m 26.
Forgot to mention that I was fired from the Accounts Payable Clerk (Government)…fresh out of high school…moved out on my own…never made it to work on time…
Seeing as everybody else is doing it
Paper Route ‘Chronicle Journal’ Thunder Bay
Farm hand(horses)Thunder Bay
Farm Hand (sheep)Thunder Bay
Fruit Picker(Kelowna)
Short order Cook Tastee Freez(Pr Rupert)
Labor
Logger (Choker man) Vancouver Island
Canadian Coast Guard (Pr Rupert)
Government Grain Elevator(Pr Rupert)
Oiler
Skeena Pulp & Paper Mill (heavy equipment operator)
Carpenter
Store Clerk (Germany)
Bullcook(NW Ontario)
Geo-Seismic (Alberta)
Fire fighter(Northern BC)
presently-Self employed (no choice who hires gimps ? )
(future plan) open a Cafe on Commercial Street,East Vancouver
Mine is done here.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s had an *eclectic* career path.
JJ, I don’t see ANYONE who’s had a “normal” career path!
噢，善良，什么ä¹è¶£ã€‚ 我将使用。 -å¦å…‹ä¿®ç† -婚姻艺术辅导员 -å®‡èˆªå‘˜å®žä¹ ç”Ÿ -女æœåŠ¡å‘˜ï¼ŒçŽ‰ç™¾åˆå’–啡馆 -政治分æžä¸»ä»»ï¼Œåœ°å ¡.
我现在将选择：
- Nastyboy
- Chelle
- Sooey
- Zerb
- Skdadl
You have created quite the monster here. This thing is everywhere!
Indeed, this is a nice little meme over the holidays.
@dirk – I hear Zed might be hiring gimps.
Avoided getting involved in this here and thought the whole thing might pass me by, but nooooooo….
JJ just tagged all three of us at ACR so at the very least Pale & I will get around to posting something at her place a bit later.
All I can say for the moment is that I never had a paper route.
Tagged by Max Cheung ( I think):
Worked in a shoe shop as a kid, after that,
Soldier
Fire Fighter
Tree Planter
Safety and rescue consultant
That’s it. Pretty boring actually.
Everyone I would tag has already been tagged except
c
Kevin G. Powell
daveberta
I’m not sure if it’s only bloggers or if you want input from lurkers and other interested readers.This is my list.Newspaper delivery,babysitter,pinsetter(bowling),militia,grocery clerk,furniture delivery,stevedore,night watchman(Port Churchill),INCO control room operator,fire/security at Fort Churchill,gas co.meter reader,coffee shop proprietor,roofer,housekeeping at mental hospital,sampler at INCO,warehouseman,KFC delivery,credit union clerk,construction company accountant,donut shop owner,restaurant owner.
“JJ, I don’t see ANYONE who’s had a “normal†career path!”
It’s fantastic. I feel so validated.
This is an excellent meme, great idea balb!
As long as JJ nailed on this, here’s mine:
http://canuctude.blogspot.com/2008/12/that-work-meme.html
Jeeze, now I gotta remember stuff ‘eh
* farm kid – yes, that’s a job
* potato picker
* gas station attendant
* artillery gunner / CP technician
* stocker of store shelves in the Canadian arctic
(underground radio station host/DJ)
* Hudson’s Bay Company store manager (multiple northern locations in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Nunavut)
* Social Housing Manager
* Town Manager in a small northern hamlet
– went back to school
* systems admin for the eastern arctic’s first ISP
* telemarketer
* network/Internet contractor/consultant
* network administrator for an NGO
Not sure why I went back to school, I’m not working in the field I studied — what’s a normal career path look like?
I forgot to put, zombie extra in the remake of Dawn of the Dead. I got paid for it, but I would have done it for free so never considered it a “job”.
SL
artillery gunner / CP technician
Wow, a fellow gunner.
Ubique!
Here ya’ go, Balby… Pale & I have both listed our employment histories here back home at ACR.
*tap tap tap* Still waiting for Dr. Prole to chime in.
Throbbin said..”Damn, now I feel old…I’m 26.”
to which I add and stupid…”@dirk – I hear Zed might be hiring gimps.”
Nastyboy – in which scene did you extra?
You weren’t Jay Leno were you? Or Burt Reynolds?
@Dirk – sry if I offended. I thought your phrasing was meant to be humourous (”who hires gimps?”).
Well here is my official list:
http://resettlethis.blogspot.com/2008/12/freedom-85-ive-been-working-for-some.html
I’ve tagged a few more people.
This is fun. Great idea, babulican.
Here’s mine.
@nastyboy – Ya just never know where we’ll pop up do ya, you could almost say we’re everywhere
Ubique!
[...] Alexander The Anchoress Arwen (Bad With Titles) balbulican Beijing York (Resettle THIS) Candace (Waking Up on Planet X) Canuck Attitude Celestial Junk [...]
For some reason my pingback’s not showing up.
But I seemed to need the blog material! M’sordid history here.
[...] are interesting. I first encountered it at American Digest, and traced the meme back to one called Stageleft: The most interesting things about blogging is the bloggers. I’ve only ever met four of you out [...]
Throbbin said…”@Dirk – sry if I offended. I thought your phrasing was meant to be humourous (â€who hires gimps?â€).”
it was,anyway sorry for misinterpreting your comment but then again that’s why they invented smiley faces
[...] seen here: Just list all the jobs you’ve had in your life, in order. Don’t bust your brain: no durations [...]
Farm kid (mixed – cattle, pigs, horses, and grain) – yes, I definitely agree that was a job. I did everything from picking rocks to training horses and everything in between.
Babysitter
Housecleaner
“Jerry the Moose” (BC Parks Mascot)
Janitor
Security guard
Store clerk
Horse wrangler for touristy wagon rides (also known as “pit crew”)
Residential care aide
Home support worker
Assistant project manager
Useability testing
Technical writer
Information architect