LaDiosa had admitted to us in her journal that she has worked some very interesing jobs.  I'm curious, what is everyone's most interesting/weird/crazy job?

Mine would be plucking peanuts from a conveyor belt after they have come out of the peanut roaster (for Skippy Peanutbutter).  I was to look for burnt or green peanuts and remove them.  The nuts were very hot, so we would "flick" the nuts off the belt, causing them to fly across the belt and land on the floor.  It was a very messy, hot, noisy job.  Most people only lasted a few months on the job.  It probably would not be allowed for "kids" anymore, yet it was a job I did as a 15 year old.

Tell us about your jobs!

I've never had a real different job. Engineers are a boring lot. Now the most weird (interesting) co workers were meteorogligists.  ::)

Now these guys just love bad weather. When a tornado went through our parking lot, they CHASED it while the other non-meteorology types went to an interior room under tables like normal folk. ::)  ;D

Bikerbraid: Was that  dangerous?  I'm mean did you actually ever burn youreself, or did the "flicking" eliminate the possibility?

Rodent: About how often would you say that tornados occur where you are?

May moons ago I was a radio dispatcher for a trucking company.  I would work my regular job from 8:00 to 4:00 then dispatch from 6:00 to when ever they call came in which was around 8 or 9ish.  Thing was the dispatch room was in a little hut on the roof of the warehouse, they called it the crows nest.  But when I was in it they called it the Hen house!  The truckers were quite happy to have a female voice on the radio and flirted like mad ::) To get to my "Hen house" I had to tread a 20 foot ladder in all weather conditons.  The house was just big enough for a table and stool, no heat no AC and no bathroom!!  The day time dispatcher would pee on the roof eeeewww!  So managment got me a bucket and roll of TP.  The things you do when your 22!!!

La Diosa: I never burned myself, but others had.  You certainly did not want to pick up any of the nuts with your fingers, or you would burn them.  The flicking worked well for removing the bad nuts without burning yourself.

Sir Rat:  I too worked with a meterologist for a while.  However, this one would hide from the bad weather while the rest of us went out to watch it!  I remember a particularly bad summer storm.  Our offices are on the 6th floor of the building.  We could see the storm coming in and at one point, it was so dark that the parking lot and street lights came on (it was mid day).  The skies were that dark green that tells you the weather is going to be bad.  Then the hail started.  We could see rivers of hail flowing thru the parking lot.  At this point, the meterologist had moved to the interior hallway of the building.  The rest of us are facinated with the rain and hail coming down.  When it finally let enough, we went out to survey the damage.  I had over $2000 of hail damage to my car, several co-workers lost the back and/or side windows to their cars.   We had 4 inches of hail on the ground!  Probably the "coolest" storm I've ever witnessed.  Tornadoes are neat too, but I stay away from them!

Lisabelle wrote on Feb 17^th, 2007 at 12:03pm:

But when I was in it they called it the Hen house!  The truckers were quite happy to have a female voice on the radio and flirted like mad ::) To get to my "Hen house"

Men! ;D ;D


Lisabelle wrote on Feb 17^th, 2007 at 12:03pm:

I had to tread a 20 foot ladder in all weather conditons.  The house was just big enough for a table and stool, no heat no AC and no bathroom!!  The day time dispatcher would pee on the roof eeeewww!  So managment got me a bucket and roll of TP.  The things you do when your 22!!!

Wow! :o  

Bikerbraid:  $2000 worth of damage to see the coolest storm ever.  Would you say you got your money's worth!?! ;)

wrote on Feb 17^th, 2007 at 6:08pm:

Bikerbraid:  $2000 worth of damage to see the coolest storm ever.  Would you say you got your money's worth!?! ;)

It was a very cool storm - and I was very glad to have insurance to cover the hail damage.  As a side note - I owned a Saturn then.  I had NO damage on the side of the car, unlike most of the other cars in the lot.  All my damage was on the roof, hood and trunk.  The sides really are indestructable!

Let's see.. I've been a school teacher, a Real Estate Title Company manager, a computer salesperson, a fence salesperson, a Real Estate Salesperson, a hostess for a restaurant in Las Vegas, manager of a toy store, lingerie salesperson, but my most interesting job was lingerie buyer for a major department store.  I was in my early twenties, in the junior executive training program, and thought I knew everything.  I wanted to be buyer for the junior department, but should have been glad for the opportunity to be buyer for anything!  The hardest job I ever had was teaching special education in junior high school. I loved it!

I guess my job is curious...I´m a psychic medium.

(I had a lawfirm but that was boring...)

Wow! Being a medium must be sooooo cool!  :D

I suppose the weirdest job i had was when I worked in a Christmas shop  a few years ago....doesn't sound all that strange but i sneezed up glitter for weeks!  ;D

fata morgana wrote on Feb 18^th, 2007 at 1:01pm:

I guess my job is curious...I´m a psychic medium. (I had a lawfirm but that was boring...)

So, just what does a psychic medium do?

wrote on Feb 17^th, 2007 at 5:35am:

[color=#000000]Rodent: About how often would you say that tornados occur where you are?

La Diosa, I'd say several a year. It's not as bad as Kansas but the spring and late summer can be found with the emergency broadcast system getting a workout. On occaision, we see one in January if it gets too warm.

Lucky, the tornado that went through our parking lot was about a half hour after I left. All the cars in the lot had the windows blown out and a window in the building blew in. Had I been there, just the damage to the windows alone would have totaled my vehicle.  :o

Robin, I remember such a storm when I was a senior in high school in my computer programming class. We watched this thing in the window (schools weren't air conditioned then) as it got darker and darker. The lights came on in the lot. It came in April of '74 and I still remember this thing. It wasn't a tornado by us but hail, it rained, and with fury. It was black as night.

Quote:

author=rodent La Diosa, I'd say several a year. It's not as bad as Kansas but the spring and late summer can be found with the emergency broadcast system getting a workout. On occaision, we see one in January if it gets too warm.

I was afraid you'd say something like that.  I just moved to Kansas about a year and a half ago and I'm petrified that we'll get struck by a tornado :o  I even have nighmares about them!  The broadcast systmem goes crazy here during tornado season, but  the locals say that it's just hype and that the tornados typically only hit in the more rural areas. I sure hope they're right. :-/

Okay, that settles it...I've had nothing but boring jobs (including my current one).  *sigh*  I need a change.   :-/

Trisha wrote on Feb 19^th, 2007 at 11:25am:

Okay, that settles it...I've had nothing but boring jobs (including my current one).  *sigh*  I need a change.   :-/

So..... what would your most boring job have been??

The job I have now.  If someone associated with the university needs student information I pull together an Excel file for them.  Say someone wants to send a mailing to all the female Philosophy majors--they send that request to me and I use a database to accomplish the feat.  I'm also in charge of scoring the bubble sheet tests the professors use.  And there are various other jobs I do...but part of the problem is that all of those tasks are sporadic.  I estimate I spend at least 80% of my time just trying not to go insane with boredom.  
I know I should be thankful for having a job--and I AM, believe me.  I guess I just wish I could feel as if I'm not wasting my time.  

...although...
Why am I looking to find fulfillment in my life from my job??   :-?  That's not the way I'm wired.  Hmm.  I think I may have just had an epiphany.   :o  

My most interesting "job" has been the one I am holding right now. I honestly can't think what could be more interesting than some of the adventures I have been this year. My second most interesting job -though unpaid- is very different, but I also consider it equally important: being the homemaker of the family. When my scientific career and homemaking are combined, the result is a very interesting and fulfilling life. Obviously, I have been very lucky. :)

My most boring job was a short job I had as a secretary of a very small business. There wasn't much to do for a secretary in the first place- mainly just sitting beside the phone that never rang and watch how the minutes of my one and only precious life passed by in the wall clock . Moreover, no one cared to teach me ANYTHING about the job (like, when I had to send bills to customers, nobody bothered to give me the price list of the firm's products, even though I asked for it several times...). Surprisingly, in three months I was totally fed up with the company- and they also were disappointed with my performance. ::) So, our ways parted in mutual dislike. But, that taught me the hard way what to look for in a job, as well as what are the warning signs in a potential job.

My most interesting job....I worked two seasons at the Renaissance Fair here.  The first year, I was officially a "temp" for the crafter's booths.  Unfortunately, it was the temp company's first year, and they really didn't have any crafters requesting help.  I only got paid when I actually worked in a booth, so it was mostly wandering around the grounds 2 days a week in costume and in character, with restrictions on behavior, from 8am ish to 6pm.  Which meant that I was up at 6 on Saturdays and Sundays (this is on top of a full-time job), I never got to go to church, and my weekend was basically shot.  It was really fun at first, but eventually it wore on me and became not worth the money.  I quit.

The second year was after I was married.  A friend and I took jobs working for the food/trinkets booths.  That was actually paid, steady work, but you didn't get to move around at all, and if it rained, you got rained on...if it was hot, you got sunburnt.  You get the idea.  Pay was minimum wage, and again, it was on top of a full-time job, dh and I never got to sleep in together, never got to go to church, and I had to listen to my friend grumble all the time that my job was better than hers (come on, she got to work with ICE!).  I made it longer that time, but again I quit mid-season.  I don't know what the best way to work at that place is...patron?  Crafter, probably...you have shelter, get paid, and don't have to answer to anyone but the customers.

Most of my other jobs have been some form of retail/customer service, save four.

In college, I was a radio broadcasting major.  I was on the Executive Staff of our student station as a News Director.  Fun, really interesting (esp during election season) but not real weird.  And unpaid.  

During college I also worked as a security officer.  This was the biggest joke ever.  I am very overweight and really out of shape...and once while I was on rounds, someone stole my wallet from the guard station.  I have no idea why they ever hired me, lol.

Then I worked for awhile for a company that makes printers that print HUGE documents.  Signs, banners, etc.  It was basically clerical work, but the atmosphere was weird...pin-ups on the walls, alcohol brought in every Friday and more sexual "harrassment" than I've ever seen in one place.  They were definitely asking for a lawsuit, but I think they had the right kind of gals working there...the kind who don't care, lol.  No one ever said or did anything that would actually harm someone (ie no inappropriate behavior) but there was way too much flirting stuff going on.  And some sexism--women passed over for mgt positions.  It made working there interesting, to say the least.  I actually liked that job.

After that, I took a job at a publishing company.  We published a trade magazine for people in the horse industry.  I learned more about horse stuff than I ever thought possible, and every day I discovered something new.  That job was fun in a different kind of way, but I was way too distracted with the imminent birth of my first child.  And after that I came home and never looked back....I love being a stay at home mom.  

The most boring job I ever had was outbound telemarketing for a windows and siding company.  Most of the time the phone was never answered, and if it was, I was usually insulted and cussed out.  I was horrible at getting appointments set up, and eventually I just kept calling that old 1-800 IFEELOK number (remember OK soda?) just to look busy.  That was a temporary position, but I think I quit before my time was up.  Ugh.

My most boring job was a file clerk in City Hall.  The file room was in the basement nd reminded me of a tomb all I wanted to do was knock off and take a nap!

I'm not sure if this job was really "boring" but it was repetitive!  As a kid ( 8 - 12 years old), we would collate pages for books to be bound.  This was a fund raising activity for my swim team, so it would be a bunch of us kids "running" around card tables, picking up one piece of paper from each pile.  Round and round, and round, and round we would go.  Of course we would challenge each other to see who could go the fastest.  Dizziness and paper cuts were prevalent!  Some of the booklets would have over 100 pages, I can't imagine that our accuracy was all that great. 8-)

Bikerbraid: As I was reading I was wondering if you all got dizzy!  Sounds like a fun job for a kid though!


ScrapGirl wrote on Feb 20^th, 2007 at 2:12pm:

During college I also worked as a security officer.  This was the biggest joke ever.  I am very overweight and really out of shape...and once while I was on rounds, someone stole my wallet from the guard station.  I have no idea why they ever hired me, lol.

Very funny story, ScrapGirl!!!  ;D  ;D



I guess my most boring job was working for the YWCA.  I did filing and I had to make sure that all of the applications for the welfare to work program were filled out correctly and signed before passing them on.  It was extremely easy and I'd be finished with my work for the day in just a few hours. They didn't keep an eye on me too much so when I'd finish my work, I'd go out for coffee and shopping for clothes. The top guy wasn't very computer literate and thought I was such a wiz because I was able to teach him to send emails and because I always got "ALL" of my work done everyday! ::)  I had to leave that job to go with my husband to Salt Lake City for a month.  It was a boring job but I really missed it because of the freedom.

I just remembered a job that I had that would qualify as my most weird.  I once did a hand modeling photo shoot for a chemical company.  They did an entire photo shoot of my hand as I held a beaker.

wrote on Feb 20^th, 2007 at 10:59pm:

I just remembered a job that I had that would qualify as my most weird.  I once did a hand modeling photo shoot for a chemical company.  They did an entire photo shoot of my hand as I held a beaker.

I remember that picture!! ;D ;D  LOL - your famous moment.  Out of curiousity - did it pay much?

Oh yeah, that shoot catapulted my world famous modeling career! ;D

I don't remember exactly how much it paid, but I'd think it was somewhere around 200.00 before my agency took their 20% fee.

I've also had a fair amount of different jobs.  The one that stands out the most was when I was Tilly the Talking Christmas Tree.  Yep, I climbed in the back of the tree, sat on a little stool holding a microphone in one hand and the wire to work the mouth with the other.  Not a job for someone claustrophobic!!  I got to talk to everyone walking by, there are two way mirrors on 3 sides of the tree, and the most fun was singing carols with the kiddies.  The down side, well, besides from obnoxious teenage boys, I was allergic to the darn thing!!  Whatever they painted or glued the tree with made my eyes run down my face and I'd get so congested the kids couldn't understand what I was saying!!  I couldn't stay at that job too long, it was fun and awful at the same time!

For a couple of years I was the Thursday psychic at a metaphysical store in Mesa.  I enjoyed the job a lot-getting to help people and there was sometimes quite a bit of down time so I read or shopped.  Then I got the message to focus on teaching yoga and so I stopped giving readings.  Sometimes I miss it.

I love teaching yoga, it is probably tied with my favorite job, which is performing.  I've toured as a singer and have given some performances as a bellydancer at the state fair and local restaurants.

Trisha wrote on Feb 20^th, 2007 at 11:29am:

...although... Why am I looking to find fulfillment in my life from my job??   :-?  That's not the way I'm wired.  Hmm.  I think I may have just had an epiphany.   :o

It was the same “unwired” situation more or less for me quite a few years ago too, but I had the lucky thought or must have read it somewhere that I hope I never ever have any “Final Regrets”. And that’s stayed with me ever since.

Rather what you want out of life not what life wants out of you before it’s too late I guess….?
:)