Reflections on Jobs · 8:08am May 5th, 2013
It's funny, but sometimes I think that we each get the jobs we get because we need to learn something essential from the job for our personal development. I was thinking that it is a good time to reflect on where I've been and how those jobs have shaped me into the person I am today. Curse you PinkiePieSwear (one of the best brony musicians out there) for your amazing music which always puts me in a reflective kind of mood.
Del Taco: This job got my foot in the door, or so the saying goes. It gave me the opportunity to learn the essential do's and don'ts of proper work place ethics/behavior. Most of that was picked up on the side or the hard way. I also learned what not to say when the boss(es) are listening.
Rite Aid: I continued to learn the importance of quality customer service, although admittedly through gritted teeth. It was a step up from Del Taco at least and I didn't come home with that signature smell anymore. As time went on I was given more responsibilities, some I liked, others... not so much. This job was hard, not the job itself but the schedule. 2-10pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... while going to school full time. Yeah, no social life for me.
House Painting/Window Washing: After awhile I decided that having no social life really sucked, plus I got a few scholarships to help pay for school, so I quit Rite Aid. Bad idea, as inflation and budget cuts started to slowly increase tuition. To give you an idea, my first term after all hidden fees and books totaled around $900.00. Now, five years later I payed about $1,200.00 and that was for less than half of the credits and no books. Anyway, I couldn't seem to find a job so my dad offered to pay me a few bucks on the side if I helped him paint houses and wash windows. Those jobs are long, boring, hard, repetitive and just plain dull. The pay is really good, but only if you can handle the mental tortures. Let's just say I now understood why my dad came home after work and sat in front of the tv for hours on end with a beer can within arms reach.
WDS (Warehouse Demo Services): Eventually I figured out how to network in no small part because of my mom's efforts. Thanks mom (no sarcasm intended). I still work there although I'm not quite sure how. For those of you who don't know, WDS is the main company who runs the samples at Costco and contrary to popular belief the samples are NOT free. We are there to try and sell you stuff, not to feed your entire family plus your friends breakfast lunch and dinner. Yeah, it's comments like that... ESPECIALLY around Thanksgiving and Christmas that get you in trouble. It got so bad at one point that for about two weeks I was getting at least two, sometimes four complaints from Costco a day and I don't even work for Costco. I was that bad, and somehow I stayed there for a long time... three + years now. I feel good about that because this job can chew people up in less than an hour. For example, there is no training. You get what you get for the day and go onto the floor, sell to people who don't want to buy, and help people find stuff in a store that changes almost everyday without moving from your two x two spot. Recipe for insanity? Yep, in fact "I just show up, do what I'm told, and let the madness and insanity happen around me." That said, I learned how to deal with customers and help them. I learned how to operate in a state of chaos and bring balance and harmony to my job. Yes, towards the third year mark I discovered ponies and I keep the elements of harmony in mind while I work.
Sound Tech: This job is awesome, lot's of money, hardly any work, and I get to play all the music I want through the sound board and really nice speakers, right? Eenope. You get to play jazz through the speakers and only jazz. No offense to anyone who likes jazz but it is not my favorite type of music. Still, I learned a new skill and got extra money to pay for college on the side. I learned the importance of staying organized and I got a small taste of what it must be like to be a manger of an incompetent staff. Eventually I learned how to run everything smoothly and efficiently. I can also run a mean jazz concert... from the sound board that is.
Farmer: This job was interesting for several reasons. I dated... er, had a crush on this girl and I think I thought I loved her. I don't know it's hard to tell with love but I would go out of my way to make her happy. Including learning how to dance Latin dances. It was, awkward (why is that word so hard to spell right the first time?) for both of us. You see, I asked her to be my girlfriend at least five different times and she said no at least five different times, but my feelings for her burned with the intensity of a thousand blazing suns (I know, I'm hopeless, leave me alone). She knew it and I knew it, but we never said anything. Anyway... she introduced me to her family which decided to put me to work on the farm. That was an experience. I appreciated my food a lot more after I saw how much work went into making it happen. So you know, this was an organic farm that focused on quality over quantity and everything was done by hand or with hand tools, mostly. I learned all about the various power tools like weed eaters, lawn mowers, chippers, chain saws, and what have you. Besides redefining the definition of hard work, I learned how to balance quality with quantity.
Dish Washer: I needed to take a second job to help pay for school so I found a dish washer job. Took a lot of effort to get it to, but I was the best *^#$ dish washer there, believe it. In fact I was to good and managed to miss out on several "advancements" because I was working for quality over quanity. After some helpful coaching I was soon back to working at subpar/lazy standards in my opinion. Which I once again learned to keep to myself. I swear I have no luck in restaurant jobs, I think it's the people. Speaking of which, they were rough around the edges. Like felony rough. This is also the place where my Ipod betrayed me and blasted out a brony song that only the most dense of people could have missed. Looking back, that was for the best. I never really fit in there anyway, probably because I didn't feel comfortable using cuss words every three or four words although I tried for a time but it never felt right or good to me. I did it to fit in, which is one of the worst reasons to do something. I did meet someone who didn't hate my music choices, and as fate would have it I am now his training partner in a Tai-Kwon-Do class.
Wal-Mart: I have only worked here for a couple of days and I can already tell that this is going to be a crucible that is going to teach me that love and tolerance are more than just words. As I like to say "Life is to short for hate, love and tolerate." Time to put those words into action... as soon as I get off of the computer training. I just finished an eight hour mind dump of information and I don't even remember half of it. Oh well, I guess learning on the job is always an option. By the way, I found it funny that Wal-Mart will allow and I quote "miniature horses" to come into the store as long as they are service animals. I am half tempted to say "I need my Pinkie Pie, she is an invaluable service animal. She makes me smile when no one else can." Not going to say it, but it's a funny little thing I found nonetheless.
Marine Corp. : Technically this doesn't count because I am not officially employed yet, but the more steps I complete the more I seem to get in the mindset. This is a really profound affect that I don't think I can adequately describe at this point, I just can feel it happening. I would like to play French horn for the Marine Corp. in case you were wondering, and I have an in person audition coming up in a couple of weeks and I have a crap ton of scales to practice. Not to mention the solos, and sight reading... not to mention the physical stuff that I need to work on. If you could wish me luck and keep me in your thoughts I would be eternally grateful.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, as I left out several activities during high school that defined and continue to define me to this day.
It's late, and I know you can't tell, but when you start typing words three and four times over because... you know what, I think everyone here knows exactly what I am talking about.
Good night all,
By the Tides,
Twi-Guy
Well, uh, good luck!
Wait, for the Marine Corps Band? Do you have to enlist and be a Marine to qualify?
Anyway, sounds like you haven't found what you're really interested in, and I can commiserate with you on the retail jobs; I finally got into a few jobs that didn't deal directly with consumers, and liked them a lot more.
Laying liner for landfills was a freakin' blast, though it often smelled and was hellish in the summer. Welding plastic, though... Man, I could zone out in that. I'd run a gun for 12 hours a day happily.
Now I deal with boxes and people who load boxes. It's not bad, most of the time, 'cept when it is. :)
1057480
Yes, and I would be a Marine first, musician second. The funny thing about it is I was ready to give up music. Then one day my old, now current band director found me at work and offered me a tour to Washington DC if I would come back and play for him. I said sure, but not after a lot of thought.
Then one day out of the blue, the Marines make a visit and said they really needed French horn players. I stopped by for an audition and they liked it, then gave me another and liked it. Anyway, someone is flying over to listen in person and I really don't want to screw this up.
About the not knowing what I want to do, I think you are right. I will say I am a slower person. Not mentally handicapped, I just take more time to go through the stages of life is all. However it was hard for me to find any job because the economy was so bad and a little legal mishap that I don't want to talk about here. I will say that it was not bad enough to for me to qualify for any kind of official help programs but it was bad enough that when I got the dish washer job I felt like a million bucks. My hope is that the Marines will be willing to overlook the legal stuff because I can play French horn. I am literally playing for my life, or for my future life... it is a scary thing because I am keenly aware of the fires I am playing with but it helps me focus and the rewards if I succeed... I don't know, but a lot better than what I am doing now, plus I get to serve my country which is a big deal to me.
About the retail jobs, you know that stunt kids pull where they grab two gallon jugs and make a huge mess and pretend like they fell? That happened twice today
. Stupid kids 
.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who decides to serve, and I think its great that your musical skills may get out to use!
As for recruiting, all I can say is, be honest! I have a friend who nearly got in trouble because a recruiter wanted him to lie on an application. It would have been perjury I'd he had.
I wish you the best of luck with the audition!
Yeah, I know that feel. I went to the Air Force and Navy and they didn't want me. I went to the Army and they didn't want me but they said that if I played dumb the Marines might take me
. Really? At first I went with it, but soon realized what I was doing and stopped everything. I only went back to the Marines because they said they needed French horn players. It felt like Texas hold em' to me. The recruiter said he was in the band, I went in with out telling them about my record. After the audition, he admitted that he only played in band in middle school and wasn't very good at it, I admitted that I had a record. Like I said, keenly aware of the fires I am playing with. I hope that my horn has enough leverage to make them think twice about me, and so far it seems that it does.
Thank you for the best wishes, but I don't feel comfortable accepting your respect. I haven't done anything to earn it yet. Still, I am working my a
ss off to get ready for this. Maybe one day I'll take you up on that respect over a cold one... but not today.
Well, that's quite a bit of news!
I didn't really have a very solid idea of your age, but now I think I sort of know an approximation.
Good Luck with all of your jobs! I'm really no big fan of the military (any military) but I'm still wishing you luck, because who am I to judge what one's wishes are?
The thing about tedious jobs is that you get to drift away from the current place and time, but in a moderate level so you don't really miss anything. It's great for reflecting upon stuff, but only when you feel like reflecting upon stuff. I'd reccomend having small british-accented people arguing in your head for entertainment
Anyways, good luck with, well the whole mess of life in general. I hope you finally find a job you enjoy.
(I myself adore programming)