Kinda OT?: What do you do / have done?

Howard, I don't think a description of 'what you did' is complete in your case without much of the travel background. It's my impression you'd not only traveled, but got to know some far away places well. I think that counts. (not that you have to add anything)


Humorously enough, I didn't include any of my schooling because it never occured to me school counted!!


munk
 
I did telemarketing for a couple of months when I was 18. I worked in a Ma-n-Pa law office for 3 years. I worked in a restaurant for 4 years, waiting tables, training waiters and tending bar. I worked armed security in Little Saigon for 2years. Drove for a courier service for a year. And I've been at the university for over five years, now, where I do attendance, scheduling and what-not.

I'm in my mid-30s and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up, I think I'm in trouble.

Frank
 
Hm...

Volunteer summer work at a large Christian camp/ranch
Busboy
Dishwasher
Retail
Construction
Uniformed security
Food service
Civilian Conservation Corps
Carpet
Sporting Goods
Customer Care
Club security
Army Infantry
 
Student thus far.

I've performed professionally a number of times in operas (always had a good voice, and was a boy soprano. Tenor now).

Worked at boat rentals on different lakes for the last 3 or 4 summers. Ok work, and you get to work outside.

Now at college at a good private liberal arts school. Having a blast so far!

Nam
 
I've performed professionally a number of times in operas (always had a good voice, and was a boy soprano. Tenor now).

Worked at boat rentals on >>>>>>>> Namaarie


I'm wondering if that's why you are so wonderfully self assured at your age- no joke, a compliment.
But I do want to know if you ever burst into a rousing rendition of, "Old Man River," while on the water.


munk
 
Wow! Jons? Never had one. Always my own business from the age of ten with 24 chickens. Sold eggs.

Grew up on an empoverished farm. Dad remembered the Great Depression too well. He made sure that I got a good education:

Georgia Military Academy (lower and upper schools)

BBA - Industrial Psychology
MBA - Finance
DD - Comparative religions

After chicken raising started my own business doing job printing. Business cards, letterheads, envelopes. Rented a space from my father who published and printed newspapers.

Worked my way through college as a journalism photographer, then architectural photog (4x5 and 8x10 View cameras). Some model photography (Yum).

Bought my first house at the age of 22 in 1965. Been buying, renovating and renting for last 40 years. Now diversified into houses, warehouses, shopping centers, office/retail and land development.

Trying to stop and smell the roses.... but there is an apartment complex that is really a good deal being offered me........
 
B.S. in Fresh-water Biology; never finished Masters.
3 years as a research diver.
3 years as a professional musician.
27.5 years as Senior Hydro-Generator operator before being forced to retire.
Worked in a gun shop & pumped gas & washed dishes while going to college.
Will turn the double-nickel(55) in January.
Raised rabbits, goats, pigeons & fishing worms growing up to make money. My folks, like many others, remembered the depression & saw to it I did too.
 
Oh boy, this is gonna be a memory exercise....
Somewhere in chonological order:

Lemonade Stand Owner on a country road, went out of business for lack of traffic.
Paid Farm worker, tobacco industry, plant, chop, dry etc - family
Unpaid Farm worker, family
Worked at family auto parts store
Worked in Sporting Good Dept of large department store
Brief Stint as College Student, wild as a buck, failed everything when I left town for the big city.
Worked for engineering company that contracted for the utility companies doing fieldwork. Ran around with an old SEAL that taught me too many good ways at being bad to remember.
Briefly sold perfume, not a good sales person.
Plain Clothes Loss Prevention/Security
Uniformed Security
Another brief stint as a College Student, a little better this time, for a whole year and a half (almost).
Marriage (#1)
Waiter,Cook,Dishwasher all in the same Italian Restaurant, 80 hrs/wk
Sales Clerk for Native American Art Gallery, hung out with Axl Rose one day.
Car accident/death experience, followed by extensive rehab and then extensive apprenticehip to Native American Medicine People for years at this point.
Massage Therapy School
Massage Therapist for a few years. Did well, but an idealist.
Hit the bus across country to Arizona. Sales Clerk at Cinnamon Bun store in mall..Let go because I wasn't cheery enough by another Indian (mgr) that thought I was crazy for talking about the old ways (She was a full blood and Baptist that was appauled by pagans).
My idealist self became a parking lot attendant, and later promoted to delivery person. Fired for self-defense related violence.
Early morning Gym Opener (dated Spanish film star in this period)
Took the bus back across the US and did Massage Therapy Again.
Coffee Shop Barista Dude, and brief stint as official animal mascot for a large coffee shop chain.
Bodyguard (forgot to throw in national MA competition/training for all the above years)
Diplomatic Security, hung out with religous leaders and celebrities - avoided politicians.
Dated a TV actress somewhere in the last few of these years.
Left everything and went back across the country to take care of my sick mother for a while. Tried to go back to school (one semester) Found out her husband had blew a few million up his nose and became an abusive SOB. Became a mean a$$ again, protected mother, packed her up and took her across the country to the family farm where I grew up. Lost everything taking care of mother, (and wouldn't change it), started at 0, in a poverty stricken farm area.
Said the heck with this, back in college again, graduated this time.
And into professional life:
Finishing up college, met my beautiful little Indian wifey. Mom was healthy and about to meet the man of her dreams, so I left the farm to go to New York City to be with her.
Lots of temp jobs, too many to list, never could get anything to pay well.
First baby on the way, moved back to the Southeast.
Sales Manager at knife store (go figure)
Banking, Repo department, as a clerk and later to selling cars at auctions for the bank.
Consulting at a top tier bank consulting firm.
CPA somewhere around this time.
Top level analyst at a large firm, doing well but wondering how I ever ended up with short hair (greying at that) in an accountant job.
Finishing up my second (and last) master's degree this December.
one wife, two kids and one step-son, and living a quiet life. I'm 36.
 
Okay...too many interesting things have been shared by the rest of you to not give the honest answer now.

First non grass cutting/snow shovelling job was working for a carnival. Yes..seriously. I was big for my age and hooked up with a neighbor who ran a carnival as a front for a large and best unmentioned organization that was probably actually delivering questionable goods and laundering money from Chicago around the Great Lakes into New York. All I know is that the first year I spent most of my time setting up rides and selling candy apples. I would occasionally be sent to a particular "game" where I would either lose a tremendous amount of money or win an equal amount. In either case, it was money belonging to "Vito", the boss, not me. Over the next two years, I would do all of this as well as make deliveries. I don't know what it was I was delivering as the back of the truck always had a new lock on it. I would simply be told "Take the truck, drive to Toledo and see "Big Ed". I would get to the destination and be told to go get lunch. If they gave me a $10 bill, I was to take 30 minutes...if it was a $20, it was an hour. I would then drive the truck, with a different new lock on it, to the next location. It was a great job.

When I finished high school trained as a machinist and hooked up a job in a local Cleveland Tool & Die shop, got my first raise and a draft notice on the same day. "Vito" offered to take care of that for me if I wanted to join his crew but I thought I'd better not follow that route.

US Army - got to shoot quite a bit and then cross trained into Pershing missiles and went to Germany with a lot of top shelf electronic stuff.

Returned to the world and went to work for a steel mill as a Foreman...I guess being NCO material impressed them.

Japanese bought the company and fired the management, me included.

Returned to the military but went Air Force, figured the NOCs there at least had the sense to send the officers to get shot at. Started in high tech avionic electronics, but they mothballed the plane and I got to cross train, picked 4 good jobs and two hobbies and got one of the hobbies...Small Arms Marksmanship Training Unit. Did that and gunsmithing until the career field changed to the cop field...not my style and decided that both the AF and I would be happier apart so left with 17 1/2 years service, no benefits but happier. I was testing for top three promotion against guys who had more time in grade than I had time in service anyway so I figured that I had topped out even though I loved teaching...

Finished my first undergrad in Special Education, Severe Behavior Specialist. Taught Junior and Senior High male aggressive students for 7 years until I pulled a medical retirement, not enough to live on.

Opened a Web Design company when there was money to be made doing such a thing...specialized in legal and medical groups. Completed an EE in my free time and sold the company when I got tired of working from home (the cats only have so much to talk about and I went stir crazy). Went to work for the gov't again...did an MSE and am now a Systems Engineer with several hats. I am a System Security Manger and Production Lead for a major project but do more actual Program Management than anything else. I essentially know stuff.

See why I didn't write this in the first place?
 
munk said:
I've performed professionally a number of times in operas (always had a good voice, and was a boy soprano. Tenor now).

Worked at boat rentals on >>>>>>>> Namaarie


I'm wondering if that's why you are so wonderfully self assured at your age- no joke, a compliment.
But I do want to know if you ever burst into a rousing rendition of, "Old Man River," while on the water.


munk
Click to expand...


Who knows? Maybe. I suppose there's an element there. I don't much feel intimidated by older people. Never have. I'm sure performing had something to do with that. Also, an upbringing with parents who didn't treat me with condescending, like a lot of parents do. I think that was key.

Nam
 
i think this is an excellent thread. but by the looks of it, things sure have changed.

you go to school, you get one career, you slave at the same job, then you get downsized.

vive le 21st century!
 
I don't much feel intimidated by older people. Never have. I'm sure performing had something to do with that. Also, an upbringing with parents who didn't treat me with condescending, like a lot of parents do. I think that was key.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Namaarie


IN the small town of 50 where I live in the mountains, everyone knows everybody else- of course. There are few children. My kids are comfortable around grownups- to a certain degree. Grown-ups are still bigger, smarter, and involved in the adult interaction that children cannot enter. But my sons look a person in the eyes, whether child or adult, and see people in front of them instead of assigning barriors to them.

Very healthy-


munk
 
Man,there is talented people on the forum.
Worked on the farm until 18,joined the Coast Guard,was there until Regan decided to cut the Gov't down to size.Telling a petty officer to take a flying leap is not good for your marks.Still got a honorable discharge,not bad.
Went back home and cowboy for a few years,drove tractor for a few more.
Started shearing sheep one spring and then herding sheep in summer and fall.If you want to get in touch with your inner self,herding is the way to go.;) Got married and wife said one or the other ,so went shearing full time.Started a shearing supply business a few years ago,life is good:)
Found out about HI,life is better.Almost forgot,tended bar for a few months one time.that will make a person almost stop drinking:D


Ralph
 
Started shearing sheep one spring and then herding sheep in summer and fall.If you want to get in touch with your inner self,herding is the way to go.>>>>>> Shearer


I understand this. Must be a past life.


munk
 
What is the matter, Astrodada?

We've all regrets. You can do something about that every morning.



munk
 
I've spent most of my professional life in various parts of the publishing industry.

Currently I'm a freelance technical writer and editor, most often writing tutorials and reviews (both hardware and software) for Computerworld magazine. Also an occasional corporate client.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I also had a part-time job as a courier for a local accounting firm.

Was reviews editor at Computerworld for three years, laid off in 2002.

Before that, helped run a web site (now defunct) called PlanetIT.

Five glorious years as a technical editor and writer at Byte magazine, working with the brightest and most interesting people I'd ever met, until the magazine was bought and closed down in 1998.

Editor of a computer security magazine, and prior to that nine years as communications director for a membership organization in the computer security field.

Eleven years as publications director, graphic designer, and alumni magazine editor at a local engineering school, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Manuscript editor at Northwestern University Press (philosophy, law, literature, sociology, African studies).

Photographer and photo lab assistant for World Book Encyclopedia in Chicago.

Insurance company bureaucrat :barf: setting up pension plans for a year or so while finishing up my BA in English from the University of Chicago.

Peace Corps volunteer in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Summer jobs while in college: janitor, chemical lab technician.

Other stuff:
Wannabe folk musician (I do play hammered dulcimer, have attempted with little success guitar, banjo, piano, harp, fiddle, autoharp and mountain dulcimer).

Love to try to make things (knives, furniture, musical instruments), but they turns out to be mostly sawdust and metal flakes.

Seriously interested in typography and font design.

I have collected knives for about a dozen years now, and I'm a life member of the Northeast Cutlery Collectors Association. The nicest non-HI knives I own are a custom bowie and a bird/trout both made by Jim Siska with gorgious stag handles, a carbon fiber and damascus steel folder by Howard Hitchmough, a custom graphic Chris Reeve Sebenza, and two all-metal integral knives by Japanese makers whose names I cannot recall at this time. Also a couple of Randalls that I bought as much for investment as anything else.
 
I am stunned by the variety and diversity of some of your backgrounds:eek: Lions Roar, I thought you'd be in your 50's or older by that list! Turns out your only 3 years my senior!! Man, my life is boring in comparison to alot of you guys.:yawn:
 
Thanks MauiRob, good to know I didn't put everyone to sleep.
Nasty, your's is particularly entertaining. I can only imagine.

We've got some real smart folks on the forum. And a cowboy...when I was growing up all I wanted to be was a Texas Ranger and ride a horse (this was before the TV show).

Astrodada- if i can take a deep breath and put it all out there (as well as some other nefarious individuals here have done (kidding :-) )), you can too.
 
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