Yes, I admit it. I have uttered those phrases before…actually on a number of different occasions, at a number of different eating establishments. Why am I thinking about those five or six words this morning you ask? Maybe it’s the fact that the unemployment rate is climbing to record highs…or the fact that the situations at both Jen and my workplaces are a total cluster-(youknowwhat)…or maybe it’s just because I’m hungry and want an Egg McMuffin.
But thinking about those fast-food-phrases, and the different times I’ve said them throughout my life got me thinking about all the jobs I’ve had. And trust me…I have had a lot of ‘em. In fact, when Jen and I got married, we put little trivia cards on the table for the guests to read – and one of the questions was “How many jobs has Matt had since graduating High School?” While I don’t remember the exact number right now, I do remember it was over 40. Yes, 40. There was a time I could fill out a W4 with my eyes closed.
It wasn’t 40 fast-food jobs that I busied myself with, rather it was a mix of dozens of different work environments. My job-history is all over the place: from making pizza to wheel-barrowing wet cement…from stocking shelves to working as a Deejay. So I got to thinking…which was my favorite? If I could go back in time and work at ANY one of my previous jobs…which would I choose? It’s actually a harder question than I thought it would be. You see, out of the 40-something jobs I’ve had, I have disliked the majority of them. But amongst the stinkers, there have been a few that I really enjoyed doing and think about a lot.
So…while I try to make up my mind, I thought I’d bounce the question off of you all:
- Take salaries/money/etc. out of the equation…if you had to choose one of your previous jobs to do again, which would it be? In short…
We are a family of five, living happily in Colorado. And since we find ourselves running out of hours in the day, we built this little site to keep friends and family up to speed on what's going on in our lives.
So I have been giving this some thought…and I think I finally have my answer:
Backbeat Records
It was a small, hole-in-the-wall CD store I worked at in the late 90′s. It had it all…’regular’ customers, free music, and I knew how to get gumballs from the machine without losing a quarter.
I remember actually wanting to go to work there. Good times.
Yikes! It is a question that I have many answers for! THANK YOU! My very favorite job is working at Rusty’s Outdoor Power counter. It is fun and it is only about grass so it really is not a crisis no matter what. It is like a neighborhood bar without the beer and drunks most of the time! Always different always fun, interesting people from multi billionaires and famous people to good old native Natucketers and fisherman (they smell bad) but have interesting stories.
Back a long time ago I worked in a Western Auto that also was great fun but not as much fun as ROPE!
Best paying job perhaps was mopping floors at an A & P it took 15 minutes and I was paid $30.00 cash in 1962 – That was really big $ especially for a 14 year old!
I loved staying home when you and Cory were little. But as far as my favorite paying job, I think it was the first year and a half that I worked at the Lightship Basket Museum. Loved all the people I worked with, loved being in a Museum, enjoyed working with all the volunteers, learning Nantucket history and the pay was great. I could even walk to work because the Museum is close to our house. THEN…the President and Exec. Dir. moved and lets just say it was no longer fun, so I made it 6 more months and then moved on. I have 2 really great friends from my time there too.
This was a tough one for me, seeing as I am the opposite of Matt. I can probably count the number of jobs I’ve EVER had on one hand. If not one, definitely two.
Anyway, my favorite? I guess I would have to say working for the after school program through the YMCA in college. I got to be with kids (which I LOVED) and teach them things that are important (like how to line dance) and I worked with good people who genuinely cared about me. I only worked about 3 – 4 hours a day and I was still able to go to school full time and party at night (did I say that out loud?).
I still love my job (current circumstances aside), and think that I work with amazing people (aside from a few…), but the lack of pressure associated with my YMCA job made it the winner. I just got to play with the kids. I miss that.