I got this idea from a friends’ MySpace blog and while mine doesn’t have the excitement of working as a cocktail waitress as Rick’s Cabaret or working for Honey Baked Ham during the holidays, well, it’s something.
Kroger
sacker, cashier, courtesy booth cashier
This was my job progression during high school. I went to an Astroworld job fair, but Kroger called me sooner and, while it would’ve been fun to ogle the girls and hit the start button for the Runaway Rikshaw, Kroger was close to home and paid well. In a little over two years I went from sacker to cashier to courtesy booth cashier. They tried to fire me when my supervisor, swearing he wouldn’t schedule me for the day of Homecoming, did anyway and I refused to go in. They called me back in when they needed me – the next day. There was a small scandal when I found out that the other two young courtesy booth-ers had been having sex and stealing money, conspiring to run off to Mexico or something…seriously. I left the job when I left for college. They asked me to come back. I laughed.
Texas Music Emporium
bass teacher, sales, manager
Probably the coolest job I ever had working for someone else. I did everything from teach lessons to play in guitar clinics with Zakk Wylde and Bruce Kulik to sell stuff to handle the mainling list. I spent most of my paycheck going out after work or on music gear. I learned how to sticker every square inch of a car’s non-painted areas, visited my first (and, strangely, last) strip clubs while underage, ate entire meals designed for 2 or 3 people, skipped out on slow days to watch movies and prank called other music stores in the area. The guy who still owns the place is a buddy and I still buy a lot of gear from them. That was a crazy time.
Protocol Communications
operator, office manager
I worked for an answering service for nearly five years. It was easy and paid well. I ended up accepting a bigger role a couple years in and feel like I helped out. I finally left when things just weren’t working out. There really isn’t much else to say.
Self-Employed
music teacher
I worked as a bass guitar teacher for a lot of kids off and on and had a blast. I met a lot of good kids and, hopefully, taught them something besides the fact that, while he may be cool, Flea is not the greatest funk bassist ever to pick up the instrument.
Self-Employed
massage therapist
Yup, I was an RMT for a few years. It was fine, but I had my share of creepy moments from BOTH men and women. Yes, ladies, some in your gender can get pretty freaky when they think a legit massage is actually just the intro to an episode of the Red Shoe Diaries. When your wife happens also be an RMT working in the next room, chances are there will be no “extras” today.
Spaghetti Warehouse
waiter
I did this for exactly one and one half days. I am not built for waiting tables.
George’s Pampered Paws
pet sitter
I did this over the course of a few months to make some extra money. Had to be the nicest people to work with mainly because they weren’t people. There are days when I miss this job even though the pay wasn’t that great and the hours could get pretty weird. Plus, it’s amazing how people leave their homes even when they know strangers will be in them while they are gone.
Self-Employed
antiques/vintage jewelry dealer
This was a fun if not terribly profitable job. My ex wife and I sold antiques and, eventually, vintage costume jewelry in shops, on Ebay and at shows all over Texas. We’d work the Citywide Garage Sale in Austin every month and it was a ton of work along with being a lot of fun. I still can tell a Weiss from an Eisenberg from a quick glance and, somehow, that isn’t gay at all.
DJ Brothers
dj
My good friend and his brothers have a dj company and I worked for them off and on for a few years for extra money. Weddings, dances, corporate parties…whatever. I learned that you only need a few key songs like YMCA, Boot Scootin’ Boogie and C’mon Ride the Train to get people off their asses or, as Morris Day once said so eloquently, “White folks, you’re much too tight. You gotta shake your head like the black folks. You might get some tonight.”
Self-Employed (Two Roads Media, Inc)
web developer
This is the job I’ve had for the last six years – co-owning a web development firm. It’s been very good to me and I enjoy the work because it means I get to goof off on the internets a lot.
Self-Employed
musician
Ah, you thought I’d forget that one, didn’t you? Honestly, I don’t even think about it because it is really just what I do. But, I’ve played in a TON of bands, done a thousand gigs and worked as a musician, songwriter, arranger and audio engineer. Sweet!
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That’s the long and the short of it. Looking at it that way, it looks kinda weird…and pathetic. But, hey, I SOUND interesting even if I’m not. Har de har har.