My first paid job was working for a sports concessions company. It was only a couple of weekends a year, when the NHBA racing (National Hot Boats Association) came to Puddingstone Lake. I did that all throughout high school. I got to see all of the racing boats, from top fuel down.
My first daily job, though only a part time after school job, was working for Selecta Switch, Inc. Officially, I was part of the marketing dept., but I was mainly stuck in the coallating room, putting together catalogs. I did a tiny bit of typing and some parts packaging, too. I was still in high school and quit after three months, so I could play on the Badmitton team.
After high school, while in Jr. college, I worked for Domino's Pizza as a delivery driver. I took orders, made pizzas, and delivered 'em. It was a really fun job with lots of tips.
For a long time, nearly 10 years, I was officially unemployed, but I often worked with a friend, helping him with his home improvement business as a general helper, which included painting and tile cutting. I also did a bunch of painting with my brother.
I worked for a large commercial painting company for a week, but quit, because it was a drag being out in the sun all day with my neck bent back as I painted with a long pole. Basically, I'd go home beat, shower, sleep, then wake up at 3:30am to get ready and go the shop by 5am, but not get paid until I got on the site at 6am. I thought it was miserable. It was nothing like painting with my brother, who never wanted to work more than 6 hours at a time. We were the bosses, so it was much different.
For about 8 years, including some of the time I was painting, and during my next job, I collected scrap metal and recycled it. I also picked up televisions, washing machines, and whatever else I could sell to a guy I knew, who would bring truck loads of stuff to Mexico to sell there. Collecting scrap is where the "Trashman" comes from, as it was during those days that I became infatuated with flashlights, especially after getting my first good flashlight, a 5w Nuwai, which saved me lots of time each night by allowing me to see what was on the curb without having to get out of my car to investigate. I think the fact that the flashlight was actually "working" for me (saving me time) made me love them so much.
I worked at Conroy's Flowers as a delivery driver for nearly 6 years. I also learned floral arranging during that time. Another enjoyable job!
Currently, since January, I've been working as a messenger (by car) in the greater Los Angeles area. I worked for one company for 6 weeks and then switched to a different one. I was standing by too long for the first one and my pay checks were terrible (none of my 3 checks even came close to equaling minimum wage. Always less than $4 an hour.) This one keeps me constantly moving and the checks are a lot bigger. The gas prices are killing me, though. I spend close to $700 a month on gas! Most messenger jobs are commission jobs, BTW. I'm looking into having another company put a sign on the roof of my car (it's an opportunity only available to LA messengers), which will get my another $100 a week. (it's practically free money!) That'll be a huge boost.
That's it!
