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Labor Day contest!

One summer I worked for a Christmas tree grower. About 2 dozen of us would get on a bus every morning and be taken to a Christmas tree field. Our job was to trim the trees to shape. The trimming would also shorten the new branches so that the trees would be dense.

it was really hot work and you would get covered in sap. That stuff is HARD to wash off. Some guys would use gasoline. The next summer I got a job indoors
 
Not in this time. My first part time job was working the meat counter at a local grocery store. It taught me how to work with customers, both pleasant ones and the rude ones. It also taught me how to work hard and to enjoy the benefits of that work.

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I worked a number of different jobs in the summers and before landing on my career. Learned something about people from each one.

Some fields attract different types of people.
Dental technology tends to be a home for artistically inclined detail-oriented introverts.
Kitchens tend to attract potheads. (I once witnessed a line cook carve a pipe out if a carrot, smoke a bowl, then proceed to eat the pipe, all while grilling during the lunch rush)
Acting attracts two kinds of people. Extreme extroverts that just want attention and craft-oriented people that appreciate the psychology of theatre. (The latter are often annoyed by the former, but tolerate them because they can be fun to be around)
Car sales attracts people who care more about money than integrity. (Less so these days, but it's still a liar's business)
Information Technology is home to several different kinds of people. The tech obsessed, the service-oriented, the puzzle-solvers, the socially-lacking, the architects, etc. Lots of space for many different personalities.

I find people fascinating and have found that WHO you work with can be even more important than what you do. Colleagues can make or break a job. I've been fortunate to work with some really great people over the years. I've also worked with some people that I'd never want to see again under any circumstances.

Respectfully NOT in because I just won one of the Captain's contests for their 10th. Enjoying my mug very much!
 
"I find people fascinating and have found that WHO you work with can be even more important than what you do. Colleagues can make or break a job. I've been fortunate to work with some really great people over the years. I've also worked with some people that I'd never want to see again under any circumstances."

I absolutely agree with your statement.

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I was working second shift in a mechanical contractor's welding shop building Heat Recovery Steam Generator panels. The second shift employees were a pleasure to work with (every now and then we had a slacker but they usually didn't last) and the second shift crew in my section were a great bunch of hard working fun loving guys. One of the perks of the job was we were allowed to play music while we worked.

We had several HRSG panels that were scheduled for delivery and we were running behind so there was plenty of overtime. Come the end of the week we were told the HRSG panel we were working on had to be done and we were to stay and finish it up. Well, some things take time and our crew was already somewhat worn down from being overworked so, needless to say, after fifteen hours when we saw some of first shift, including all of the ones that worked first in our section, come back in the next day we were more than willing to let them take over so we could go home. The only problem was they came in to work on something else. While our leadman went to talk to theirs we carried on our work somewhat dismayed that they expected us to continue on for several more hours. It was at this time that one of my co-workers started cracking up in laughter. It took me a second to figure out what he was laughing at was the song that was playing on the radio which was Detroit City by Bobby Bare which starts out "I wanna go home, I wanna go home, Oh how I wanna go home....". He though it was hilarious and started singing out that line to first shift when it repeated in song. About half an hour later our leadman came back over and told us to pack it up because first shift was going to take over for us and finish it up. We told our replacements what was left to be done as we put our stuff up and then gladly left dog tired. Needless to say I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that day.


 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I was working second shift in a mechanical contractor's welding shop building Heat Recovery Steam Generator panels. The second shift employees were a pleasure to work with (every now and then we had a slacker but they usually didn't last) and the second shift crew in my section were a great bunch of hard working fun loving guys. One of the perks of the job was we were allowed to play music while we worked.

We had several HRSG panels that were scheduled for delivery and we were running behind so there was plenty of overtime. Come the end of the week we were told the HRSG panel we were working on had to be done and we were to stay and finish it up. Well, some things take time and our crew was already somewhat worn down from being overworked so, needless to say, after fifteen hours when we saw some of first shift, including all of the ones that worked first in our section, come back in the next day we were more than willing to let them take over so we could go home. The only problem was they came in to work on something else. While our leadman went to talk to theirs we carried on our work somewhat dismayed that they expected us to continue on for several more hours. It was at this time that one of my co-workers started cracking up in laughter. It took me a second to figure out what he was laughing at was the song that was playing on the radio which was Detroit City by Bobby Bare which starts out "I wanna go home, I wanna go home, Oh how I wanna go home....". He though it was hilarious and started singing out that line to first shift when it repeated in song. About half an hour later our leadman came back over and told us to pack it up because first shift was going to take over for us and finish it up. We told our replacements what was left to be done as we put our stuff up and then gladly left dog tired. Needless to say I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that day.


I have ALWAYS loved that song!

I'm in Captain!

I'm unhappily retired (lol) so every job I ever had now looks better than it actually was while doing it!

My last job as a direct care RN comes to mind because I started out there as a manager and learned that some folks work as hard at NOT working as they would if they just did their jobs.

I was blessed to work with some wonderful people over the years, and met some great patients and their families. Lots of tears, death, heroism.....you name it.

I miss it something fierce.
 
I only had a few jobs all my life, I grew up on a farm but very young we moved into town. So my first paid job was working for my brother when he took over that farm, I also worked for my brother-in-law on his farm. I then worked for a another farmer for a summer. My first job away from home was when I worked for a company that made things from fiberglass, that job lasted about 11 months until layoff. I then moved back to my part of the state and have worked my current employer for the last 35 years, a recreational manufacturer. Now none of them I learned a lot from other then earning a pay check but I would say when I worked for that fiberglass manufacturer was my first real job in the world and I would say what I learned was more of the life away from the home I grew up in than I have on any job I have worked. My jobs have only taught me what I need to do to earn a paycheck and even though I am an industrial lift(forklift) operator now, none of them, even this one, doesn't take much learning on how to do. But that first time away from home was more of a learning experience than any job I had.
 
My time in the military was the hardest job, the job I learned the most from, and well anything imaginable. It was there in Korea where I had a defining moment in my life. I sat on top of the mountain and wondered what life may hold for me. Off in a foreign country, going through a divorce, poor, and well yet so rewarding.
 
First job working in gas stations pumping gas & light maintenance on cars. Then worked for a trucking Co. loading and unloading trucks. At 21 started driving semi trucks and 45+ years did long haul trucking.
What did I learn, every city has a dark side that most people don't even know about. The best thing I learned
That trucking is not the best job for a married man.
If I can turn the clock back, tell you the truth I don't know what I would do. Did meet some great guys and a couple of guys not so great.

8/19/42
 
If you look at my profile picture, it will give you a good idea about this story. It all started one day in 1987. I had talked my friend's friend into getting us some beer. It was to be for a bonfire party down on the river. Someone must have ratted us out because as soon as he gave me the beer, a cop showed up. We were put into different squad cars, and off to the police station, I went. I never did find out where he went.

I was put in the drunk tank for being in possession of alcohol as a minor. It was weird being in there sober. There was one other guy in there that was passed out. He had puked on himself, and it stank so bad. I started thinking that at least I get one phone call. I knew that from the movies and TV shows. Well, I was wrong. I found out later that one of the officers knew my Dad. He called Dad for me. Dad told him to leave me there for the night. Thanks, Dad! :)
The Judge assigned me to eighty hours of restitution work. I was to clean the grown-up brush out of a fence along the back of the airport. That was one long fence. I remember thinking that there was no way I could do it all. As I was working with the hand saw and pruning tools, I noticed that I wasn't alone. Way down the fence was another guy doing the same thing. And that's how I met Ziggy.

Ziggy and I were both in junior high but went to different schools. Over the next few days, we talked about different things, but the one thing that kept coming up was skydiving. My Uncle was a skydiver but had passed away when I was thirteen. I found out that his Dad jumped years ago and still had all of his old skydiving gear. The more we talked, the more we got the itch.

We decided to talk to his Dad and maybe barrow the old gear. We were young and naive. Ziggy's Dad was cool about it and helped us go about it the right way. It turns out that you actually need training and proper gear to learn to skydive. The funny thing was that we found out that Ziggy's Dad had jumped with my Uncle back in the day.
That's how it all started. Over time I have turned that itch that most people call an extreme sport into my profession. I've often thought about writing down the stores that took place over the thirty plus years and more than twenty thousand skydives that followed. I did write a short one here.

What do you guys think? Should I start a thread for them? If you would like to read more, give this one and the linked one a like.
 
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Labor Day is here and nearly gone so it it time to see who random.org selects as our three winners. Remember, each winner gets to choose either one of our popular Razor Caddys or a full size bottle of our newest aftershave, Land Ho!

The winners are:

@bob.e

@sdimartino

@skibik


Congratulations to our three winners and many thanks to each of you for entering.

If you are a winner:

1. Send an email to: [email protected]
2. Please identify your screen name here
3. Let us know what gift you have chosen
4. Please include your mailing address
 
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