Jobs I've had

Well I figured it was time to tell you of my work experience, in general, I'll probably go into more detail on each job later, because I learned a lot from each one and rather than make one massive post covering them all I figured I would start off with a general job post. (which is still going to be kinda long.)

My very first job back in 1987 or '88 was McDonalds flipping burgers. It was a decent job, it is what it is, but McDonalds is a good first job as it teaches you about teamwork, working under pressure, making sure your on time, etc. I also had this really cute manager named Olivia, I had a huge crush of her. She was about 5' tall with a beautiful face and a wicked sense of humour. She made working for McDonalds fun, not just cause she was nice to look at, but because she made working there fun.

Fuddruckers was my next job. You can probably imagine how any other names we called it. Its a hamburger joint, but the meat is ground up there, there is a bakery for the buns and also a malt shoppe inside. I started at the place before it opened, they built the building and it needed cleaning from the consruction mess and I helped with that. I was hired as a dishwasher/busser. I was a bit slow on the pickup with this job, I'm not sure why, but a manager did take me into the office and tell me that I needed to pick up the pace or I would not have a job. So I did. When it first opened we were so busy it lasted right until closing time, then it took another 4-5 hours to clean up and close. This went on for a few months until it started to die down, except it still took forever to do the closing duties. It took me another month of nagging the managers to get them to listen to me on how to get closing done sooner. I took a 4-5 hour closing time down to half an hour. I organised each station in what they should do and when they should do it. I think the managers were a bit surprised about that. After quiting and being asked back I ended up cooking burgers again.

My next job was again as a dishwasher, but also as a prep person in a 'real' restaurant. My brother was the sous chef and they needed help so he brought me in. My main job was dishwashing but I also helped prep the kitchen. This is where I learned to hold a knife 'properly'. The chef used to watch me cutting stuff and if I was holding the knife wrong would rap my knuckles with the back of his knife. (This hurts) I learned a lot there and in fact outlasted 3 chefs and did everything in the kitchen, from dishwasher to salads to sandwiches to line cook to doing the gourmet take away foods. I went from there to working in other places with chefs. ALl in all I worked 5 years with chefs and learned from them all, so I'm a decent cook. My wife says she married me cause I can cook. lol

I went from cooking to testing software. I played video games for a living for about 2.5 years. I worked at EA sports in Vancouver, B.C., which is a beautiful city, in the summer, in the fall and winter its a gray haze and constantly raining. I hated it. The job was ok, I left because I was not happy having my name on a product I didn't feel should be released yet. When you still have bugs in a game it should not be forced out the door because Marketing says so. (marketing is the evil that walks the earth) Call it prideful, but if I do something I take ownership of it and I want it done right. Thats just me.

I moved back to Winnipeg at this point and got a job as a carpet installer. Having never done 'manual' labour like this is was quite different. My first day I got blisters just pushing a broom around. The crew just laughed at me. lol However within a few weeks I was holding my own and shortly after that the boss had me hiding the seams, which is detailed work and you have to have an eye for it. The boss's brother-in-law told me he hadn't been allowed to touch the seams for year after he started, so I felt pretty good that after only a few months I was doing that.

From there I went into retail and worked at a video game store, eventually becoming assistant manager. It was fun and I enjoyed it. My bosses were really nice and taught me that a good business works with the community. Students bringing in report cards and for each 'A' they got a free rental or an hour on the LAN. This was something the parents really appreciated and brought him more business. I still talk with them and my last trip back went visiting, it was good to see them again.

My last job was in construction here in the LA area. I worked for a cabinet company doing new home construction. With the housing boom that happened there was a lot of business. My job was Quality Control. I went in after the installers and fixed the poor installs or damage done by other trades. I really enjoyed the job and it felt really good to see something wrong, and then fix it to make it look right. I had a lot of job satisfaction. I finally found where I wanted to be after 20 years of job bouncing. Well except for the fact I have a bad back and I can't do that work anymore. The fickle finger of fate, having fucked, moves on.

Moving back to Winnipeg I'm going to be dealing with the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities to see if they can help find me work. My eventual goal is to get into the Construction Management course that is starting up next year at Red River College. They are just putting it together now and working with the industry to make the course the best it can be. It'll be only the 4th course like it in Canada. My goal is to take that, then take LEED certification and get a job with the government. Thats my plan anyway. Fate may point its finger my way again, but I at least have a plan for now.

Yes, another long post, sorry about that. As I said at the begining I'll write up about each of my jobs later as I learned different things from each of them.

Ta ta for now!