Jobs

I have to say that even though I am working a lot of hours right now, I do kinda like what I'm doing.

And keeping in mind that I am working a lot of hours because we are going to spend 5 months in Mexico this coming winter!

I like working at this RV place. They let me run the parts department pretty much as if it's my own business. And I can see by the numbers that I have made some worthwhile improvements over the last couple of years. Plus, I get to talk about RV'ing with customers the whole time. I like talking about RV'ing, although our style of it is quite a bit different than most of the people we talk to at work. We sell a lot of travel trailers, and a lot of them go to permanent sites. We like to travel in our motorhome!

And the driving job in the afternoon is nice. It's on a scenic bit of road, and I get to enjoy some time alone. I listen to the radio, either some 50's and 60's music, or some talk radio.

I've had some pretty varied jobs in my career life. During high school, I worked for a couple of years at a restaurent as a bus boy. When I think back, I had a lot of fun at that job. I think I made $2.15 an hour, plus tips. Once, our paychecks were late. I remember making a big fuss as an employee, saying that our employer expected us to be at work on time, why couldn't we be paid on time. That's about as unionized as I ever got as an employee. I am NOT a union person.

I worked in a bank for a while. Main branch, right downtown. I was the very first male teller ever hired by Bank of Montreal in Ottawa. That lasted for about 6 months. Working with a bunch of old ladies was NOT fun. It WAS fun updating the bank books of the little old ladies that would come in once a month to see how much interest they were paid on some of their very large balances. If I would have stayed there, I would probably be a vice president working out of downtown Toronto. Too funny how life's little turns twist your fortunes around.

Then I got into the bodyshop business. I always liked cars. Worked my way up to managing the place, then decided I could do a better job than the owner, so I struck out on my own. Ran a couple of different auto body businesses for the better part of 20 years, then decided that it's a stinky dirty business and that breathing all that dust and fumes can't possibly be good for your health. So I got out of it and never looked back.

Actually, I did look back, I worked at an auto body franchise for 6 months at one point after that. Most boring job I ever had, and working for a couple of the worst business owners I've ever met. Worst 6 months in my working life! Never again.

Then I worked as a contract lease return inspector for GMAC financing. This was a great job, and I loved it. My only communiation with head office was through a laptop with wireless internet, and they let me do my job pretty much on my schedule. I really liked that job, too bad I quit it in order to travel and live in a motorhome.

The thing I don't understand about a lot of people is that they stay for a long time in a job that they hate. Life is FAR too short to do that, even if you're doing it for the money. You can always simplify your lifestyle and find a job that may pay less money, but will be one that you enjoy doing.