Friday, August 29, 2008

Friday Five: Labor Day

At RevGalBlogPals:

Here in the USA we are celebrating the last fling of the good ol' summertime. It is Labor Day weekend, and families are camping, playing in the park, swimming, grilling hotdogs in the backyard, visiting amusement parks and zoos and historical sites and outdoor concerts and whatever else they can find to help them extend summer's sun and play just a little bit longer.

It is supposed to also be a celebration of the working man and woman, the backbone of the American economy, the "salt-of-the-earth nieces and nephews of Uncle Sam. With apologies to those in other countries, this is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let's have some fun.

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.

Ok, it's time for the truth here...I've only had, like, three jobs if you role all the nannying and babysitting and child care related stuff into one. So, yeah there were definitely babysitting clients I didn't care for, but it isn't really appropriate to discuss those online...overall I have been very lucky, with bosses, co-workers, companies, the whole sha-bang...get back to me in 10 years!

2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.

I realize in the last question I rolled all the child care into one, but I have to single out my work for the Norwegian and the Dutch-ess as being the best job I have ever had. The parents are freelance artists and the two boys are awesome free spirits who have really good morals even at 3 and 5. Besides being a great family by any standards, I think our philosophies on child-rearing really meshed better then with all my other clients. They would actually tell me not to play with the kids constantly, that they need to learn how to play on their own, which I completely agree with. I miss those little guys!

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.

Right now, I think I would like to be employed as an assistant to an editor. I know I don't have the skillz yet to be a full-blown editor, but working along side a really cool, knowledgeable easy-going editor would be super awesome!

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?

My trip to the Boundary Waters was my only break, which was great and I am sure would be long to most people, but the past three years I had scheduled my work around a three week trip to Michigan which I couldn't do this year, so it doesn't really feel like I have had any break at all...especially now that I am back in school already!

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?

Well, I like to think that part of my "job" right now is school, and I just realized that my two Film Theory classes have a few papers due the same weeks, so that will be a new challenge for me! Also, we are starting a new announcement system at the church I work for and I am really excited, but a little nervous that people won't like it (even though they should, but their church folk and sometimes they don't see what's best for them!)

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery (LOL)? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you? This is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time! We used to sing it in elementary school and I would sing down the octave from where everyone else was singing...then I would be told not to do that...but how could I help myself!? This song sounds the best being sung in a big, deep man voice! The best line is, "If you see me coming, better step aside, a lot of men didn't, and a lot of men died." Classic.