Christiern Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) Now that we have a thread devoted to present occupations, I thought it might be interesting to see what led to them. My first job (1948) was artist apprentice for Fona, a Danish chain of music stores. I successively (though not always successfully) morphed into:Artist (designing window displays) - Fona, Copenhagen, Denmark Desk clerk - U.S. Air Base, Keflavik, Iceland Announcer, disc jockey - U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service, Keflavik, Iceland TV News and weather person - U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service, Keflavik, Iceland Store salesman - Record dept. at Doubleday on 5th Avenue (Christmas relief), NYC Producer/Writer - WCAU Radio (CBS), Philadelphia, PA Jazz DJ - WHAT-FM, Philadelphia, PA Producer/writer (liner notes) - Riverside Records, NYC Producer/writer/and a dozen other titles - Prestige Records, Bergenfield, NJ Autograph signer for Benny Goodman (really!) Mail room worker - Current Magazine, NYC Continuity Director - WNEW Radio, NYC Announcer/producer - WBAI-FM, NYC General Manager - WBAI-FM, NYC Producer/Programme Director - BBC Radio, London/Hartwest Productions, New York Freelance writer/record producer - NYC Freelance graphics designer - NYCPlus various asides, including:Operator of "Storyville Club" - Copenhagen, Denmark Jazz show presenter - Danish Radio, Copenhagen, Denmark TV host/co-producer ("The Jazz Set") Artist (drawing roaches and things for Yellow Pages display listings) - Philly area Preparing text and art work for Early Childhood RFPs Translating and converting to a data base 18th century Danish slave tax records from St. Croix. Reason for edit: Remembered a couple of jobs I had left out. Edited February 1, 2005 by Christiern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BbM7 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Dodge Boy. If you knew me and remember Dodge Boys, you'd certainly get a laugh from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 RFPs ?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) RFP = Request For Proposal Show was produced in Trenton, NJ, shown on PBS (1972) Weekly half-hour in a club setting. Guests played and were awkwardly interviewed by me. They included the following and their groups: Larry Johnson (blues singer/guitarist), Ray Bryant, Jimmy Heath, Charles Mingus, Charlie McGhee, Bill Evans, Lonnie Liston Smith, Randy Weston, Roy Haynes, Clifford Jordan, Joe Lee Wilson, Rashied Ali, Ray Draper, Sam Wooding, Joe McPhee, Jeremy Steig, Bobbi Humphrey, Keno Duke, and Charles McPherson.Ted Curson, Irene Reid. Sidemen and vocalists included: George Coleman, Stanley Cowell, Bill Lee, Sheila Jordan, Tootie Heath, Clive Stevens, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Freddy Waits, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Jones, Kenny Barron, Mtume, Stu Williamson, Bu Pleasant, Louis Metcalfe, Jimmy Wright, Harold SMith, John Foster, Jimmy Shirley, Al Drears, Frank Strozier, Lee Scippers, Clifford Thornton, John Gilmore, Cecil McBee, Carlos Ward, Norman Connors, Marty Morel, Mike Kull, Eddie Gomez, Bob Cranshaw, Harold Mabern, Mickey Roker, Lonnie Hillyer, Leroy Williams, Harold Dodson, Sam Jones, Roy Brooks I was sick when the first show (Randy Weston) was scheduled for taping, so Dan Morgenstern subbed for me on that one. Edited January 31, 2005 by Christiern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Ahh; thank you! As for me, I’ve been an accountant for so long, I forgot about the odd jobs I held down before becoming an accountant: Summer 1985: worked in Costume/Character Dept. at Six Flags Over Texas, dressing up as Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, and Sylvester the Cat among others. Ahhhh, the memories THAT job provided! Summer 1987: worked in food service for SFOT. THAT job also provided a bunch of great memories, some I can’t remember, others I wish I couldn’t! Spring 1988 thru Spring 1990: delivered pizzas for Pizza Inn. That job damn near cured me of fast-food pizza for life! Ever since then it’s been nothin’ but number-crunching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) Stock Boy - In the family owned Pharmacy Dishwasher/Busboy - On the family owned restaurant Grunt - For a swimming pool construction company I did a little of everything there, but mainly the manual labor shit . Farm Equipment Operator/Irrigator Collector - For a high interest small loan company This was fun when it started, but sad when we had to go reposses people's TVs and couches that he put up for collateral. Collections Rep - For a large mortgage company Car Salesman - Had some fun and made some good money in the beginning. The problem was I was very young and trying to sell luxury cars to a mainly retired customer base, tough for a kid. When the car market turned south, all I did was sit around for 10-12 hours a day bullshitting with my fellow salesmen. Burned me out real fast. Lawn Tech - Worked for a medium sized lawn care company (All Green Corp.) that did fertilizer and weed control on residential and commercial accounts. We had about 40 locations across the country. Operations Manager - For the same lawn care company as above. Branch Manager - Became Branch Manager when All Green was purchased by TruGreen Chemlawn. It didn't last very long. I got into it with one of the division Vice Presidents over procedures. Most of the upper management had their heads up their asses, a bunch of cocky motherfuckers with no field experience. I had the last laugh on Chemlawn when I quite, since I held all the licenses, I charged them a huge fee so as they could continue to operate. Until they became licensed on their own, I had the authority to conduct weekly inspections to make sure they were in compliance. Wouldn't you know it, I always managed to find a problem or two. Before I quit Chemlawn I met my current partners who expressed an interest in starting up a business in AZ. We put the deal together and the rest is history. I employed about 180 people last year. Edited January 31, 2005 by catesta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Floral delivery (Can you say "spilled water on the car carpet?") Bowling alley snack bar attendant (How bout "free soft pretzels?") Busboy for Middle Eastern restaurant (Free grub, good stuff) Janitor/Delivery Truck Washer for hospital supply company (Rough work, but worked well with my school schedule when I was in school). Shipping/inventory clerk for motion picture industry--where I toil to this day, wasting precious hours of my only life when I'm pretty sure I should be out snowboarding or skateboarding or playing hoop or painting or listening to jazz or doing something fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BbM7 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I played the saxophone. (How embarassing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danasgoodstuff Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 taxi driver bus driver West Reference Attorney law clerk meter reader record store clerk community college adjunct professor library page library clerk hod carrier furniture mover and more temp jobs than I can remember... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 In former lives I've been a Movie Usher - Saw the Graduate about 60 times. Still can't watch it today. Short Order cook - Shoney's Big Boy in Nashville Grade Change Clerk at a university Court Reporter - got to travel a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) Hope I don't forget anything: Stock Clerk/cashier at Woolworth's Tennis instructor/court supervisor, Wilton Parks and Recreation Party supply deliveryman, Taylor Rental (this job was off and on for many years, in between most of the following) Research Assistant, Washington University Teaching Assisant, Washington University Work crew for tent rental company (paid cash under the table, had to sue him for my last paycheck) Line work at small Medical manufacturing plant (I worked the end of the line, slipping the finished product (sterile hand and fingernail scrubbers for surgeons) into the dispenser boxes and then into the shipping boxes) Research Assistant, University of South Carolina Cashier, A&P Supermarket Managing Partner, Wimbledon Tennis Shop Announcer, WTNT-Tallahassee (part-time) telemarketing, cold calling for leads for a software company Announcer, WMLO-Tallahassee (full-time) Audio Production for a small commercial production house (horrible gig, martinet boss, killer deadlines but with stone age equipment that made it damn challenging to meet. Didn't last long-I wonder why?) telemarketing (the infamous gig in the phone sex industry) telemarketing, for a company selling a chemical to flush into your septic tank to breakdown the waste and prevent backups free lance voice talent Audio Production Manager, Virtual Languages Edited January 31, 2005 by Dan Gould Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphie_boy Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Let's see: Chinese Food Delivery Boy Gas Station Attendent Grocery Clerk Supermarket Frozen Food Mgr. Construction Laborer Process Server (that was a good one!) Then when I grew up: Accountant Systems Manager Project Manager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Stock Clerk/cashier at Woolworth's Me too!!!!!! My first on the books gig was at the one in Rockefeller Center, till the Japanese bought it and tore it down. $4.50/hr! I also watched over women's underwear there. Since I came to the States in '89, in chronological order till my present gig - Cashier at Weber's Discount joint in NY Masseuse Delivery boy Furniture Mover Tree doctor [a bitch of a job, but a $100/day in cash was good dough in Summer of '96] Then I graduated, thank god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I've worked my way up from nothing, to a state of extreme poverty - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) (New Orleans) Orleans Parish Mosquito Control Inspector We would go to known breeding sites and stand still for three minutes and count the number of mosquitoes that landed on you. By keeping track of the landing rates, they determined the migration of the mosquitoes. My partner must have had a different metabolism than I did, because he always got more mosquitoes landing on him than I did. Sometimes it would be so bad we would stand still for twenty seconds and multiply out what the three minute total would be! Edited January 31, 2005 by GA Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 * grocery clerk * mowed lawns * warehouse stock boy at a printing company * runner for statisticians at Arrowhead Staduim (KC Chiefs) * banquet service * waited tables (very briefly) * record store clerk * bartender * radio DJ * live DJ * music writer/columnist * archivist (Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive) * audio digitization engineer (University of Texas-Austin, Library of Congress) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 It's a clean theme..... golf caddie (rake & clean traps) golf pro-shop (clean clubs) veterinary clinic (clean wounds) landscape service (clean underbrush) busboy (clean tables) chemical company (clean dirty toxic barrels) office cleaning company (clean ashtrays & toilets) leather tannery (clean & tan hides) antique store (clean & deliver furniture) U.S. House of Representatives (clean up members 'messes') U.S. Senate (same) stay-at-home dad (clean house) govt. consultant (clean up! $$$ ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Do I have to mention the time I ordered those stoopid Christmas cards from the back of the comic book when I was seven and my dad made me actually go out and sell them? Good; it was too traumatic... Clerk/stockboy at a convenience store Cleaning the kennels at a pet boarding place (okay; that one lasted three days) Gardener's assistant Construction (flunky at a Nuke plant being constructed) U.S. Navy (electronics tech) Manufacturing tech at an electronics firm Tech Writer Comic/Card shop owner/manager The guy who sits in the booth at the gas station and is actually even more bored than he looks and could give a shit less about your stinking problems because he's in debt up to his eyeballs because his business failed. Rent-a-cop at Target Front lanes supervisor at Target I may be missing some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 (edited) * archivist (Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive) Brandon, I had no idea ... I am going to check that out when I have time. I knew Dick when I was at KU, had him for a couple of classes, made contact with him a couple times post-graduation. More than anyone else, Dick fostered my interest in jazz. Share more about the archive or PM me when you have a chance. Eric PS - I picked tobacco two summers ... PSS - Just walked by Murphy on Sat after watching the Hawks spank the Horns Edited February 1, 2005 by Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 PS - I picked tobacco two summers ... Damn; there's one I missed. Doncha miss how the tar builds up in your arm hair by the end of the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robviti Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 when i was a musician in the mid-70's to 80's, i paid the bills at different times by working as a car washer in an auto dealership, an assembly line worker in a picture frame factory, an undercover security officer in a department store, and a door-to-door fuller brush salesman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 when i was a musician in the mid-70's to 80's, Oh yes, I remember on an old BNBB thread that, unbeknowst to one another, we were both inside 'Pooh's Pub' the night the news broke about Lennon being shot? I was at the bar. That was you, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 *coupon arteest for yellow pages. (for pennies) *busboy, dishwasher, salad bar stocker. (weekend tag team dish drying with black beauty snorting dishwasher guy!) *yardman at a lumberyard. (fired for calling off to study for an art history final ... other yardmen subsequently brought up on grand larceny charges soon after for "trading" mowers for grass.) *marketing intern, cartographer, advertising designer and pbx phone info ("hey, what time dee bus come?", where are you?, "at home".) for a small city transit authority. *character licensing and toy development for #2 largest greeting card company. (damn Ziggy is hard to draw) *industrial design and toy development for #2 largest toy company. (really miss those day long meetings) *16 years of self-employed board work for toy, premium and consumer products. (at least no one tells me to turn down that racket my ears are sandwiched between) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 with black beauty snorting dishwasher guy!) I hope you had him remove all the buffers first? B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrome Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 *industrial design and toy development for #2 largest toy company. (really miss those day long meetings) *16 years of self-employed board work for toy, premium and consumer products. (at least no one tells me to turn down that racket my ears are sandwiched between) Every have to go to Toy Fair in NY? I had to go a couple of times for one of my past jobs ... which include: orderly in downtown Detroit ER (part of my father's campaign to make sure I didn't take life in the suburbs for granted) "assistant" at med school dog labs (ditto) assistant manager for bookstore "writer" for Who's Who in America writer/editor for a line of doll-collecting magazines ... everything from Barbies to one-of-a-kind artist dolls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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