Odd jobs you have had in life

[renovation]

worked in a egg noodle factory for a day dumping 3 gallon cans of egg yokes into a flour batter.

one season pressing apples at a cider mill. fun job made little $$$ do.

1 day job in the middle of winter loading a empty semi with plastic bags of styrafoam beads.for the filling of bean bag chairs in the middle of a field in the middle of a snow storm.

sold tools out the back of a truck for a month .

[Freelance Superhero]

When I was in high school, I worked at a print shop cleaning presses, mixing ink, developing print plates, and doing odd jobs around the place.

Sometime after that, as a part-time gig, I worked for the Fair Housing Council in West LA. This was a neat job, because it required me to memorize some very specific details about a made-up person, and I had to pretend I was that person as I "checked out" various apartment/condo/house rentals/purchases. This was in an effort to see if certain ethnicities were being shown preferential treatment when they showed up to view these properties. I visited apartments in Long Beach, houses in Venice, condos in Malibu; and I had to assume personalities like a software engineer for Shell and an animator for Disney. Really interesting job, and fun, too. :)

[uncledaddy]

Spent a month exercising washing/grooming horses, and cleaning stalls .

Spent another month feeding three other horses and a calf.

Spent some time washing pigs and cleaning stalls.

I miss the country. :sad:

[guiseppewv]

I have driven a forklift, cleaned toilets, lifeguarded, ice guarded (same as a lifeguard except you are on skates at an ice rink), worked in a coal mine, math/science tutor, and quite a few other jobs that I don't recall at this moment. BTW - each of these jobs were for at least a few months each. :)

[zippyjuan]

Had a job one summer at IBM- making one inch rolls of magnetic computer tape. The machine actually made and cut them- we had to snip them off and change the reels. It was a promition from putting together drives for their copy machines.

Worked as a local version of a roadie for rock concerts that came to the area. Helped build the stages, massive scaffolding for the speakers on outdoor shows, set up the band gear, worked security during the show (or helped set changes) and sometimes did artwork for the shows. Van Halen, Stones, Who, Grateful Dead, Eagles, many many more. Have a tour jacket I designed for the Who.

Did road crew for a bicycle stage race that ran from San Francisco to Colorado and had to drive a truck for that. In high school worked weekends putting together the sections for the local newspaper (we had to manually insert all the Sunday ads during the week and then stick them into the paper Saturday night. Night janitor for an office building.

[ShawnLee]

I was the interim janitor for a church for two weeks.
I've worked in watch repair, mainly changing batteries and watch straps.
I've been a range safety officer/instructor at a shooting range.
And then I've done all the odd jobs that come with being in the Army.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

[DarkFury]

I used to work in a pet store (pretty much selling dogs, cats, fish, and related products) when I was on summer vacation from College. :D

[Prngr44]

I got called over to a farmer's place one cold night in winter to help him with a blackbird problem. The problem was they'd fly into the hog houses 'cause they were heated and since they carried disease/etc. they needed to be "taken care of."

I started off plinking with a bb gun but we soon figured out if you shut off the lights and put a flashlight on the ground it was easier to just catch them and break their necks. We filled about 20 5-gal buckets with the things.

[ShawnLee]

I got called over to a farmer's place one cold night in winter to help him with a blackbird problem. The problem was they'd fly into the hog houses 'cause they were heated and since they carried disease/etc. they needed to be "taken care of."

I started off plinking with a bb gun but we soon figured out if you shut off the lights and put a flashlight on the ground it was easier to just catch them and break their necks. We filled about 20 5-gal buckets with the things.
I can imagine that being the descriptive scene in "Silence of the Lambs" except that it'd be the "Silence of the Blackbirds" ~shudder.

I mean, don't get me wrong- it's a job that has to be done and all, but shoot... That's pretty gruesome. It's one thing to shoot them, but to break their necks by hand?

[chrissy]

Yeah, can't top that.

When my aunt ran a local eatery :), I would go in after hours and wax the floors, and clean the grill vents.

Besides that, had "normal" jobs at Hardee's, DQ, gas stations, Glik's, Pizza Hut, AAFES,WM, babysitting, Olive Garden, Jiffy Lube, and UPS tech support. And probably more...

[Napoleon54]

The bait shop/marina I used to work at got me involved with a number of odd tasks.

In the winter we bought fish (yellow perch) from fishermen and resold them to a processor who sold to restaurants etc. The scale used to weigh the fish was kept in a plastic tub to catch all the slime and semen that would drip off/ squirted out of the fish. Every week or so that thing would get filled up and one of us would have to dump out a few gallons of goo and clean it out. It didn't smell until you moved it and it got stirred up, but when that happened it was the nastiest smelling stuff on the face of the earth. Especially since the stuff at the bottom had been sitting around at room temp for a week.

I used to count minnows, worms, crayfish, grubs (maggots), leaches all the time. Count and sort worms for an hour or so and you get about a 1/2 inch layer of worm slime and dirt built up on your fingers. Yum.

Netting minnows was fun work. We'd drag a 100 foot long seine net down the shallow canals of the marina and sort through the catch. We'd catch pan fish all the time, and once in a while a larger game fish such as a bass, walleye, northern pike. Most of it was buckeye minnows (emerald shiners) and shad though. We were after the buckeyes.

We also used to make salted minnows. To do this you prepare a tank of strong salt water brine and dump minnows into it. They can't survive in it so they all try to jump out (so you have to use a tank with high sides) but after a few minutes they suffocate and die. Then you scoop them out, let them dry, count them, and package them in baggies of salt. Trout fishermen use a lot of salted minnows.

Emptying the waste tanks from the camping trailers that stayed there was not fun. 20 gallons of other peoples' poo. :puke:

But there were good things too. Working the gas dock on a hot summer day when all the women in swimwear would come in to gas up the boat was just about the best job a young lad could hope for. :cool:

[Napoleon54]

I can imagine that being the descriptive scene in "Silence of the Lambs" except that it'd be the "Silence of the Blackbirds" ~shudder.

I mean, don't get me wrong- it's a job that has to be done and all, but shoot... That's pretty gruesome. It's one thing to shoot them, but to break their necks by hand?

In the lab it's standard procedure to kill mice by snapping their necks. The neck is pinched against the counter with one hand, then the tail is gripped and jerked upward and away with the other hand. Feeling the neck vertebrae crunch is a sure sign the mouse is dead. "Cervical dislocation" is the proper term.

That's another odd job I've had... laboratory mouse wrangler. :D

[Napoleon54]

Spent a month exercising washing/grooming horses, and cleaning stalls .

Spent another month feeding three other horses and a calf.

Spent some time washing pigs and cleaning stalls.

I miss the country. :sad:

:stupid:

I used to help a former girlfriend at her job cleaning stalls and feeding horses. Another former girlfriend grew up on a dairy farm and we'd go help milk cows occasionally.

I miss that stuff, I love the animals and the farm life. Good honest work. :sad:

[Markel]

In the lab it's standard procedure to kill mice by snapping their necks. The neck is pinched against the counter with one hand, then the tail is gripped and jerked upward and away with the other hand. Feeling the neck vertebrae crunch is a sure sign the mouse is dead. "Cervical dislocation" is the proper term.

That's another odd job I've had... laboratory mouse wrangler. :D
Reminds me of the time some of us helped a friend with a farm slaughter chickens. We'd grab the chicken by the feet, step on the neck and give a tug.

[DarkFury]

So Nap... U never got to be the "armpit sniffer" in the lab?


http://ismindia.org/cases/pandg.html


Clinical trials constituted an important part of P&G’s product development activities. P&G regularly carried out tests on animals. Human tests however provided the most useful data. P&G’s "armpit sniffers" and "bad breath brigades", inhaled employees’ armpits before and after they used the company’s deodorants and mouthwashes. "Trained judges" rated odor from zero (lack of offensive odor) to ten (very strong smell). P&G’s dentists enlisted employees for various experiments involving dental products.

[Napoleon54]

So Nap... U never got to be the "armpit sniffer" in the lab?


http://ismindia.org/cases/pandg.html

EEEEEEW!

I wonder how much that pays? It sure as hell wouldn't be any good for picking up women. Dude to chick: "What do I do for a living? Oh, well, I uh, um, I *cough* sniff armpits *cough*."

[Memo]

Hmm, I worked at a small airplane parts supply company before. Jobs ranged from ordering airplane parts, delivering them to the airport and designing labels for airplane fuel additives. Was pretty interesting.

[uncledaddy]

Reminds me of the time some of us helped a friend with a farm slaughter chickens. We'd grab the chicken by the feet, step on the neck and give a tug.

Did that back on Guam. Also just lopped their heads off, but then you had to chase them around for awhile. A chicken can run for some time after you chop its head off. :gle:

[The Happy Squirrel]

school janitor for on e summer
worked in a wood mill for one summer
CNA for several years
worked in a window fabrication factory
worked in a slaughter house
was a pimp for one night
many salkes and managerial jobs <6 years worth>
own my own business
was a security gaurd for 2 1/2 hours
was a door to door salesman for 93 min
and amn apple picker

thats about it

[zenbooty]

Paperboy for about 3 years.

Fed, put out, and brought in the neighbors horses whenever they vacationed.

Kept my parent's patch of bushes weed free for a weekly allowance as a little kid.

Worked at a concession stand at a pond beach in my hometown. Basically sat out reading all day and handing out hot dogs, microwave pizzas, little cups of cheap fountain sode, and ice cream novelties to kids, their MILFy moms, and some teens. Brilliant job.

McDonald's for 6 weeks.

Wrote a program for a business professor to attempt to analyze a real complicated modeling equation with arrays of variables, summations, etc. I had no idea what I was doing. It was a total POS showing absolutely no understanding of what was required, that I ended up handing off to some grad student of his who no doubt laughed his ass off when he saw it I'm sure. I'm almost ashamed to have accepted money for it. But still, I was a poor student then, and a thousand bucks is a thousand bucks.

Helped my friend's boss load what turned out to be a 2 story apartment's worth of furnishings into a moving truck with the help of my other good friend from school. For $50 bucks apiece. Whoops. I guess that's karma for the last job.

A concert usher a couple of times on campus, getting to see the shows for free.

Security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[uncledaddy]

was a pimp for one night

Could never do this.....I'd be chewing into the profits. :D

[uncledaddy]

McDonald's for 6 weeks.

About 4 weeks longer than I lasted. :)

[oblongmelon]

I used to, and still do, if contacted-reweaving, and repairing vintage rosaries, and painted chalk religious statues..

[The Happy Squirrel]

Could never do this.....I'd be chewing into the profits. :D
it was only one night

hehe funny story
i was sitting at a bar and there was a girl next to who kept talking to me flirting and whatever. the guy next to her kept trying to buy her drinks and hit on her went she went to the rest room he asked me what i was doing told him nothing just enjoying my drink he said i was stepping on his toes <in different verbage> pull all the cash out of his wallet handed me half just to leave the bar <approx $200> i figured sure why not!!

[uncledaddy]

it was only one night

hehe funny story
i was sitting at a bar and there was a girl next to who kept talking to me flirting and whatever. the guy next to her kept trying to buy her drinks and hit on her went she went to the rest room he asked me what i was doing told him nothing just enjoying my drink he said i was stepping on his toes <in different verbage> pull all the cash out of his wallet handed me half just to leave the bar <approx $200> i figured sure why not!!

OMG! CHA GHING! Now why can't stuff like that happen to me? :hmm:

[ShawnLee]

Fed, put out...Wow... You fed someone and then put out? Sounds like a date. (ba-da-ching!)

Security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
That sounds like it'd be a really cool gig.

[tupacboy]

back in college i had to update merchant credit card terminals for a bank to make them Y2K ready. The funny part was that i was on the west coast and was assigned east coast clients only. Got to work at 5 am everyday, my "boss" came in at 8 am, so for 3 hours i had nothing to do because my boss handed out bank ID at that point for saftey reasons, they were scared we would run away with people's bank account numbers. I ended up being the "boss" because one day she decided to say that the morning shift "all looked alike" to her at a meeting. Problem was that all 2 of us were both asian... After updating about 1,000 clients we noticed that the reprogramming didn't work and would make all the terminals reject every credit card anyways, so we had to restart. LOL I got paid $18 an hour for that easy job. hahhha

[Jenny]

I've never really had an odd job, unless you count my current one. ;)

Worked at Little Caesars Pizza twice (once in high school and again in a different town when Scott & I got married), a different pizza place my first semester of college, and babysitting. *laugh*

Oh, I guess I did work for a temp agency for a bit, but that wasn't really odd either. :shrug:

[The Happy Squirrel]

speaking of jobs just found out today that i got the one i applied for so i am super puumped!!!

[uncledaddy]

speaking of jobs just found out today that i got the one i applied for so i am super puumped!!!

Congrats. It's nice when you get what you strive for. :thumb:

[thresher]

I was a boob painter at Eeyore's birthday one year when I was 19. Best one day job ever. Made $90 in tips too. :)

[Pinkgirl36]

I worked at a hair salon that removed Head Lice from peoples head...IT WAS THE MOST ODD DISGUSTING JOB EVER!!!

[chrissy]

Wait, they removed LICE in a salon??

What did they do with the little buggers? I would be worried about them getting to other people!

I would be itching my head daily if I had that job!

I bow to you!

[Markel]

Salon's around here won't touch you if you have head lice. They don't want you in the place - I heard of one stylist that told someone she could lose her license if she ignored lice.

[Napoleon54]

I was a boob painter at Eeyore's birthday one year when I was 19. Best one day job ever. Made $90 in tips too. :)

Not sure I read that right. You were a WHAT??? Details are necessary here!! :drool:

[Paymaster]

I too am awaiting more explanation from thresher.

Or perhaps pictures?

[Memo]

I was a boob painter at Eeyore's birthday one year when I was 19. Best one day job ever. Made $90 in tips too. :)

Nice! haha Eeyore's birthday is awesome, but I don't think anyone else on the forum knows what it is.

[Paymaster]

Nice! haha Eeyore's birthday is awesome, but I don't think anyone else on the forum knows what it is.

We don't, and I am afraid to google it at work, so fill us in...

[Memo]

We don't, and I am afraid to google it at work, so fill us in...
From Wikipedia:



Eeyore's Birthday Party is a day-long festival taking place annually in Austin, Texas since 1963. It typically occurs on the last Saturday of April in Austin's Pease Park.[1] It includes live music, food and drink vending which benefit local non-profit organizations, attendees in colorful costumes, and very large drum circles. Although frequented by children and families, with specific events presented for them by the event organizers, Eeyore's Birthday Party is also known for its high incidence of recreational drug use. The festival is named in honor of Eeyore, a character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.[2]


Here's the link to the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeyore's_Birthday_Party

Basically, a hippie party.

[YoungAmerican]

I made the cardboard back to picture frames.

[Memo]

Oh I remember a good one once. I spent some time being a test subject for psychology research one summer in college. One of the tests was to measure the effect of different drugs on the uh...hardness level of your.....uhh...boner. Basically, get a buzz and watch porno for money.

[uncledaddy]

Oh I remember a good one once. I spent some time being a test subject for psychology research one summer in college. One of the tests was to measure the effect of different drugs on the uh...hardness level of your.....uhh...boner. Basically, get a buzz and watch porno for money.

:gle: So, how did they gauge the difference, hand test? And, who did the testing? :hmm:

[Memo]

:gle: So, how did they gauge the difference, hand test? And, who did the testing? :hmm:

Haha, I was hookd up to a device of sorts. I was hooked up to an EKG and there was this rubber band that was filled with mercury that recorded tensile strength through a wire and also a computer than i had to record my arousal level from 1-10. I was in the room alone but the people running the lab could talk to me over an intercom.

[renovation]

Haha, I was hookd up to a device of sorts. I was hooked up to an EKG and there was this rubber band that was filled with mercury that recorded tensile strength through a wire and also a computer than i had to record my arousal level from 1-10. I was in the room alone but the people running the lab could talk to me over an intercom.
you remember the what they payed you for this ?

[WhiskeyPapa]

I grew up on a farm, so I got my fair share of:

- Cattle dehorning (basically you tie the steer down and cut off the horns with a hacksaw.)
- Castrating animals of all kinds
- Pitching s**t
- Pumping liquid manure
- Butchering chickens, hogs, steers, lambs and more.

The one job I refused to do was artificially inseminating a cow. Without getting too graphic, I'll tell you it involves an arm-length rubber glove.

[Napoleon54]

The one job I refused to do was artificially inseminating a cow. Without getting too graphic, I'll tell you it involves an arm-length rubber glove.
Hehe, and if I remember correctly, it doesn't go where you might think. :hihi:

[guiseppewv]

The one job I refused to do was artificially inseminating a cow. Without getting too graphic, I'll tell you it involves an arm-length rubber glove.

:heh: They make all of the people majoring in Animal & Vet Sciences at WVU do that. It is one of the first things you do in you first A&VS class and it weeds out most of the people that do not have what it takes from what I hear.

[Prngr44]

I have a friend whose REAL job is just that. He's a horse breeder and gets to uh... "jerk" them around to get the goods, then also gets paid to administer the goods.

Apparently there's pretty decent money if you're good. Imagine how he explains that on a first date!

:laugh:

[DarkFury]

Imagine how he explains that on a first date!

:laugh:
His opening line is... "Girl... I sure know how to 'get you off'" :heh:

[kimchicowboy]

i killed lab mice and cut their tails and their ears in the name of science.

[thresher]

Eeyore's Birthday Party.
Pease Park: 1987. A friend of mine scored this great gig painting girl's boobs (only thing was they had to be older than 17, id required) for free + tips. The trick was...he was gay. So, in '86 after a spat with his boyfriend he came home to find his scooter in the drink (Town Lake, now referred to as Lady Bird Lake). Enter me and a friend (both straight, but the only ones sober) and we go INTO Town Lake to retrieve his very wet, but still quite valuable scooter. He says "Thresh, karma will one day strike Devon down and you will be rewarded". Fast forward to a phone call to my parents the night before the gig (he says - "no matter what, tell 'em you're gay" tell who, I ask like an idiot - "Their boyfriends"). The next day was a picture perfect day, nice and hot and lots of happy, willing and ahem...youthful college girls. It was a great gig. Back then the party didn't die until dawn the next day. You would go to bed hearing the drums and wake up with drunks in your lawn. This was perfectly normal to me. Crazy to think about today.

I asked my wife about your...ahem...aid, Memo, and she said it was a penile pletismograph. She worked in a men's prison for rapists and sex offenders so she beats us all.

Eeyores is at Pease Park. Well, I grew up next to Pease Park. My folk's house, wall, Pease Park. Was awesome as a kid - we would find lots of ways to entertain ourselves. Then the gay party community found out that the bathrooms weren't locked at night and the park grew a new reputation and my folks sat my sister and I down (age 11) for a crash course in politely refusing. Anything.

[PiPhiAngel]

at my first job, i sold hot dogs and hot chocolate to mormons. i was once also a linguistic test subject and had to read sentences off of computer monitors into a microphone.