- Jun 11, 2014
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Various Jobs We Have Had
- Thread starter LagoonGator68
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- Jun 11, 2014
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I have a bunch, but among the worst was a job I had when I 16 scooping ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins. The owner was this little dude that obsessed about money. He kept the AC set at 80 and had a lock on it so we couldn't turn it down. There was a movie theater next door, and when the movies would let out, it seemed as if the entire theater would stream over to our store. We'd be so packed that the line would be stretching out the front door, meaning 80 degrees, with the front door open and dozens of people respirating was now up to like 120 degrees kelvin. Add to that, we were running all over the place because we were so busy and ole Gatorbreath was a sweater in the heat. Major league sweater. If you look at the rosters from our '84 Olympic team in LA, Gatorbreath was an alternate on the US sweating team.
Well, those tubs of ice cream require bending over to scoop them out, and in those hot, busy working conditions, I'd have streams of sweat coming off my chin, nose and the bill of my cap going the only place gravity would allow. Straight down. Right into the tubs of ice cream.
As I recall, I lasted maybe a month at that gig before I began a long, summertime job career as a laborer and carpenter's helper. Those gigs were much better suited to me than any in the foodservice industry. Though one upside to pitching ice cream & sweat was the quart of pralines & cream I'd liberate each night....
Well, those tubs of ice cream require bending over to scoop them out, and in those hot, busy working conditions, I'd have streams of sweat coming off my chin, nose and the bill of my cap going the only place gravity would allow. Straight down. Right into the tubs of ice cream.
As I recall, I lasted maybe a month at that gig before I began a long, summertime job career as a laborer and carpenter's helper. Those gigs were much better suited to me than any in the foodservice industry. Though one upside to pitching ice cream & sweat was the quart of pralines & cream I'd liberate each night....
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- Jun 19, 2014
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- Aug 4, 2014
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FIFY
I mean, c'mon. Who doesn't enjoy a good "scooping" now and then?
OK, I give up. What does that even mean?
- Jul 29, 2014
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summer of '91, just graduated high school & my first actual "job" - i had been work'n for years, but errthing was cash up to that point. mostly pitch'n melons, or pickn' something, in the fields around B-town in the summer, or work'n carpentry type jobs with my dad/uncle (roofing)
Western Auto in Lake Butler for Mr. B - grunt/clerk type stuff, help'n customers, get'n crickets, yada, yada, yada - mostly i remember listen'n to a lot of bad country music.
back then (maybe still now too) there was a law (maybe a FL law) that said if it was your first job the employer could pay less than min wage (either a % of, or previous min wage pay, can't remember) so while min wage for err one else was like $4.25, I was making $3.35/hr - i was laid off late summer cause lack of work, but that was OK, i was headed to Santa Flush in the the fall and didn't need to drive to LB for work.
Fall of '91 - worked the buffet @ Ryan's on main for while - crazy stories, create your own concoctions in the kitchen, weird employee parties - etc... but we never, i mean never did anything to the food (not that i knew about - some may have though i just never knew about it) - there was this one time that employees had a party with some of the best steaks i err had, not sure where they came from though
eventually moved to the front line taking orders and knocked it out of the park for my bosses so they would take me golf'n with them at the par 3 course off Newberry Rd, i think. Westend? the one with night golf - i just drove the cart, but that was better than hitting balls you couldn't find in the dark N E way.
summer of '92, i worked an OPS position at Tacachale on Waldo Road, mostly just maintenance stuff with this older guy from the Brooker area that everyone knew. great guy, he just never held a steady job. it started in the mornings driving an old truck around picking up the bagged trash from the residence houses and taking to the dumpster. i think i drove more miles at 5 mph that summer than the rest of my life combined. after the trash run it would be on to various odd & end jobs helping the other maintenance crew. it was really cool when the lawn guy was out and i was able drive the zero turn mower
you can never get the image of walk'n round a corner to see two mentally handicapped individuals going at it as hard as they could on a picnic table (or other various locals).
i choose to believe that they were able to sneak away from the residence staff to do such things, but I'm sure there were a lot of low accountability people work'n those positions.
one thing i learned - no one takes more breaks during the day than state employees. it was like almost err time i turned around it was time to head back to the maintenance shed for a break of some kind. had some great BBQ's that summer though.
Western Auto in Lake Butler for Mr. B - grunt/clerk type stuff, help'n customers, get'n crickets, yada, yada, yada - mostly i remember listen'n to a lot of bad country music.
back then (maybe still now too) there was a law (maybe a FL law) that said if it was your first job the employer could pay less than min wage (either a % of, or previous min wage pay, can't remember) so while min wage for err one else was like $4.25, I was making $3.35/hr - i was laid off late summer cause lack of work, but that was OK, i was headed to Santa Flush in the the fall and didn't need to drive to LB for work.
Fall of '91 - worked the buffet @ Ryan's on main for while - crazy stories, create your own concoctions in the kitchen, weird employee parties - etc... but we never, i mean never did anything to the food (not that i knew about - some may have though i just never knew about it) - there was this one time that employees had a party with some of the best steaks i err had, not sure where they came from though
eventually moved to the front line taking orders and knocked it out of the park for my bosses so they would take me golf'n with them at the par 3 course off Newberry Rd, i think. Westend? the one with night golf - i just drove the cart, but that was better than hitting balls you couldn't find in the dark N E way.
summer of '92, i worked an OPS position at Tacachale on Waldo Road, mostly just maintenance stuff with this older guy from the Brooker area that everyone knew. great guy, he just never held a steady job. it started in the mornings driving an old truck around picking up the bagged trash from the residence houses and taking to the dumpster. i think i drove more miles at 5 mph that summer than the rest of my life combined. after the trash run it would be on to various odd & end jobs helping the other maintenance crew. it was really cool when the lawn guy was out and i was able drive the zero turn mower
you can never get the image of walk'n round a corner to see two mentally handicapped individuals going at it as hard as they could on a picnic table (or other various locals).
i choose to believe that they were able to sneak away from the residence staff to do such things, but I'm sure there were a lot of low accountability people work'n those positions.one thing i learned - no one takes more breaks during the day than state employees. it was like almost err time i turned around it was time to head back to the maintenance shed for a break of some kind. had some great BBQ's that summer though.
- Jun 14, 2014
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I crewed an ocean going motor/sailing yacht before cowboying at Rodeheaver Boy's Ranch for a year. Tough jobs, but loved them both, especially the cowboy gig. Got me into the best shape of my life... then I finished college at UCF.
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- Sep 24, 2015
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Worked in a grocery warehouse for 2 summers when I was 13 and 14 grading cucumbers on a conveyor belt. Had to be at work at 8am and worked as late as 2am sometimes. About 10 of us that hung out together worked there. We would get 2 breaks a day, one for lunch and one for supper. We spent our breaks playing basketball on a cheap hoop that was chained to a pole inside the warehouse.
