Working (1 Viewer)

Working at my fifth job in six months, which made me think of the man himself. I figured what better time to join this site to say hello to my fellow drunks, degenerates, and solitary heroes.

So a friendly hello to all from here in Los Angeles, CA, where it is currently so hot that the temperature gauge on my car is showing a soaked pair of pendulous balls.
 
What's your secret to getting a new job so quickly?

Pogue's answer is dead on...

Also, adopting the philosophy that nothing is beneath you helps. As does applying for dead end jobs in the private sector which you're clearly overqualified for -I actually enjoy being the only schlub in the mailroom with a higher degree.

And omitting all the jobs that I lost through ugly firings from my resume appears to help as well. In job interviews I describe those "employment gaps" as extended sicknesses. Which I suppose in a way they were...
 
In the space of one year, 1991 or 92, I had around 8-10 jobs. My two favorites were working the swing shift at World Book and News on Caheunga, and night man at Hollywood Billiards in the basement at Hollywood and Western. You know, back when s man could live on $7 an hour. Welcome.
 
Most jobs in my neck of the woods seem to be zero hours contracts run through dubious money grabbing agencies, and workfare. It's slave labour pretty much, actual slave labour, in 2015! If Dickens and Orwell were alive today they would have a wealth of material to draw from. Every time I go out I half expect to see young urchins with bare feet and dirty faces. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up working as a chimney sweep, Britain has gone back to the Victorian days.
 
Black lung aside, there are worse ways to make a living. My low point was about two or three decades ago working at a tanning salon/beauty parlor. I would sit in the backroom and wait until the ladies were done in the tanning bed, then I'd rush in and scrub the oil and sweaty ass prints from the tempered glass with a bucket of dirty water. That's definitely a stink that lingers. But a man does what he has to do. Best of luck to you.

In the space of one year, 1991 or 92, I had around 8-10 jobs. My two favorites were working the swing shift at World Book and News on Caheunga, and night man at Hollywood Billiards in the basement at Hollywood and Western. You know, back when s man could live on $7 an hour. Welcome.

Huh. Surprised I never went to Hollywood Billiards. I used to live on Wilcox and Yucca in the late 90s early 00s and tried to visit every dirty haunt I could while I was there. Thanks.
 
[... My low point was about two or three decades ago working at a tanning salon/beauty parlor. I would sit in the backroom and wait until the ladies were done in the tanning bed, then I'd rush in and scrub the oil and sweaty ass prints from the tempered glass with a bucket of dirty water. That's definitely a stink that lingers. But a man does what he has to do...]
My holy grail was to get a Saturday job on the make up counter in Boots, beside the glamour girls and learn their ways... how to enslave a boy – Fire and Ice or Crushed Rose? (lipstick). Ended up cleaning the burger portacabin opposite the town disco, the smell of burger fat and onions hit you and it was always carnage, felt good when it was all done though.Then a waitress; it was a licenced restaurant and one Saturday the police came in and because I was underage to take drinks to the table, I got punted to the kitchen, back to grating cheese, choping onions and doing a mountain of dishes again.

P.S That job you had would not have been out of place in Fight Club:)
 
The worst job I had was sorting endless sacks of mail in the basement of a law firm at 4 in the morning. Two days of that was enough for me. I fared better as a steam press operator. pressing the most enormous curtains of a size I never thought possible. I stuck that one out for a couple of months. Anger and hatred got me through, I grew to almost like it in a strange way. I was stood in front of a window and I could see a train track with the odd train chugging past. I could day-dream of better things. It wasn't so bad.
 
My suckiest job was probably when I worked for Asplund, the tree cutting company. We were hired out by the city and surrounding counties to trim enourmous trees away from phone lines and homes. I did none of the tree trimming or climbing. I lugged ladders into strange corners between back yards and I had to drag gigantic limbs and branches from said backyards around these big ass homes to the machine that chopped them all up like Buscemi in FARGO. I usually fed 'em through the chipper. Had to make sure no human limbs got caught. Also I had to stand in the middle of the road directing traffic around the chipper in 100 degree weather with jeans, long sleeves, helmet, protective glasses, and gloves because why? Regulations young man! Thank god I was only 18/19.
 
You ain't been demeaned until you've been a telemarketer. Even the homeless looked down on me. I'd park my car outside the office and some bum pushing a grocery cart would leave $5 under my windshield wiper.

Best job ever was Radio Shack. I could rob the till all fucking night because I knew they would blame the thick-haired macho man for it. Finally they fired his ass. Then they knew they fucked up when the till kept coming up short every night. I decided right then that I had better get back in to telemarketing.
 
"Thick haired macho man," "rob the til all fucking night," the thing where the homeless guy gave you money! That's just tremendous stuff. Have you ever thought about writing it all down in a more formal way? Sounds like it would make a cool book !
 
I once counted cars for traffic planning. I sat 12 hours in a parked car on a crossroad together with three other guys and had to count the cars going in "my direction". When you had to pee one of the other guys had to take over your place.

My brain imploded after about one hour and the monotony forced you in a zen-like mindstate. Suddenly the police arrived. The bank on the other side of the street had called because there was a parked car out there with four guys in it who never moved.

After that, I decided to enter the Secret Service.
 
Was planning on starting a new thread asking about jobs, but my better judgement told me to use the search bar. Just wanted to know some of your experiences working. Have any of you had one of Bukowski's jobs? How was your experience?

Black lung aside, there are worse ways to make a living.
One of my mother's grandparents worked in a factory where there was a lot of smoke involded for a while. He became sick and they had to drain his lungs of a lot of black liquid. Must have been pretty nasty.

You ain't been demeaned until you've been a telemarketer.
Just at the end of last year I made a pass at what was kind of a telemarketing job. It was at a well-known multi-level company, and it consisted of selling "healthy" frying pans. Very pricey stuff. You basically had to call relatives, friends and any other person on your contacts list and tell them you were just gonna give them a short nutrional talk that they required you to do at your new company. That was the hook. You visited their home with your manager and by the time they let you in you were entering their kitchen, shaming them about their cooking products and soon after offering them yours.

I was offered the job by a clean-cut, you-know-it-when-you-see-him saleman that went to college with me. I rejected the job many times, and even took and passed the interviews twice before actually accepting, more out of need for my own money than liking the idea of the job. So they gave me a final chance and I took it. I was there four days. The third day working there I got a bad stomach ache, and decided to go home, despite my manager, the clean-cut saleman, telling me about working through the pain or some saleman inspirational shit like that. By the fourth day I was feeling well, but I decided to Bukowski my way out of that job anyways, going to bar with a friend for a few drinks. Never called in to tell them what the hell had happened to me. I'm not bad with the talk, but the idea of being an annoying saleman to my friends and relatives just wasn't sitting right with me. Plus, the inspirational talks every morning, the work hours expanding all the way to 10 o'clock, and the fact that the transportation for you and your manager came out of your pocket

Right now I'm working as the thing I swore I'd never be... a teacher! An english teacher at a school that specializes in teaching so. It's good for what it's worth. Short hours (at least for me) and good pay for them. It has helped me save money for my second go-around at college. Although with classes being online now, it has become a pain in the ass, with more unpaid hours dedicated to checking activities. and just figuring shit out. Still glad I'm able to keep my job so far with how lazy I am. Any other teachers out here?
 
Having had several jobs in my life I am quite pleased I quit my jobs for others...variety and all that! If I stayed in one job all my life, my soul would have died by now.

I have been a cleaner, a bartender, admin slave, shop assistant, tattoo studio manager, school clerk, a cake making factory worker, Christmas gift packer and now I work in education...what's next? Who knows!
 

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