Silly Jobs

'Tis the season! This means that I'm working, as I have been for every break since I graduated high school. As I start my new job, I think the time is appropriate to reflect on my resume. Listed below are all of the jobs I've worked, starting with the oldest. Silly? Maybe. But I've been pretty blessed as far as cheap labor goes (my Dad never hesitates to mention the beet cannery)--I've learned some stuff and earned some dollars along the way.


#1 Translator for Eugene Urology Specialists
The Good: I got to work on my Spanish, and was well-payed.
The Bad/Ugly: AWKWARD. Awkwardawkward. My dad is a urologist.

#2 Ice Cream Scooper for Cold Stone Creamery
The Good: People who buy ice cream are happy. Free ice cream. The owner of the store took us white water rafting.
The Bad/Ugly: Carpel tunnel.

#3 Arb Crew in the Carleton Arboretum
The Good: Picking seeds. Destroying Buckthorn. Prairie Burns.
The Bad/Ugly: Huddling behind a Burr Oak to protect myself from a -5 degree wind chill.

#4 Gottshalks Customer Service Assistant
The Good: Gift wrap?
The Bad/Ugly: Silver Bells seventeen million times a day. Angry customers. Coming into work at 4 am on Christmas Eve. (This is the only job I've quit. I'm not proud of this, but, in the same situation, I would quit again.)

#5 Paper Grader for Spanish 102
The Good: Drawing happy koalas on people's papers when they did a good job.
The Bad/Ugly: Correcting multiple choice tests.

#6 Arts and Crafts Counselor at Jameson Ranch Camp
The Good: Camel hunts, downhill running, and stinging nettle tea. Singing around rose arbor and sleeping under the stars.
The Bad/Ugly: Knotted friendship bracelets.

#7 Desk Person for Campus Activities (This is my current campus job.)
The Good: I get paid to do my homework.
The Bad/Ugly: Sometimes I actually have to do work.

#8 Borders Cashier
The Good: Intimate contact with books.
The Bad/Ugly: Holiday consumerism, cash registers, and Borders Rewards memberships.

#9 House-sitting for the Washburns
The Good: Two adorable huskies. Three full seasons of Scrubs on DVD.
The Bad/Ugly: Nutria massacres in the front yard.

#10 REU Intern at the Marine Science Institute
The Good: Diversity of avian life in Port Aransas. Mastering Microsoft Powerpoint.
The Bad/Ugly: Rotten seaweed and 100% humidity.

#11 Data Transcriber for Oregon Urology Specialists
The Good: I can listen to music and make my own hours. The people are hilarious, and there's tons of free food.
The Bad/Ugly: This is the most tedious thing that has ever happened to me.