I don’t think I’ve had a longer day of job hunting in a while. Not that I sent in more resumes, it doesn’t mean that. I’ve had days where I sent in 
more, a great many more, but these ones were well researched, I took much in the way of extra time making sure I was making the right moves at the right places. Checking out the companies I was sending resumes to before sending them in, making sure that the commute isn’t a killer, that the work is something I can handle, and that I fit the requirements of the companies in question.
I also did some research, that led me to a website that looked interesting. And it taught me something about me. That is not a surprise though, I look to learn something about myself everywhere I turn, so it’s pretty damn easy for me to pull that little stunt off. That something about me is that I like jobs that most people don’t. I know I hate jobs that sane people hate, like copy operator, and other office mule – type jobs. But I looked at the worst jobs of 2011, as listed by the fine people at careercast.com and found that I wanted to do 5 of the 7 worst, most stressful, least liked jobs in America. It would have been 7 for 7 but driving was involved with 2 of them. I will not drive a cab, and EMT involves driving as well, or else it would have been 6 for 7.
Seriously, what is wrong with wanting to work an oil rig? or as a lumberjack? So it’s hard labor? So what? I happen to like busting my ass. Maybe they could kick my ass far more than I think is possible, but I’m game. I’ll be an iron worker. Gimme a rivet gun, and let me bolt girders together untethered 80 stories up, I can handle that. Roofer? Please. Stevedore? Hell, I WANT to be a stevedore. If I could find a way to do that kind of work, that hard manual labor that most of the soft fat bastards that inhabit and inhibit this world dislike, I’d be there in a heartbeat.
Problem is, that most jobs of that variety are hard as hell to find on-line. Wanna work in IT? It’s all over the damn place. Real Estate? Millions of openings, despite no one to sell to(how that works I have no idea, and don’t want to) Salesman? Good lord, there are tons of ads I see every day for evil pricks of that particular variety.
But real, honest work? Work you can put your back into? It’s hard to find, at least hard to find for me.
If I’m just not looking in the right places, by all means, I have ears and eyes, they work, guide me to them, so that I may work, and provide for my wife and myself.
It’d be nice to be able to do that again.
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I have been thinking about what I want to do with what remains of my life. I’m 43. It’s a bit late in life to have that kind of thought, but… better late than never… i guess … maybe.
And that thought process, for what it’s worth, starts out with elimination of what I don’t want to do. And jobs I should never be allowed to do, because they and I just don’t fit.
It starts out of course, with copy operator. Having done it for 20+ years, I hate it. I have a mental block about the job. The very thought of it makes me twitch. I never want to even see a copy machine again as long as I live. Anyone who would willingly think of that job as a career needs to play in traffic blindfolded more often.
Office clerk/ Administrative work. I can’t sit down for long without needing to get up and walk around. In the 30 minutes it has taken to write this, I have had to get up 4 times because I don’t like sitting down for long periods of time, no matter what I am doing.
Salesman/ Marketing. No. Just no. I will not do the devil’s bidding. I may be crazy, nasty, rude, crude, and ugly down to my very soul, but my soul doesn’t have that kind of twisted toxicity to it. I’m not heartless scumbag enough for this line of work.
Taxi driver/ Bus driver/ Any driver. Just no, squared, but this job isn’t evil. As a matter of fact this one is quite the opposite, it is good work doing good stuff for good people. I just can’t drive. I can’t do it. I’ve had bones broken and been turned into a bloody quivering mess as a pedestrian, thanks to drivers. When I think of driving, I think of blood, broken bones, and soul crushing agony. I can’t do it. No. Just no.
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Which leads me to thinking about dream jobs. The things I think I could, in a perfect world do, easily, and be happy at:
Music teacher/ professional musician. If only I had that piece of paper, that college degree. A degree is all that keeps me from following a musical career path, and not having money saved because I have been out of work for so long just makes that dream less possible. But dammit I would be great. I love music, I love playing music. I can do it, but the world says it needs apiece of paper with the words “properly trained by such and such institution” on it. Never did get that. People are capable of learning a great deal on their own, and in some cases more than colleges can teach.
Reporter/newscaster. For anyone who has read this space for any length of time, this is a gimme. I watch the news, I write about it a lot, though not as much when matters of great import hit my personal life (like my current job search.) With a press pass, a pen, paper, recording equipment, and my love of the language, and I could bring any story on earth to life. Want.
Politician. Another gimme, but this one is more of a question mark. I don’t know the inner workings of the halls of power well enough to think I could just up and work in the state assembly or some such place. I would have to find some ground floor job in some politicians office and start from there. No one starts at the top, ya know.
Third Baseman for the New York Yankees. If yer gonna dream, dream big, I say. Move over A-Rod, a sub .200 hitter with power to no fields and a complete lack of ability to catch anything that even resembles a fly ball is coming after yer job. 😛
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Hire me America, so I can get on with my friggin life. G’night.
Casus Belli 