DQ judging!!

high jump bar replacer

my seat for the day...

first day of work: optimistic!

I'm so far from home, you can't see the Y mountain

last week of work: ready to leave

freedom at last!!!

So I realized something when I got my latest job: I have worked 4 jobs this summer. One of them has been consistent the entire summer, but the other 3 have been variable, and rather different in all their requirements. I just thought it would be interesting to compare the different jobs, and reasons I don’t have them any more, or why I got them in the first place, and what I liked or didn’t like about them.

The first variable job was a “Track Meet Worker” in May. I got to help with the actual runnings and goings on of the meets themselves. The first meet I went to was a college track meet, and it was way low key because I think there was one other school there, and almost no one goes to college track meets. But the other two were definitely high school meets, the first being an invitation meet and the other one being the Utah State Track Meet, where all the best of the best came to compete. I liked working those a lot better because working a high school track meet reminded me of what it was like to run in one, even a really big one (which I only did twice in my high school career). The first high school track meet I was a line judge, which meant that I had to watch all the runners in their lanes and make sure they weren’t running in the wrong lane or stepping over the line too much. It was pretty fun, although I didn’t see much wrong. Even in high school I didn’t really run outside the lines ever, so I figured the runners in these races were probably as good (if not better) than I had been. There was maybe one time in a 400m where it was questionable to me, but I didn’t ever DQ any one. And along with watching that they stayed in their lanes, I had to watch all the hurdlers to make sure they were going over them properly and weren’t hitting other runners hurdles and messing them up. After the events I would also help take the hurdles down. It was a great job, but I definitely got a sunburn, because I forgot to put on much sunscreen and I was honestly out in the sun for 7-9 hours or so.
The next meet I went to,  I had mono, so my mom and grandma didn’t want me to work, but I figured I could get a job doing not much and still be fine. Mono is only contagious if you share saliva (sharing food or drink or...kissing: hence the “kissing disease”) and I wasn’t planning on sharing saliva with anyone, so I wouldn’t be much of a hinderance to anyone else. And I wouldn’t do anything too strenuous so I could last the whole meet. Luckily I got a job being a high jump pole replacer. I got to put the high jump pole back on the stand if someone knocked it down. I sat for most of the day, and tried to stay out of the way of everyone. This was also the first job I did (at the college meet) so I knew I had it in the bag. It was definitely a really chillax day, and I got sun (but remembered sunscreen that time so I didn’t get a burn). I was sad there weren’t going to be any more meets because I would have loved to work at more meets, but it was what it was.

The next job I had was at the call center Opinionology, in Lindon. There were many interesting tidbits about that job that made it interesting, but there were also a few reasons why that job didn’t fit my life. First off: I was not a call sales man, which I liked because I felt like I would be a bad sales person. Actually, I still feel that way, but I do have more confidence in my ability to talk to people right now than I did before this job. Which would bring me to the second reason it was a cool job. I definitely learned how to talk professional and civilly to total strangers that I had not met, nor would I ever meet them. Granted, we were really only supposed to read what was on the screen, but I got to talk to many people even through the script on the screen for me. And I also got to talk to a LOT of interesting people. I wish I had written about this sooner, because there were so many funny things that happened on different days I’m sure I don’t remember them all now, but I’ll recount a few of my favorite people that I talked to.
I talked to a lady who just wanted to chat with me because she was so lonely. But she told me about her life, and asked about my life. She told me to get into the working at grocery stores because they pay well, and told me to live exactly how I want to live my life while I can.
I also talked to a few men, while I was asking them political questions, who claimed extremist ideals: communism and nazism. They were extremely nice men, and they were fun to talk to. I would almost say that they claimed those stances to be funny more than because they seriously believed them.
The best (and worst) I heard though, was when I was calling people in Florida on my last night working: my shift ended at about 8pm, and we were supposed to be making calls up to that point. My supervisors had us calling people in Florida to poll their opinions, but because it was already about 7:45 here, it was about 9:45 in Florida-not a nice time to be calling people ever. One couple told me that I was breaking Florida laws by calling them so late, and they took down the name of the company I was calling on behalf of, so that they could sue them. I was just glad they didn’t ask for my information because it really wasn’t my fault I was calling them. I would have stopped the poll much earlier, realizing the time difference, if I had been a supervisor, but I wasn’t. It was that night that I really was glad I had quit. I liked talking to people on the phone, and I liked knowing about all the hot button issues around the country, but it was in Lindon-which was a 40 minute bike ride (or 45 minute bus ride) and I was getting home too late to be getting enough sleep for my better job. And also, there were people that would get mad and yell at you, or hours on end where you wouldn’t be able to talk to any one, because they didn’t have numbers to call, or people weren’t answering, or they were refusing to respond to questions. I’m glad I took the job though, so I know what to expect if I ever get desperate enough for money to go back to a call center, and also as an experience builder because I learned a lot about myself and about others as I talked to them on the phone.

The last variable job I have had this summer is actually ongoing right now. I wish I had more pictures of it, but they absolutely forbid phones on you at any time during your shift, so I just leave mine at home and don’t get any pictures. But (drum roll please) my current variable job is being an event staff worker at the home football games. I get to scan tickets and watch all the different sorts of people go in and out of the games. I’m on the west side of the stadium, which I’m sure gets a lot less traffic, and it is also near the visitor seating, so I get to see almost as many visiting fans as I get to see BYU fans. But it’s pretty great. I’ve seen a few of my friends go through, as well as cute babies, and adorable old couples who are still going to the games (talk about loyalty to your alma mater). I’ve worked 2 games already and worked both in rain and shine (so I’m like a mailman!!) and although the shift is super long and I really don’t get to see any of the game, I still like my job quite a bit.

I’d talk about my constant job, but I’d rather just get this post up. I’ll just say I’m an early morning custodian in the HFAC, which means I need to get to bed soon or I’ll be grumpy in the morning (again…)