Telephone Worker, Teacher, Tour Guide, Theater Manager ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

          Telephone worker?  Yeah, done that plenty.  Sales, research, customer service, fundraising--I've done it all.  Of course, much work involves the telephone so it's not surprising that most of us have used this tool in some capacity during our working lives.  It's not what I want to do to make a living, but it is a vital tool for work in our time and has been for decades.

           Teacher could have been a real possibility for me.  When I was attending University of Tennessee back in the early 1970s my major was English with a career goal of becoming credentialed to teach.  My plan was to teach high school or middle school so I ended up taking a lot of teaching courses. But then I dropped out of college to start working.  Although I tried substitute teaching, being a full-time educator is not something I think I would have enjoyed.  I'm glad I did what I did in my life.

           Touring the country with road shows might have been a good credential for being a tour guide.  In fact, each year with new travelers on my tour I often felt like a guide as I took these unseasoned travelers to visit sites across the country that I had enjoyed on previous tours.  I kind of enjoy being a tour guide for family and friends so I might enjoy this as a job.

         Similarly, theater manager might have been a good path for me to have taken.  I've played many a fine theater and visited many others.  As noted in previous posts, I am a show business guy at heart.  I love the theater and most of my working life was spent in management.  Theater manager sounds like the ideal placement for me!

         How have you used the telephone in your working life?  Have you had any experience in the field of teaching?   Can you recall any tour guides in your life that you thought were particularly outstanding?

Sales, Security, Stage Manager, Showman, Silly Fellow ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

          Sales is really not for me.  I'm not much of a salesman, but maybe because I'm too honest.  A good salesperson will pride themselves on being able to sell just about anything no matter how good it is or what it is. I'm more apt to talk a perspective customer out of buying something.  But I have had my moments in sales so I guess I haven't been a complete failure at sales.  I'd just rather not do it.

         Security is another field in which I have no interest in doing myself.  I like to feel secure, but I'd prefer someone else to provide that security.  Sadly safety doesn't seem to be that much of an issue with many people these days.  At least not to those in power unless it's keeping themselves secure.

           Stage manager is more to my liking.  This is a job I've done for periods in my life and I enjoyed doing it.  But I like things related to show business whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes.  I've been a showman, not in any huge way, but in a satisfactory way to appease my own interests.  Yes, showman at heart is what I am.

           Or am I just a silly fellow pursuing fantasies that at times I have achieved, but mostly dreaming too big to ever make it reality.  Dreaming is fine, but it shouldn't interfere with the real every day life.  I suppose I've created balance in my life.  But I'm still a silly fellow--some might say.

          Are you adept at selling?  Did you have show business dreams at any time of your life?  Do you think your life pursuits have been silly or have you accomplished just as much as you ever hoped and dreamed?

Railroad Worker, Retailer, Radio DJ, Roustabout, Roadie, Road Warrior ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

           Railroads have been a fascination for me since I was a young child.  But railroads have fueled many imaginations since their inception nearly 300 years ago.  Aside from that fact, railroading might have been passed down through my family heritage.  For a while my maternal grandfather worked on a railroad.  That was before I was born, though I often heard stories about his working on a railroad operating a steam engine.  Working on a railroad not only sounds interesting, but it also sounds like a good topic for a song.

         Retailer is a common occupation that is not too bad to pursue even if it is often not particularly lucrative.  Most of my jobs dealing with tangible goods were related to the wholesale end of selling.  In the late eighties I did a few month stint working at a Radio Shack. I did enjoy the work environment and the people I encountered, but, alas, I didn't have a good grasp on what I was selling.  Still, the upper management did attempt to recruit me into managing a store.  That store would have been farther than I wanted to commute so I was hesitant to take it.  Then a wholesale position opened up for me and that was the end to my retail job.  I'd rather sell merchandise wholesale to retailers anyway.

        Radio DJ sounds like a dream job to me.  I'd do that one now if I had a good offer.  However I doubt whether I'll be getting that offer anytime soon.  I don't know that my voice is all that good to be a radio personality anyway.  But spinning discs on some late night radio show sounds kind of cool.  I'd play some weird music until the guys on top told me not to anymore.

        I was frequently around roustabouts when I was working in circuses or carnivals.  I'd rather be that kind of roustabout than one that works on oil rigs.  The pay would be a lot less, but I'd still be under a show business spell.  Still, it would be a rough life and I don't think I'd be cut out for that.  Likewise being a roadie for a rock and roll band.  It might be a glamorous life in some ways, but I'd rather be on the stage than setting it and cleaning it up.

       Most of my life I've been a "road warrior" as I've traveled the continent playing shows all over the place.   I've become very adapted to travel since I've been doing it since childhood.  I love the road and I am suited to the lifestyle of traveling.  Road life has a lure for many of us.  I'm one of those.

        Do enjoy long road trips?     Have you taken any extensive train trips?    What retail selling experiences have you had?