October 24, 2007
Workin’ for the Man – Part 1
My cousin, Fernando asked me recently what other kind of work I had done before I turned geek, and why I am not doing that anymore. I kinda put it on the back burner for a while. However, since this blog is all about letting my family know who I am, I thought I’d tell a few work stories. These are the many types of jobs I have held over the years. Please forgive me if I mess up the chronology of it all.
- Electrician’s Helper
- Sheet Metal Mechanic’s Helper
- Music Librarian
- Apprentice to a Brass Musical Instrument Technician
- Manufacturing Woodstove mats
- Tree Planter/Tree Killer
- Forest Firefighter
- Painter
- Iron Worker
- Cook / Restaurant Manager
- Musical Instrument Repair Technician
- Business Owner
- Computer Programmer
- Other IT stuff
I will chop it into a few separate entries and then in the end, I may join them together in their own page.
Electrician’s Helper
When I was finishing my 8th grade year of school, my dad (a homebuilding contractor) arranged for me to work for his electricical subcontractor, Heyward. I was legally too young to work, but Heyward paid my $25 a week (a princely sum for me) out of his pocket. The work was hard and hot and I am sure that I wasn’t a good worker. Once while digging a ditch for an electrical wire, I was so tired and uninspired that I stopped to rest. I started working again when the boss arrived. I don’t remember him being angry, but he didn’t let me off the hook completely either. He told me that the way to do it is to work when the boss isn’t around so when he arrives, you can stop and shoot the breeze with him. Good advice. I learned to install plugs and switches in houses. The hard part (at least for a youngster) is installing the cover plates on the wall after they have painted without getting the wall dirty. Although I am sure I didn’t recognize it at the time, it was a great experience for me. Thanks Dad.
Next time, I’ll tell a story or two about being a Sheet Metal Mechanic’s Helper…
Workin’ for the Man Series
Jimazing Thoughts 
Dave Anderson Uncle/Brother said,
October 25, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Andy would have been glad to have an electrician in the family. I don’t know if connecting wall switches qualifies or not but it’s a good start.
UB