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Sunday, August 10, 2008

A little bit of honesty...

It's funny. I just read MC's last post, and I have to say, it wasn't very fair. Considering she started this blog without my knowledge, I can't help but be at a disadvantage when it comes to posting. It was only by me being bored and looking through her links that I was reminded that she started this at all. That being said, Mary Catherine is probably right. I never have been much of a writer, although if you force me to, I can occasionally put pen to paper so to speak. Since my wife recently posted with her jobs, I think I will follow suit:

Random stuff guy at Inspirations:

There was this tiny Christian book store across the street from the Jr. high school I went to in Stevens Point Wisconsin call Inspirations. It's where a lot of the college students that went to my church worked, and quite a few of them also helped with the youth group. There was a short period of time when our school hosted an after hours computer club. The problem was transportation though. I lived quite a bit away from the school, and the club didn't have school provided transportation afterward. In order for me to be a part of it, I would go to the club, hang out for 45 minutes or so, and then walk over to inspirations. There, Bonnie would put me to work doing various odd and end tasks. Nothing dangerous, and nothing on the books either. Basically, I could come and hang out in the back, go out front and do some facing of product, go in back and dismantle cardboard boxes for recycling, and one time I got to call an order in for her while she was handling some emergency. All in all fun times, and she gave me some concert tickets now and again to make up for the lack in pay. Eventually my mom would come and pick me up after she got done with work, and that would be that. After the fall semester, Computer club was shut down due to budget constraints, but I always appreciated her giving me a place to stay.


Cashier at Copps Food Store

Copps is like Kroger in Wisconsin. I started out doing bagging, but quickly moved up to cashier. Eventually I found myself in the liquor department and then the gas station. I was almost to the service desk position when I graduated 2 years later. I really appreciate some of the lessons that I learned there, including never try to get romantically involved with your co-workers :-p
Lots of hot sweaty work pushing carts. If you ever see someone leave their cart out in the middle of the parking lot, be kind and push it to one of the corals... You'll be doing them a big favor.

Blockbuster Employee

This is probably the one job that I don't think fondly of, and it's a shame that's the case. The people were friendly, the movies were fun, and I've never worked at another spot where you could watch a full Packers game without getting in trouble. The biggest reason I didn't like it was because of the corporate policies. Now, I understand why rules exist. I understand that they have to put pressure on you to get sales. But honestly, the store that I worked at was one of the few stores making money, and the majority of the time it was because we broke the rules on selling product. I'm sure if you ever go into a store like best buy, for example, you're going to expect to get hounded by at least one sales person trying to make their numbers. But if I'm going to go rent a movie, I don't want someone recommending something unless I ask for a suggestion. And the beautiful thing about blockbuster employees is that chances are they've already seen any movie your interested in. Now, if you leave it at that, great. But 9 times out of 10, on a Friday night I had to put on a red apron and walk around the store suggesting movies and the "programs" that blockbuster offered to "save you money". I got fed up with the corporate pressure, and left.

Scream-Savers

This one came out of left field, and has caused me to grow the most of any job I have worked. My cousin-in-law, Chris Kenney, started a business trying to meet the IT needs of small to medium sized businesses. Now originally, he had me doing some home repair jobs for him, but I eventually moved up to wiring some new construction he had gotten wind of. This job forced me to really come out of my shell. It's too bad I wasn't who am I now back then, because I think we could have really made something come together if I had been more... prepared. However, I am incredibly thankful for how this job prepared me to think and work in my current job, which is:

System Administrator for Print Fulfillment Services.

I have had the distinct pleasure for working for two very good bosses for the positions I have been in. Chris taught me to be extroverted when it came to my work, and has improved my customer relations skills incredibly. Ed Engelking, My current boss, has taught me how to lead a group of talented people to accomplish a very challenging group of projects, both through example, and by letting me take the reigns at certain points in time. He has told me in times past that he sees me in his type of position at some other location, and I have to say, after the week I've just had in his shoes, I'm not sure right now whether I want it or not. That's not to say I won't eventually want that type of position, or maybe at a company a little more... stable. Then again, I have a few more weeks to try and see what he does on a daily basis, and run with that info for future goals.

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