Odd Jobs

When kids are asked what they want to do when they grow up, they usually have answers like teacher, fireman or chef. But of course, life sometimes throws a curve, and people can end up in careers that they never would have dreamed of. And then there are people who end up in jobs with titles that either make ...

By Justin Thompson Despite August's lamentable job growth numbers, you could actually earn money going on a wild goose chase. Similar to this, but probably with more tools and a bit more professional decorum. ...

Do you ever wonder who decided potato chips should come in such a loud, crinkly package? And why a bag of chips? Why not a box? Or a can? Someone had to decide. Luckily, you can take comfort in knowing that the "bag of chips" decision was made by an expert. Packaging, the art of developing appropriate ...

My very first job was working for the local A&W restaurant in my small hometown of Kamloops, British Columbia. I remember how excited I was telling my parents that I would be working five days a week in the kitchen of this popular eatery. On my very first day of work I managed to break three A&W mugs ...

At 23 I was selling dresses at I.Magnin in San Francisco. This was the store for Ferragamo shoes and Louis Vuitton handbags. There were seven other ladies on Fifth Floor Dresses. Each of them had been there at least 20 years (Miss Lee had been there 40 years). I was an irritation to them, the sole American, and ...

Before I was writing full-time, as I try to manage to do now, I made sure to clear as many weeks as possible to write. I always tried to make it a point to live by my motto: "All Art All the Time." This meant I took a lot of temp jobs -- something that I could do for a set period of time, pay my rent, buy some ...

The medical community is paying attention to the link between the body and mind. The belief that healing the body can start with healing thought processes is standard at the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Stress Reduction Program. Therefore, Penelope Zannikos's career path in assisting the ...

In California, we filled your tank, for a while, but then came self-serve and the little booth between the pump aisles where we also sold candy, gum and cigarettes, wiper blades, dip sticks and, unaccountably, those plastic fold-up rain caps, as well as oil cans, gas cans and spouts. ...

Writing often didn't pay the bills, so mine has also been a life of teaching school, digging graves, making rounds, cutting lawns, and many other gerunds with objects attached. In Sinatra's words, I have been "a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king," only with less lyricism and charm, and with ...