This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, April 22, 2024

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

 


#AtoZChallenge 2024 letter S


          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?









Saturday, April 20, 2024

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

 

#AtoZChallenge 2024 letter R


           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?  







Friday, April 19, 2024

Questioner, Quality Controller, Quoter, Quibbler ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

#AtoZChallenge 2024 letter Q


            Question for you:  Do you like to ask questions?

             I am a big questioner in many respects.  I am curious about the world around me as well as the people I meet.  No, I don't think of it as being nosy--I just like to know about things.  I like to hear stories and histories.  To me this is not weird, but completely normal.  I'd love to have a job asking questions, whether it be to get opinions or find out facts about people or what people might know about.  In my years spent in management as well as those working in marketing research, I've been in positions where my job was to ask questions.  I liked that role then and I still enjoy it.

          Quality control is vital for any business that wants to maintain a good reputation.  In my past jobs I've often been a stickler for giving customers a high quality of experience with me and the companies I worked for.   Insistence on quality control is pretty much practicing the "Golden Rule" of respect for others.  I like good quality whether I'm paying or not and I try to provide good quality as much as I can.  I can handle quality control because this is what I expect as well from others.

             Not only as a writer and blogger do I sometimes quote what others have said, but throughout my life I have enjoyed a good quote and will sometimes cite my own when I can remember them.  I've never been that great at memorizing things so I tend not quote very often off the cuff.  I keep a few books of quotes on my shelves just in case, but usually these days I'm more prone to just go online to find an appropriate quote.

           Quibbler some might say is more my style.  I don't think I quibble that much, but sometimes I think it's necessary when you want to excel in things like quality control.  I'm not really that much of a quibbler, I just play one on television.  Well, not really.  That reference was kind of a quote that I've heard elsewhere.  Don't know where I heard it, but I don't want to quibble about it.

       Do you think "Quibble" is kind of a dumb word?   Are you a stickler for high quality in the work you do?  Is there a favorite saying that you like to quote?