One of the reasons that I wanted to draw an image in the refuse industry is because I spent 5 months of my life hugging the back of a garbage truck. My first driver was a huge guy named Elwood, who was injured in my third week. I went to work with Jim Moodey after that, and learned that the job could be enjoyable. But Cookie Monster fits Elwood's physical characteristics best. (I want to point out that I am not going the obvious with Oscar the Grouch in this industry. I haven't picked out his job yet, but I wanted to avoid the cliché.)
Before I took this job, I held over twenty others. All but a handful were based in work that would be designated blue collar (plumbing, insulation, carpentry, drywall, roofing, concrete -- everything in construction but electrical, actually). However, I knew better than to ever try to align my situation with that of the hard-working American. I was always college-bound, and knew that I would never have to work a trade to bring in my income. So, I am fairly handy around the house (but am horrible with electronic appliances, or engines).
Last summer, I wrote about my high school experiences, complete with my transcript. (Hint: I sucked!) I compiled a list of my employment history once, and plan on using that for blogging fodder sometime this year. I had a job for only one day once, but it is amazing that I could write paragraphs about what I did that day!
--gh
1 comment:
I am so jealous of your garbageman adventures. I remember hearing that story before. I always wanted to be a Garbageman when I was younger. I think I was inspired by the movie "Men at Work." I wanted to get a job as one over the summer once but the thought horrified my parents who said it wasn't safe. Ironically, a week later, a garbageman was knifed to death. They informed me of this as to prove their point, and I told them that now there was a position open for me to apply.
Post a Comment