le travail

One can easily ascertain, with a great degree of precision, when I am procrastinating from some important task by observing the frequency and length of my blog posts. In this case, we're looking at two posts in four days. That's got to be some kind of record!! [Mind you, we're talking about Jon Lo here. If more than two days were to go by without a post on, say 'Musings from Michelle II', it would be one's neighborly duty to assemble a search party to look for Ms Pardini...] It also means that I must have some massive, tiresome, and unenviable task I am avoiding: if you guessed 'Jon's thesis', then you are right. I have been reflecting, recently, on the jobs I've had in my life time. I was surprised, not so much by the number but the variety of employment I've held.


Title: Paper Boy (1990-1991?)
Employer: The Richmond Review
Description: I delivered newspapers to my neighborhood in Steveston for the 'Richmond Review'.
Pros: My first pay cheque!
Cons: Houses with mean dogs. When Newspapers get soggy.
Remarks: I must have been in the fourth grade. I was riding my bike home from school when a stranger followed me from a van and asked me if I wanted a job. I said yes.

Title: Office Assistant (1996?)
Employer: So and Associates
Description: I worked at a law firm, basically doing brainless work nobody had time/wanted to do. I photocopied contracts, researched market rates on the computer, typed up tenancy agreements. Delivered tenancy agreeents to other firms, clients.
Pros: I had a 'company cell phone'.
Cons: Property law is boring if you don't get to see any of the money.
Remarks: Ally McBeal is skinny. I am never going to be a solicitor.

Title: Camp Counsellor
Employer: YMCA
Description: Play games with kids. Take care of kids. Field trips. Attending Counsellor orientations. Getting ordered around by people.
Pros: All the High-C lemon tea a person can drink.
Cons: Long hours. Poor pay. Lame camp.
Remarks: I'm never working here again. (I went back for 2 more summers)

Title: Junior Research Assistant
Employer: Hong Kong Eye Hospital
Description: Animal research in a Pathology lab of the hospital.
Pros: I got to wear a lab coat for work.
Cons: Sometimes when I am sleeping I can still hear the rats scream.
Remarks: *shudder*

Title: 'Content Writer'
Employer: Some Educational Dot-com Company in HK
Description: We were trying to make a website which incorporates both learning and 'fun', to be marketed towards the HK public school system. I only worked there for 2 months.
Pros: I got to use the company cell phone. Umm. Oh yeah I got to work in Central!!
Cons: The whole project was completely nebulous... I don't know how everybody can look so busy whilst not doing anything at all.
Remarks: I don't know whether the site ever took off... I don't care.

Title: Ice Hockey Coach Coordinator
Employer: YMCA
Description: Organizing and coaching Ice Hockey camps for HK kids.
Pros: This was a great job. Ice hockey, ice skating, field trips. And best of all, I was in charge! This job was a lot of fun and I think we really got some kids to really like Ice Hockey.
Cons: Ice hockey camp was only every other week. On weeks I didn't have Ice Hockey camp I was forced to be a counsellor for 'Gymnastic Camp'. Umm. yeah.
Remarks: This was a fun summer, and I had a good team of staff and volunteers to work with.

Title: Guitar Teacher/Piano Teacher
Employer: Rufus' Guitar Shop/Private
Description: I taught piano, guitar, bass, band, theory...
Pros: It was fun to be in an envirnoment with other musicians. Music teaching pays great.
Cons: The private lessons were difficult to have to constantly arrange.
Remarks: The best feeling is teaching people who genuinely want to learn and to see them improve and enjoy music.

Title: Church Intern
Employer: Lord's Grace Church
Description: Worship Team Coordinator, College and Career Fellowship, Adult Sunday School, Preaching.
Pros: It's great working for people who you know love you.
Cons: I often felt as though I was working on my own... I wish I had more guidance and direction.
Remarks: I was at Regent at the same time so it was good to be able to apply some of the things I've been learning at school.

Title: Teaching Assistant
Employer: Regent College
Description: Class administration, Grading, Tutorials, Office hours, photocopying, photocopying.
Pros: You get to know the Profs on a deeper level. You get a closer look at how things work/don't work in the education system. Great experience because not only do you learn how to teach more effectively, you get to learn the material for yourself much better.
Cons: Having to give bad grades. Having to talk to people who want you to change their grades. Having to deal with students who don't try. The feeling of being alienated by other students because you are evaluating their work.
Remarks: Sometimes it is a strange job. For example, I was one of Gordon Fee's TAs for his Galatians class and one of the assignments was a sermon based on a passage from Galatians. It seemed weird to be evaluating and giving a grade to people's sermons because many of them were already pastors and many of them were a lot older than me.

Title: Skate Hire Assistant
Employer: Murrayfield Ice Rink
Description: Skate Sharpening, Boot Repair, Being an attendant for Skate Hire Sessions (getting people skates, watching their stuff...)
Pros: I get to go on the ice every wednesday after my shift, if I wanted. My skates are always sharp. I can leave my hockey gear at the rink. The people are nice.
Cons: The place is forever cold (duh!). The place is filthy. I don't get paid much. The work is monotonous.
Remarks: There's not too much to say, except the kind people at Murrayfield were the first to give me a job in Scotland.

Title: P/T Waiter
Employer: Jimmy CHung's Chinese Buffet Restaurant
Description: What does a waiter do at a buffet restaurant, one might ask? Plenty. Taking people's finished plates. Setting tables. Taking drink orderes. Getting bills. Washing cutlery. Cleaning up. Wiping/sweeping/mopping.
Pros: I get to see/interact with Chinese people. I get to eat Chinese food (I get to eat there on the days I'm working).
Cons: Chinese restauranteurs are mean. My days consist of reducing the number of occasions of getting yelled at to a minimum (virtually impossible).
Remarks: This job is an exercise in character-building. It also makes me long for my school work, and makes me want to do well in school.

COMING UP NEXT: Jobs I would like to have...