Starting from the beginning of the work career (from the point at which I started actually making semi-USEFUL contributions to the workforce :jerkit: )
Started as a stage electrician at college (SFA--"Axe 'em Jacks!"--wh00t!), while getting my BFA in scenic and lighting design. Got that, then
Went out into the world as a professional Truss Monkey (*thumbsup* to the SanFran direction
), never was cool enough to make IATSE, though. Got married, decided that since I had no desire to live on either coast, it was time to move into
Computers! Like 2/3rds of my theatrical contacts, I wound up working in a call center, supporting various computer contracts. This was cool, though, because I met the folks who would later coattail me over to
GTE, where I started work as an Executive Complaints Representative. Probably the worst job I've ever had, working for the best manager I've ever known. I still consider Jamey a friend, and he's damned good people. Still, the job was eating me alive, and he could see it, so he once again helped me by getting me into the
I.T. Department. I started out in Desktop Support (got the job by nepotism and blind luck, if we're being honest), worked there for about a year, and then jumped over to supporting
The Network. With a capital "N." As one of anywhere from four to ten resident staff, I was charged with supporting the LAN and WAN networks for Verizon Internet Services, which at the time consisted of about fifteen sites, over two hundred routers and switches (Cisco--the REAL evil empire!!
) and roughly 15,000 users. The on-call periods were HELL. 24/7 on-call, 7 days a week, every other week. Sleep is for the weak. After becoming a senior tech in the Network Team (by attrition) I hit a ceiling, got burned out and took a voluntary RIF, so that I could pursue
The American Dream (which we quickly discovered is only for rich or retired Americans, apparently). Opened a computer gaming center in Denton, TX...which lasted all of seven months. We quietly closed our doors on a practically empty store, and tried to jump back into the already-glutted workplace. The I.T. scene was rough in DFW at the time, and so we became a
Copy Slave working graveyard shift at Kinko's!! This was an alright job, management left us pretty much to our devices, but it was not--how to put this--intellectually stimulating. During this period, my loving and lovely wife approached me, and said, "Well, we've followed YOUR career for about ten years, how 'bout we give MINE a shot?" Couldn't argue with that logic, especially when it worked. She got (her SECOND) job as a museum curator, we moved, and I eventually found work as a
Correctional Officer for the State of Texas. Yep, I'm currently a "Professional Screw." I'm thinking of having business cards printed with that. It's by far the easiest and most straightforward job I've ever had. Sure, there are occasional prison riots, and every once in a while one of our precious li'l darlins will act up, but that's few and far between. It beats working in a corporate office by MILES. At least on the unit, you EXPECT everyone to want to do you harm...
In between all of this, I like to shoot and imagine that I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and knifemaker. Truth be told, I haven't been out in my shop in almost two years. Since I left Verizon, I haven't had the time, the money, or the will to heft a piece of steel, but with the Gods as my witness, "I didn't spend all this money on tools and stuff, just to let it rust to pieces!!!"
Anyway, that's me, in a nutshell. A very big, overly verbose nutshell.
