Middle Zone Musings » All Entries: What I Learned From Odd Jobs

Robert Hruzek on Apr 14th 2008 at 6:00 am What I Learned From...

All Entries: What I Learned From Odd Jobs

[Note from the Proprietor: I just switched to WP 2.5 (thanks, Tully!), but now I can't figure out how to insert photos stored on my own hard drive! Is it just me, or did they leave out the doohickey thingie for that? The only way to insert an image seems to be with a URL, and these photos aren't stored "out there". Anybody got a solution for that? To get these images here, I had to copy and paste them from a previous entry using cut/paste from the HTML code. Cumbersome at best!][UPDATE: Success! Mr. T. came through again!]

[FURTHER NOTE: THIS MONTH'S PROJECT HAS NO END DATE! IF YOU STILL WANT TO GET AN ODD JOB LISTED HERE, WELL, Y'ALL KEEP 'EM COMIN! I'LL UPDATE THE LIST PERIODICALLY.]

A big giant round of applause and a big ol’ Yee-Haw! for all the folks who decided to participate in this month’s What I Learned From… group writing project: What I Learned From… Odd Jobs!

Talk about a great bunch of entries; it was absolutely amazing hearing about all the, um, unusual things we’ve all done to earn a buck or two. Thanks again for choosing to share your stories and lessons with the rest of us!

Also special thanks to Marcus Goodyear and our fellow community at the High Callings Blog who shared this writing challenge.

Because of our combined projects this month, we’ve collected a whopping total of 43 entries in all! [last updated 4/19/08] Below you’ll find the entire list of entries, in no particular order (except maybe that’s how I found ‘em).

Do yourself a favor and check them all out. Heck, start a conversation, why don’cha! Every one shares an amazing lesson learned (and sometimes more than one!)

What I Learned From Odd Jobs:

Once Upon a Time I Was a Guinea Pig, by Marcus Goodyear at Goodword Editing
Steam Cleaning Carpets, by Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc.
Dr. Strangelove and Me: What I Learned From Riding Missiles, by G.L. Hoffman at What Would Dad Say
Lessons from Odd Jobs, by Mark D. Roberts at markdroberts.com
Lessons from Odd Jobs, by Dan King at Management by God
An Odd Lesson, by Shalene at A Proverbs 31 Woman Wannabe
Into the Ordinary, by L.L. Barkat at Seedlings in Stone
I Was a Fast Food BBQ Busboy, by Brandon Sanders at Words of Redemption
Not a Fry Cook on Venus, by Dave Zimmerman at Loud Time
My Life at Labor Temp, by Dan Roloff at Ramblin’ Dan
Odd Jobs, by Merrie DeStephano at Alien Dream
A Real Saturday Post – The Odd Job, by Rebecca Miller at A Christian Worldview of Fiction
I’ve Been Memed! Lessons About Odd Jobs, by Marlo B. Manitoba at The Joyful Christian Wife
My “Not So Odd” Jobs, by Jim Garland at The Genius’ Gumption
Lessons From Odd Jobs: You’re Fired, by Karl Edwards at Bold Enterprises
Snapshots From a Variety of Odd Jobs, by Jim Martin at A Place for the God-Hungry
On Memes and Special Things, by Carl Holmes at thoughtsofagyrovague.com
My First Job, by Gordon Atkinson at Excellence
What I Learned From Two Weeks as a Tomato, by Thursday Bram at thursdaybram.com
What I Learned From Odd Jobs, by Karen Hanrahan at Best of Mother Earth
What I Learned From… Odd Jobs, by Patrizia Broghammer at VoIP
What I Learned From Theatre Lighting, by Sam Brougher at Your Scared Seductive System
Things I Learned Being a Popsicle Man, by Otto Haugland at The OHO Report
Odd Jobs, by Tanya Dennis at In The Dailies
What I Learned From Sorting Apples, by Robyn McMaster at BrainBasedBiz
What I Learned From Pumping Gas, by Chris Brown at Branding & Marketing
What I Learned From Odd Jobs, by Sarah Stewart at Sarah’s Musings
What I Learned From Having a Job for a Day, by Trevor Hampel at Trevor’s Writings
What I Learned From Working in a Sweet Shop, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing
What I Learned From Being a Listening Post, by Jean Browman at Stress to Power
What I Learned From Odd Jobs – How Kids Start Off on the Entrepreneurial Trail, by Yvonne Russell at Home Biz Notes
What I Learned From Picking Zucchini, by Lisa Gates at 360 Alliance
Lessons Learned From Odd Moments on the Job, by Jacob Share at JobMob
My Non-Entry to MZM’s What I Learned From Odd Jobs, by Karen H. at Stop/Start
What I Learned From Odd Jobs, by Jackie Cameron at Jackie Cameron
What I Learned From Being a Pregnant Usherette, by Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary
What I Learned From Door-to-Door Sales, by Lillie Ammann at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye
What I Learned From Sweeping Up Hair, by Drew McClellan at The Marketing Minute
A Lifetime of Odd Jobs, by Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations
The Strangest Job I Ever Had – And Lessons Learned, by Tim Miller at Spy Journal 3.0
Odd Jobs vs. the One Chosen Career, by Markk at My Opinions are Important

Also, here’s one I picked up from the comment box:

Ria Kennedy used to work in an apiary, which, in case you didn’t know, was a “bee yard”. But here’s the kicker: she used to be allergic to bee stings!

And finally – last, but hopefully not least,

What I Learned From Really, Really Tired Feet, Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

Once again, a big ol’ Yee-Haw! to all who participated this month! Y’all give yourselves a big hand, and as usual, a big tip o’ the hat to ya!

(By the way, I apologize if I missed someone’s entry – we had a bunch more than usual due to the combined project and all. Also, this challenge doesn’t actually have a real end date, since Marcus is running it as a meme over at High Callings Blog, so if you want to add your own odd job, just drop me a note and I’ll make sure it gets on the list. I’ll try to keep this list updated from time to time.)

Be sure to tune in next month for another exciting edition of What I Learned From… So, what’s the subject going to be, you ask? Well… that would be telling; you’ll just have to stay tuned!

However… I will tell you this – expect yet another interesting twist!

26 responses so far

26 Responses to “All Entries: What I Learned From Odd Jobs”

# Brad Shorron Apr 14th 2008 at 7:23 am

Wow, Bob, great response. These are going to be fun to read. Not surprising you got several entries involving food, but I’m amazed you got two involving carpet cleaning!
# Jacob Shareon Apr 14th 2008 at 8:40 am

Great turnout, Robert. Is this the most you’ve had in all your gwps?
# gl hoffmanon Apr 14th 2008 at 9:05 am

Wow, Robert, you really got a lot of us writing this month. Great topic. I even wrote my friend Nancy Rica Schiff, who wrote Odd Jobs to give this list a whirl. I expect she will comment soon, at least I hope so. Her books by the way, are great fun, she went around the USA and wrote brief stories about people who had odd jobs, took pictures too, since she is a professional photographer. My favorites: the person who paints fake eyeballs and the salmon counter up in Washington. Worth a checkout.
best, GL HOFFMAN
Minneapolis
# Ria Kennedyon Apr 14th 2008 at 10:28 am

Wow, lots of good stuff there! I’ll bookmark this and go through things so I can enjoy them all.
# Jackie Cameronon Apr 14th 2008 at 11:33 am

I have decided that I need to switch off the phone, lock the door and ignore all e-mails until i have read this month’s batch. Well done Bob!

Jackie
# Rebecca LuElla Milleron Apr 14th 2008 at 11:33 am

Thanks for the link, Bob. It was a fun exercise—a trip down memory lane, but with that “lesson you learned” attachment. (OK, so I just mixed my metaphors! I suppose it should be something like … with that “lesson you learned” hitched to the wagon.)

I was hoping someone had an answer for you about how to load your pictures.

Becky
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 11:51 am

@ Brad – Yeah, I find it amazing how many commonalities you’ll find in any given group of folks. What’s fun is finding them!
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 11:55 am

@ Jacob – Yes, this is even more than the number we had at Blogapalooza! Apparently, one can achieve synergy when one combines forces with another blog community. Who knew?
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 12:01 pm

@ GL – Hey, I think I remember seeing that book! That would be cool if Nancy could chime in here. I think the cover says it all, though.
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 12:02 pm

@ Ria – I’m glad you shared your bee story, too!
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 12:03 pm

@ Jackie – I’m with ya on that! This is without a doubt the most interesting bunch we’ve collected so far!
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 12:05 pm

@ Rebecca – Never worry about mixing metaphors. All you need to remember is they should be shaken, not stirred!
# Rileyon Apr 14th 2008 at 2:03 pm

Wow. Great response. I’ll have to go through those one by one. It’s amazing what you can learn from odd job experience as well as other folks odd job experiences.
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 14th 2008 at 6:22 pm

Make sure you allow plenty of time, Riley! It’s a mighty long list – and still growing!
# Markkon Apr 15th 2008 at 7:57 am

Wow, what a lot of responses! I’m disappointed to have not quite managed to respond by the deadline (particularly given the amount of odd jobs I’ve had …). Ah well, maybe next time.
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 15th 2008 at 9:32 am

Markk! Long time no hear, Buddy!

Actually… this time, the project has no real end date. So if you still want to contribute, fire away! Just leave us a link and I’ll be updating the list every so often. I can’t wait to hear yours…
# Jeanne Dininnion Apr 15th 2008 at 7:37 pm

Robert,

What a great group of entries! Wish I would have had time to enter! Oh, well…there’s always next time!

Jeanne
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 16th 2008 at 9:14 am

Jean, like I told Markk, there’s still time! This project will remain open pretty much forever. So go ahead and submit it and I’ll add it to the pile!
# gl hoffmanon Apr 16th 2008 at 3:47 pm

Nancy Rica Schiff, the author and photographer if ODD JOBS and ODDER JOBS…just posted a guest posting up on my blog…http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds. Her photos, only two are on the post, are priceless…only if you like the expression of the condom tester lady.
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 16th 2008 at 5:30 pm

GL, I saw that – really would have been a barrel of laughs to be her assistant during the research part of those books, don’cha know. Although… it’s hard to top the cover photo.
# My Opinions Are Important · Odd jobs vs The One Chosen Careeron Apr 18th 2008 at 8:55 pm

[...] is part of the What I Learned From group writing project at Middle Zone Musings.) These icons link to social bookmarking sites where [...]
# Markkon Apr 18th 2008 at 8:59 pm

Robert, you asked for it! View my entry at http://myopinionsareimportant.com/2008/04/19/odd-jobs-vs-the-one-chosen-career/
# Robert Hruzekon Apr 19th 2008 at 1:57 pm

Thanks, Markk! I’ve got it up in the list now!
# Results from the What I Learned From Odd Jobs Group Writing Project } Group Writing Projectson Apr 22nd 2008 at 5:06 am

[...] group writing project vet Robert Hruzek has his most successful group writing project to date with 43 entries and still [...]
# Middle Zone Musings » Comings, Goings, and Other Sundry Itemson Jun 5th 2008 at 6:01 am

[...] Bloggers (a big ol’ HOWDY, and a tip o’ the hat to ya!), and I’ll tell ya, last time we did that we had over 40 entries (not to mention getting to meet lots of new [...]
# MOinon Sep 20th 2008 at 1:50 pm

wow! really nice entries, i saw few of them and i really like them..
i am gonna read all of them later.
Thanks.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

LEAVING A REPLY:

Say, do us all a favor, won't you? We’re fairly easy-going around these here parts, but please do NOT enter a keyword phrase or a business, product or service name as YOUR name in the comment section. It will likely get your comment labeled as spam and deleted. You MAY, however, use a real name, nickname or handle, along with a brief identifying phrase, such as "Big Bubba, Midnight Cowboy." Thanks a herd, and a tip o’ the hat to ya! - Ed.