Your first job.

Congrats man! I get these are tough times and anything is better than sitting at home...

I have a good friend that started out as a stocker @ Kroger, and he is now like district manager or something. He seem to be doing quite well. I don't own a 2018 Dodge Charger....He does as well as a house and raised his kids.

His story was similar to yours.

Cheers bro!
 
jimmys69 said:
Congrats man! I get these are tough times and anything is better than sitting at home...

I have a good friend that started out as a stocker @ Kroger, and he is now like district manager or something. He seem to be doing quite well. I don't own a 2018 Dodge Charger....He does as well as a house and raised his kids.

His story was similar to yours.

Cheers bro!
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Thanks all! And yeah, the upper management at grocery stores pay really well. Wouldn’t be surprised if the store manager makes close to 200k
 
Good on you, Crow !

Often, how good a job is or becomes or remains is purely down to the mind one brings to it. Even where one's boss or colleagues act like shitbags or try to make life unnecessarily hard or the work isn't particularly fulfilling, one can still get much from it with the right approach. Someone I know well has been grizzling about their job for the last 25 years, basically the entire time I've known them. They've worked in 3 different places, earned great money but just moaned and moaned. At one point, I said to them that what they really needed was a good stiff dose of unemployment !
 
Hey man if that job doesn't work out I saw this one posted on Facebook today...don't tell anyone else but I'll share with you...:D

Greetings... I'm a member of the great illuminati.. Do you want to join the illuminati and become rich and famous,Powerful and protected in life..?? Money is not an issue with us, join us today
Full-time
·
$8,000,000 - $1,000,000,000 / month
New · Illuminati_ams · Eastvale
Joining the Illuminati is the best thing that can ever happen to a man. All Illuminatus are gifted with providential wealth, fame, power and most importantly true knowledge to always stay at the very top of the global order.
 
TAE, I just gave up working. I met this fellow from Nigera, a prince or something. Anyway he gave me $10,000,000 so I could retire. I quit my job last week, and I'm going to the bank to get my $$$ as soon as the Covid passes and they can open up the lobby.

I feel like Jed Clampett!
 
TalismanRich said:
TAE, I just gave up working. I met this fellow from Nigera, a prince or something. Anyway he gave me $10,000,000 so I could retire. I quit my job last week, and I'm going to the bank to get my $$$ as soon as the Covid passes and they can open up the lobby.

I feel like Jed Clampett!
Click to expand...

Some guys have all the luck! I wonder if that Nigerian prince was in the illuminati or if he made his fortune the old fashioned way...
 
TAE said:
Hey man if that job doesn't work out I saw this one posted on Facebook today...don't tell anyone else but I'll share with you...:D

Greetings... I'm a member of the great illuminati.. Do you want to join the illuminati and become rich and famous,Powerful and protected in life..?? Money is not an issue with us, join us today
Full-time
·
$8,000,000 - $1,000,000,000 / month
New · Illuminati_ams · Eastvale
Joining the Illuminati is the best thing that can ever happen to a man. All Illuminatus are gifted with providential wealth, fame, power and most importantly true knowledge to always stay at the very top of the global order.
Click to expand...

Man, I've been in the Illuminati since the 70's and i'm still broke. I think maybe I got took.
 
Gtoboy said:
Man, I've been in the Illuminati since the 70's and i'm still broke. I think maybe I got took.
Click to expand...

Yeah but most importantly you got true knowledge to always stay at the very top of the global order. You may be broke but you're at the top of the pile of broke :laughings:
 
I had family who were Freemasons and extremely rich. What the f**k happened to me.:eek::mad::wtf: Never make any money. Never win any money. I just lose money and pay for everybody else.
 
60's guy said:
I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to lose on an opportunity to work at the Met.
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I'd worked in live theatre (largest repertory on LI) for ten years. The Met would have been a million steps up. But, my entire working career (if you even want to call it that) was just a way for me to pay for the next concerts I wanted to go to. I wouldn't go to work if there was a concert I could go to instead. I wished there was a way I could have made money (legally) on concerts. I'd have gone for that big time. So, while I wished I got that job. It didn't phase me that I didn't. I ended up working years for a hoity toity menswear designer "Jhane Barnes." Her clothes were more expensive than Giorgio Armani. But, IMO not as nice as his designs. I used to wear his clothing to work, and because of her rivalry (or jealousy) she made me wear her clothing. That was over 20+ years ago, and her clothing still looks as fresh today as it did when I had to wear it. Good quality clothing might be expensive to begin with. But, it'll last a life time.

TAE said:
Indeed it is! If your are fortunate enough to be able to do so...we were, and got our house paid off way sooner than the 15 year term...

Back in 82 we bought our first shack for $60K 5% down and 18% interest rate...when we signed the docs I saw the total amount paid after 30 years would have been @ $250K WTF?...Fortunately sold that shack 3 years later with @ a 25K gain...interest rates were heading down and the rest is history...still living in the second home that we paid $100K for ...paid off and easily worth $600K...doesn't suck. cost of living in Cali ain't cheap though...with car, house and health insurance, taxes and living a pretty reserved lifestyle ..it takes @ $4k a month to keep the bills paid....:eek:
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Sometimes I think it's easier than most people believe. The main thing when going for a mortgage is having stability as much as a down payment.

18%? Wow. Since Karen and I are not legally married, she's the sole owner of both the houses we owned. So, her interest rate was low around 3% on the first, and a little higher on this house (still under 4%). Any gain is great. I know so many people that take losses on their homes, just because they want to get out. That's a great gain for 3 years. Our first house couldn't have been better. We put down 10 with a mortgage of 107. Six years later we sold it for 300 and only owed 70. Plus, we had to sue for our property. They sold us 1/2 an acre they didn't legally own. So, we were able to get money for the delay. That house afforded us to buy this house. Now, Karen's mom passed a month or so ago and we'll be selling this and moving into her PA townhouse. Our NJ taxes are close to 10 and her townhouse is under 4, and there's no mortgage. Once settled there, we'll figure out where we want to fully retire too. It'll probably be NC, TN, or KY. Maybe we'll stay in PA. But, I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a townhouse. I need to be away from people.

CrowsofFritz said:
Got the job! They hired me on the spot!
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Way to go. CONGRATULATIONS!
 
New job is easy as hell. Pays more than my grueling fast food job did, too. Manager was surprised I didn’t complain at the end of my first day.
 
I once had the nighttime restocking position at a (then) large retail chain.. also the graveyard shift at a Burger King, where I cleaned everything from top to bottom each night. I'll take the restocking position any day.
 
My fist part time job was pumping fuel at a service station, now that's a thing of the past LOL. My first full time job was a motor wreckers, that only lasted 2 weeks thank goodness.

Alan
 
Before I became a full on Tile setter for @ 20 years I had a shit load of jobs to get by. The absolute craziest suck company I worked for was a employment agency tasked with finding temporary workers for the worst of the worst jobs on earth. You had to get down there really early and stand in line with all the other poor souls trying to find work. Get there too late no work for you.

First day I was sent to a foundry HOLY HEAT it sucked. Went back and said no way folks find me something else. Next day they sent me to a bottling factory where I was put on an assembly line where I was to catch the bottles being filled with ammonia that fell over in the line...and pull them to the side. For cripes sakes it was like that scene from I love Lucy where she is working in a cookie factory except it was ammonia...no respirator just breathing fricking ammonia and your eyes burning the whole day....That was it... I realized I needed to find a different way of finding work.
Lets see ...minus the jobs in my first post I was also a
Dish washer / Buss boy
Temporary security guard, for a retail store opening. They were supposed to hire me to work in retail but because of my long hair they said (after the fact) that I needed to cut my hair or I'd have to work the meat department where I'd need to work in the freezer. Nope, not what you promised when you hired me. I quit and filed for unemployment / denied. Filed a complaint with the department of labor relations claiming sexual discrimination. I went in to the hearing and pointed out that they allowed women to have long hair in the public jobs and in the end the court agreed that I had been discriminated against, that it must end. I was granted a lot of back pay and got to collect unemployment. A pretty cool win for a long haired hippie.
Tree service where because I was not allergic to poison oak I got put on an acre of it to clear all by myself ...that sucked.
Helped start up the Duraflex wood skateboard factory
Helped start up a cultured marble factory and was installing panels at 18
A few different warehouse jobs. One that was union and a lot of shenanigans..
Best warehouse job was working at Sues, Young and Brown...The Sues part was Alan Sues of Laugh in Fames dad. We distributed Zenith TV's. Man they treated us good, paid us fair and had profit sharing...could of worked there my whole life. One day while driving in I started counting the hours I was spending driving back and forth every day...2 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.....Shit 500 hours! 12 work weeks worth of my time...Decided I needed to go pursue that Rock Star dream while I had the chance and quit...Sold my Van bought my music equipment went back to college and @ 23 finally found home with the band I played in for 5 years.....Of course we never made any real money and any money we did make went to pay the rent on the practice place or buy PA equipment...after several suck local jobs to "pay the bills" I fell into tile and the rest is misery...Band broke up and tile stuck...flash forward 30 years and there I was working for the largest stone importer in the U.S. making a really nice salary and I was driving to work one day counting the hours I spent driving.....:confused: Oh shit here I am again....I left and went on my own and somehow I pay the bills and get to play music and enjoy my family better than a lot of people I know. What a long strange trips it's been.
 
Wow Tom! (TAE). Similar life experiences.

My first job was the silly paper route at 11 years old. Uphill both ways... lol! Even had a basket trailer behind my bicycle to deliver. Then it was a car wash/gas station attendant at 13 or so. Back then you could work as a child legally..

Many kitchen prep/dishwasher/busboy jobs came after. Then started playing in bands with older members and got some more hookups for better jobs. First was a union sheet metal Local 9 job where I became 'lead man' over people twice my age when I was 18. That ended when I got busted in the shower in the company weight room by the owner having sex with one of his female employees. She was married and the owner was deeply religious. I was one of those rock n roll slutty guys back then...

I then started working with my guitar player for my 'almost got famous' band doing tile installations. That band did awesome for a while. Barry Fey and Bill Bass (Fey Concerts) was our bands managers. They got us really big opening gigs. Best was opening at Mile High Stadium in 1992 for Kings X, Damn Yankees, REO Speedwagon.... We had a group of music attorneys that got us a record deal with tour support for a German record company. It fell through when the record label was sold and the band broke up over silly shit like girls, drugs and other personal issues. The usual band bullshit...

Over the next 2 decades after the breakup of my somewhat popular band, I switched from bass to drums and played with a few local bands. One with the big personality FM radio DJ. That got us gigs opening for sold out shows for the likes of Pantera, Suicidal, POD, and many others at larger venues. Hell, I played a theater show with Jim Brewer as the band backing his impersonations of Hetfield and AC/DC. That was actually one of the most fun gigs I have ever played just because of the premise. Well, the Mile High Stadium show is the most important because that is the day I conceived my oldest daughter that I just met a couple years ago. LOVE! The band thing never really paid the bills. Only covered expenses and the drugs/alcohol were cheap or free. Had to actually work to pay for food and a place to live.

Through out this trying to be a rock star, I had been installing tile and remodeling bathrooms since like 1990. Have had my own business since 1995. It pays the bills.

Don't play out much anymore other than reunion shows or guest fill ins, as I have family and I grew tired of the band drama crap. In order to keep my souls need to have music in my life, I built a home studio. I have always through the years helped produce other bands. I recorded the first demo in 1990 on an AKAI 4 track recorder in a storage facility with corrugated aluminum walls and a bbq grill for a heater.

I make a decent living still doing bathroom remodeling and as a retirement plan, I record other peoples broken dreams... LMAO! I think that funny, but I do take it seriously now and have been getting better every project.

Oh shit, I just went into a personal bio huh? Sorry, I forgot it was a 'first job' thread.

Merry Christmas to all of you! May covid not ruin your life! :drunk:
 
jimmys69 said:
Wow Tom! (TAE). Similar life experiences.
Click to expand...

Awesome sauce...most people don't get the as a "retirement plan" thing....what retirement plan? You and I have had similar journeys..sans the love child ;)

The ol retirement plans of the self employed tile setter are at least for me meager...I remember a 80 year old tile setter Mr. Fabro who was still out setting and died doing what he loved...I do enjoy the come into someone's house and make their mediocre kitchen or bath into a place they can love and be proud of. Love running into them at a store or restaurant years later and getting the love and appreciation for my work. I am fortunate to have been built damn sturdy and I can still do that kind of work anytime I wish....But...I'd much rather be playing the keys, singin, writing songs and jammin just feel it was what I was supposed to do...alas $$$$ so I have fashioned a income flow that for today is working but is precarious..have a dozen balls in the air for back up income generation sources...hopefully one of them hits and I can relax...hadn't thought of actually doing the recording studio thing as I am such a hack myself but I definitely could help people who know a lot less than me chase their dreams....maybe?

So unlike you in 1999 I asked God to free me from the remodel thing and he threw a cool job my way ...sadly and I truly looked up at the sky and asked in my most ungrateful voice...I was kind of hopin I could be making a living with my music? But no he opened the door to me running the first Staron countertop material distribution company in the U.S. ..Lost the distributorship to Rugby building products the next year...went back to tile for about a month, then magically ( and I mean WTF magically) I was suddenly the North American director of Sales and Marketing for Technistone in the Czech Republic making a decent wage...Threw me into the world of big boys..I was travelling all over the U.S. meeting with Stone distributors and setting them up with TS....I got to set up DalTile with their One quartz program...then 7 years into this I was approached by MSI and recruited to develop their new Quartz brand Q....what a trip...travelling all over the world representing MSI and building a new product line...Got it set up and going and then found myself 4 years later going wtf 500 hours a year sitting in traffic...20+ plus days of my life sitting in traffic each year...cya-bye
 
Again, WOW man!

I totally got you at the 'love for my work' aspect. It is similar to the feeling one gets from interacting with an audience from a live performance. I find great joy in my trade and making a client happy with my installations. Remodeling bathrooms gives me the same. I love to hear the reviews of my tile work as much as I do my music. And 30 years later, I don't get the groupie thing anymore as I have a wife and kids, but the need to have that interaction is the same.

I suppose it is the artist in us needs to create that bonds with others. Not sure that can be described to other musicians unless they know...

Seems all of us here have a similar need to create in some way. Whether it for ourselves or for others, we do it because we have that certain drive. Or it may be spiritual. Who knows.

Merry Christmas Tom!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! :thumbs up:
 
My sister in law used to bug me: "Why do you have all that stuff if no one is paying you to use it anymore?". The only answer I have is that i'd just as soon cut off one of my legs than stop playing and recording. Playing especially.

You either have the bug or you don't, I guess.
 
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