Job Log

While I do try to work as little as possible, many seem to think I don't work at all, for the most frequent question I get asked, is "How do you do this?".  Well, until my imaginary trust fund, becomes a reality, I find myself doing all sorts of crazy things to make money.  So, mostly because I get a kick out of some of the things I find myself doing, I've decided to start documenting all my jobs.  I assume it will also turn into a resume for things which usually seem too insignificant to put on my resume or the "previous work experience" part of a job application.  There has been so much stuff the last few years, I may have the urge to record them retrospectively, but for now I'll just start with the latest.

July 19, 2012
When I stay Leadville, if not out in the woods in my van, I stay with my friend, Wizard.  It is a bit of a work/trade situation.  Besides being his housekeeper and cook, I help him with countless projects that he always seems to have going on.  Great example:  I arrived yesterday, after being gone for two weeks.  The house was in the condition I would expect after my two weeks gone.  I immediately got to work on making it clean enough for me to be in.  I always start with the kitchen or the bathroom depending on my immediate needs to use one of them.  Next I shop-vac the entire house (I have to use a shop-vac because Wizard spread straw across his yard so his dog wouldn't track dirt in.  Now he just tracks straw in.).  After these tasks, I can settle in and do whatever...until Wizard comes home from work.  Then, I usually help him with whatever project he has going.  Yesterday, he had a bit of a crisis on his hands (not uncommon).  His old-school garage door was broken and closed so he couldn't get the car he usually drives to work out (the door is too heavy even for multiple people to lift).  So, I spent all last evening helping him try to fix it.  For about an hour I stood there holding heavy springs over my head while standing on a latter.  We actually made some progress and luckily for me some others showed up to help with the rest.  We got it working, he got his car out, then it broke again.  It will probably be much of the same tonight.

July 4, 2012
Today I worked 10 hours (at $10/hour) setting up for the Wanderlust Yoga and Music Festival at Copper Mountain in Colorado.  I got the job yesterday from Craigslist gigs.  In the ten hours I moved hay bales, hung signage, did some interior design on a teacher lounge, delivered boxes, slapped labels on bags, organized supplies, unloaded trucks, drove a golf cart moving boxes back and forth dozens of times, set up barricades and probably a few other things I already forgot about.  It was non-stop and fun the whole time.  I had three more 10 hour shifts scheduled for the rest of the weekend, but had to bail and fly to Chicago because my grandpa died.

September and October 2012
For these two glorious months I was employed as a "All-Purpose" staff member at the Stanford Sierra Conference center.  Besides room and board and an hourly wage, the benefits here are incalculable.  Being able to live in spot is worth any of the dirty and disgusting tasks we are asked to perform.  And most of them are not really at all.  Here, I housekeep, serve food, do dishes, lead hikes, work on a boatdock, paint, scrub things, and do countless other cleaning and maintenance tasks.  I love it.  The work is fun and the not working is even funner. 

November 28-30
I was supposed to dogsit this week, but when my aunt's plans fell through, she put me to work on some household tasks.  I winterized her windows, tarred her roof, moved files around on a computer, replaced a exhaust hose on a dryer and few other things.

mid-December-->March 2013
I spent the winter in Crested Butte, Colorado.  As worked as a lift operator on the Red Lady Lift for Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

mid-April-->mid-June 2013
Back at the Stanford Sierra Camp as "All-Purpose" Staff (see above)

mid-June-->August 2013
I spent my first summer in South Lake Tahoe and was a live-in nanny for an eleven-year-old boy.  This was the perfect situation.  Living very close to the south shores of Lake Tahoe and the base of many mountains gave us endless opportunties for fun.  We spent the summer riding bikes, hiking, scrambling on rocks, paddleboarding, playing soccer and basketball and going on countless adventures that usually included getting candy or ice cream.  It was very fun and his summer vacation coincided perfectly with the time between the spring and fall conference seasons at the Stanford Sierra Camp, just six miles away.  

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