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1. I just learned that someone I went to school with has traded his job at a law firm for a new and different career – he’s now a pet psychic, with a pet psychic website and everything. I didn’t know him well enough to say whether he actually has magical powers, and he didn’t mention this in his ‘What I’ve Been Up To’ reunion bio a couple years back. Got any good stories about a seismic career change by a friend, former colleague, or yourself?
2. How would you fare as a pet psychic? What’s Bailey thinking?
3. We should probably devote a whole series of articles to this topic, but let’s talk briefly about tipping. The other night I got the look (you know, the “I can’t believe you’re not going to leave a tip you cheap bastard” look) at a Chinese restaurant while picking up my order. I spent many semesters as a delivery boy in college (and the year after college that has gone mysteriously missing from my resume), and I consider myself fairly liberal in the tipping arena. But I generally don’t tip for takeout. Or when the cable company screws up your installation and has to come out two separate times to fix it. But that’s another story. What’s the most unexpected place you’ve been hit up for a tip?
4. Let me end by wishing all of the moms out there a Happy Mothers’ Day (especially my mom, and my wife, who is being celebrated on this day for the first time this year). If you’re a mom, what was your most memorable Mothers’ Day?
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1
My brother was a groundskeeper at a minor league baseball stadium until he was 30. Then on a whim he went to dental school and has been a dentist the last five years.
2
“Do I get royalties when you use my picture?”
3
We pay a neighborhood kid $15 to mow our lawn. He’s probably 16 and he’s been doing it for two years now. Just the other day he knocked on the door after he was done and said, “You know, now a lot of my clients are tipping me.” I told him I did not know that.
4
My kids both surprised me last year by showing up! I live outside Raleigh. My daughter lives in Memphis and my son is in Atlanta.
posted by Jenny on 5-8-2009 at 12:54 pm
1. I’ve got a degree in journalism and a dozen years of PR experience, and I just made a career change and am a licensed massage therapist.
3. I’m in the camp that it’s totally bizarre to be hit up for a tip when you’re picking up a to go order.
posted by Debi on 5-8-2009 at 12:57 pm
4. THIS is my best mother’s day…because I just found out I’m pregnant.
posted by Jenna on 5-8-2009 at 1:14 pm
1 – My neighbor worked on Wall Street in some capacity. He was laid off last year. Now he works at a daycare center. I don’t know how they’re paying the bills, but he seems so much happier.
2 – “I’m trying to sleep.”
3 – Lowe’s. The guy asked if I needed help bringing a sink to my car. I told him I was fine. He said he’d walk with me, “just in case.” I told him that was unnecessary. I put the sink in my truck. He lingered, waiting for a completely unearned tip. I drove away.
posted by Craig on 5-8-2009 at 1:18 pm
RE #1:
After almost 10 years of doing IT and tech support, I was super burned out and down-graded to admin and reception work.
Unfortunately, I have a hard time getting a job because I am overqualified and they hesitate to invest in me for fear I will be unhappy and leave or want too much money so I don’t even get interviews.
RE #4:
I was due in July and my birthday is right after Mother’s Day (which can range from the next day to the next weekend) so Mother’s Day 2002, just before my son was due, was pretty special because I was far enough along that I was very pregnant and the baby was active and moving so I was celebrated as a mom-to-be when my husband and I went with my mom down to Monterey for the weekend.
posted by Sarah in CA on 5-8-2009 at 1:21 pm
#1: How about a potential change in career? I’m seriously considering a departure from corporate software/IT project management in NYC to go work at either NASA’s space camp in Alabama, or Dogtown/Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. Or, if there’s a way to combine astronauts AND dogs, I’ll consider that too.
posted by Stephanie on 5-8-2009 at 1:33 pm
2. Mmmm…bacon.
3. I always feel guilty when I don’t leave a tip when at a curbside to go pickup…I usually leave a dollar, but really, did they do all that much? It wouldn’t have been a huge inconvenience for me to go in.
I did have a George Constanza moment at Starbucks. I dropped my change in the tip jar, but I don’t think anyone saw it. So, that begs the question, if you leave a tip, but no one sees it, does it count?
reCAPTCHA:
Enterprise reoccupy: kind of ironic considering the new Star Trek movie just opened.
posted by Shelly on 5-8-2009 at 1:35 pm
1. A friend of mine from high school went to a performing arts college majoring in ballet. She traded that for a Ph.D. in Immunology.
2. “Got any treats?”
3. A local high school was having a car wash, and after I paid my $5 and got my car washed, I noticed a bucket on a table with a sign that said “Tips for Good Service”.
4. Not a mom (yet), but we’re trying!
posted by AmyD on 5-8-2009 at 1:36 pm
2-Bailey is thinking “Please let this be my bed forever”!
3- I don’t tip for picking up take out either, not that I wont it’s just that I appreciate a good wait staffs hard earned work and that’s why I tip.
posted by Don on 5-8-2009 at 1:38 pm
1. I had to quit my last radio job because I was transferred to a shift that did not work for a single mother. I had done no other job for 24 years. I put off looking for a new job by constantly blogging, which led to constant blogging for a living!
4. 1998. I had a child. I had her name and picture, but had yet to meet her. I was so excited, but no one treated me like a mom. I even had my plane tickets, but I was passed over during the recognitions at church. That hurt. By the time Fathers Day came around, we had custody, so my husband got all the accolades.
Of course, as the years passed, I got over it.
posted by Miss Cellania on 5-8-2009 at 1:50 pm
1. Guy I went to college with, lived on the same hall in the dorm, had a class with him, got a degree in business. Now he’s a pro wrestler with the WWE. I randomly saw him once TV on a Monday night and it still trips out me. Granted, his dad was a pro wrestler too, but still.
2. Bailey looks a little lonely. Perhaps Bailey’s aware you’re about to take its picture and leave.
3. I normally pay via debit card, so when I’m having lunch at a diner where the register is up front, I normally add the tip there. I’ve gotten the evilest looks from waitress because it looks like I stiffed them on a tap since I didn’t leave cash behind. It actual causes me to tip higher because of the guilt.
posted by Stu on 5-8-2009 at 1:56 pm
#2: Bailey: “Stop taking my picture, like you need a photo to prove I lay on your bed all day.”
posted by Chris on 5-8-2009 at 2:06 pm
1. I was a computer programmer for 10 years. Then they discovered that I can read. Now I do patent analysis. To the attorneys, I’m the guy who can translate the tech talk for them. To the engineers, I’m the guy who can translate legalese for them. I’m not a lawyer, but I play one at work.
2. “Woof woof woof woof woof woof.”
posted by Bryan on 5-8-2009 at 2:08 pm
1. My husband spent about 15 years as a programmer/data analyst, now drives a forklift in a factory shipping department (and likes it more!).
2. Can’t decide between “cuddle me”, “feed me”, or “I want to sleep”.
posted by Seanette on 5-8-2009 at 2:27 pm
1) I was an art major / dance minor in college. When I moved to Florida I got a job for over a year through a temp agency at a real estate office. Now, I manage a video production team that does tourism videos for various state websites.
2) “I bet you’d taste good with bbq sauce.”
3) I called AAA for a tow–it was a long one, over 20 miles from home. The tow truck guy told me this “appaling story” about a lady who needed a tow and ran inside her house before she gave him a tip. He then proceeded to pound on this lady’s door until she finally gave him a tip. He then mentioned (in a half chuckle) that’s why he “carries a gun under his seat now.” Needless to say I was basically forced to give him a generous tip !
4) This is my first mother’s day as a step mom!
posted by Roxy.Cape on 5-8-2009 at 2:36 pm
1. I went from being an insurance agent to an actuarial consultant. Yes, both are insurance-related jobs, but my job now is a 180 from where I was…
2. “When are you gonna get off your butt and take me for a walk???”
3. Yes – take out food does not need to involve a tip.
4. When I was a step mom in a prior marriage I got a mother’s day card from the kids. I about dropped over from surprise.
posted by Anne on 5-8-2009 at 2:36 pm
1 I was once a meat salesman and became an insurance adjuster.
2. Its a dog so he’s probably thinking up ways to get that cake on top of the refrigerator.
3. My brother and I once asked a guy for directions in a bad neighborhood. After the guy gave us directions followed us asking for if we could buy him a bottle of Colt 45.
4. I’m a guy
posted by Dan on 5-8-2009 at 2:50 pm
1. My hairstylist used to be a Wall Street stockbroker. She says she couldn’t stand what the stress was doing to her life and her marriage, so she walked away from it and never regretted it. She’s a terrific stylist, too!
2. “I can has cheezburger?”
3. Tipping for takeout is ridiculous.
4. The year I forgot Mother’s Day. I was about 12, and 30 yrs later, my mother still hasn’t let me forget it. I have never forgotten since.
posted by Sue on 5-8-2009 at 2:57 pm
1. I am being laid off as of June 30th, also from the insurance industry. I am planning on getting my Comm’l Drivers License. I am also looking at teaching jobs.
3. As Hospitality Chairman for my son’s Scout troop, I oversee the various celebrations and banquets throughout the year. Someone put out a Tip jar at the last party. I made almost $20.
4. When my son was 2 he poked himself in the eye with a fork. We spent Mother’s Day in the hospital emergency room.
posted by Sue on 5-8-2009 at 3:00 pm
1. Don’t know of anyone, but If I lost my job, I think I’d go in a totally different direction (no office work!).
2. Why does the cat always get to sit on your lap?
3. I’m with everyone else on take-out tipping. If I get “car side” because I’m feeling lazy, I’ll throw the “runner” a buck. The one that gets me worked up is the guys at the cab stands in Vegas who tell the cabbie where I’m going. I was SHOCKED when I found out these guys make $60K opening cab doors and saying “Bellagio”. I still try to avoid that tip. I also refuse to tip the cable guy. Cable companies suck.
4. Not a mom yet. Maybe one day.
posted by Jamie on 5-8-2009 at 3:03 pm
2. I really want that bone over there but don’t want to move.
3. People tip the cable guy? Seriously? People are too tip happy if that’s the case.
posted by k on 5-8-2009 at 3:18 pm
1. I was intending on working in radio while I was in college and even worked part time at a couple of stations. Until I realized that everything was going digital and there was hardly any use for (non morning) DJ’s. I took an internship in PR and I’m now the Marketing Director at a biz services firm.
2. I love my daddy. Come snuggle!
3. I’ve seen tip jars in the most random of places. Hello, I do not need to tip you for purchasing a coffee — I’m paying too much for the coffee anyways! I don’t tip when I pick up my own take out, or cable guys either. I’m not cheap, I just think you should actually earn your tip in a service position.
4. I’m a mom to my dog and every year he gives me his undying love. =)
posted by Julie on 5-8-2009 at 3:37 pm
#1 — I got a B.A. in English Education almost 30 years ago. I taught high school English right out of college, then went to graduate school. I spent 7 years working towards a Ph.D. in English, teaching composition and literature all the while, then left (for many reasons) before I finished my dissertation. I ended up finding a job as a technical writer, then moved into Web site development. I’ve been at the same company for 13 years, but in August I am quitting (with great glee) and going back to school to study Music Therapy. I’m both thrilled and terrified. At last I’ll be doing something that suits my interests and my personality and that has some purpose. I can’t wait to get started.
posted by Jean A. on 5-8-2009 at 5:32 pm
2. I saw Bailey is checking out the new addition…thinking who are you and what are you doing?
posted by Julia on 5-8-2009 at 5:57 pm
I was a Graphic Designer in corporate environments for 14 years. I got to the point where I felt like I was in a veal pen waiting to die. So I got my Merchant Mariner credentials. I can’t tell you how happy I am now that all that stress and anxiety is gone. OK, it’s a bit of a cheat because I was in the Coast Guard, but I was out for 16 years and 40 years old when I went back to sea.
My wife was in Marketing/Event Planning and became and Aesthitician. She feels the same way as I do about changing careers.
And you know what else? I’d rather deal with pirates than sales reps.
posted by Ken J on 5-8-2009 at 6:54 pm
3. Well, I live in DC and standard tipping is at least 18%, so take my comment with a grain of salt.
I always tip 10% on take out for dinner. I thought I was supposed to! The reason? Someone still has to pack up your food and have it ready for you. I really only get take out from one place and we eat there as often as not.
posted by Laura on 5-8-2009 at 7:05 pm
1. I worked for years as an office manager – when I was laid off I took a job as a forklift driver at another company just to get my foot in the door – I have since worked my way back into the office but i kind of miss the physical labor.
2. He is thinking “if that cat gets one step closer to my food dish i am going after him”
3. I never tip for takeout except for one place i love and am friends with the owners and want to help them stay in business.
4. When i was 14 we were staying at a cabin on the beach for mother’s day weekend and my father had been bragging all week about the fabulous “strawberries flambe” breakfast he was going to make for my mom on Sunday. We were awoken at 4:00 am Sunday and told that our family home had burned to the ground. We were thankful we were not at home at the time, but needless to say the flaming breakfast was cancelled.
posted by Andrew on 5-8-2009 at 7:30 pm
3. What if the cable company REALLY screws up your installation and have to come out seven, count ‘em SEVEN times?
recaptcha – russet GINIGER
posted by C on 5-8-2009 at 10:14 pm
3. I tip for togo orders most of the time. (Excluding places that do take out only) I’ve worked in restaurants for years, and many of these places have a person there specifically to do the togo orders. That person usually does a LOT more than just putting food in bags. Many times it was a lot more work that waiting on tables! I don’t tip for coffee or anything like that, but I do tip at least a couple of bucks when I go pick up something from a “sit down” restaurant.
posted by Shandi on 5-8-2009 at 11:51 pm
Does an almost major change count?
I have been a cop for 12 years. I had a bad breakup where my ex cheated on me with my partner at work. It was enough to drive me away from “the Job”; I got accepted to a very nice culinary academy and was going to be a chef. It came down to one last police job I had applied for or becoming a chef.
I’m still a cop – but sometimes I really wish I had become a chef.
posted by Eric on 5-9-2009 at 1:04 am
2. a. “No, not Flapjack…nope, can’t watch Charmed…Nah, not Star Trek: Voyager…hey, Chowder! Woof!”
b. “Where the heck’s the food, jerkface?!”
c. “Please, be Star Trek, please be Star Trek! WHAT?! It’s Superman?!”
posted by Jen Pen on 5-9-2009 at 7:14 am
I worked as a biological illustrator for 12 years (mostly freelance but I was also a university staff illustrator for a 4 year stretch). I’m dang good at the art part but loathed the self-promotion/business part. I was always under-bidding on projects which meant I worked way too hard for way too little.
5 years ago I starting working as an admin at the local university’s facilities department(campus construction). I found I loved being part of construction projects and in time discovered that my visual skills were quite useful in spotting problems/discrepancies in contract drawings or job sites. Unfortunately, the nation wide construction slow-down has hit colleges & universities hard and I will be laid-off at the end of the fiscal year (in two months).
posted by Chris on 5-9-2009 at 8:58 am
1. I worked in retail for several years and now am a librarian. It’s pretty much the same thing: customer service.
3. I tip for take out, and for coffee if I’m paying cash. These people working for crap wages in the food service industry.
I didn’t know that anyone ever tipped the cable guy. That seems crazy to me.
posted by Julia on 5-9-2009 at 2:46 pm
all of you people who don’t tip for takeout are jerks, especially at a sitdown restaurant where servers who would normally be working tables for tips are on takeout duty that night, they have to pay taxes based on the estimated tips from their sales (8%), they’re also payed half minimum wage by their restaurant because it’s assumed that the majority of their income will come from tips. in addition, it’s all of the same work as waiting tables, taking orders, noting special requirements (no mayo on that double whamburger, i’m allergic to peanuts), placing the order, packaging the order including condements (takes the place of clearing your plates, except it’s a bigger hassle), quality control (that burger’s cooked right and has no mayo, your soda’s not flat), bringing it out to you, making change or processing your credit card, oh and by the way, be nice to people who may not pay them for their hard work, heck, they’re more likely to take them for granted, oh and do all of it faster because they won’t have 45 minutes to spread all of that work over, they’ve got to have it done in 20.
if you want mcdonalds go to mcdonalds, if you want quality food, expect to pay gratuity, getting it in your car doesn’t change the work the people who take care of your lazy butt do one bit.
posted by aaron on 5-10-2009 at 8:59 am
1. My former boss was all set to be an English teacher after college, but after having her first child, went into accounting and has been a tax accountant ever since. Similarly, my Aunt started out in English/writing, but became a Social Worker instead. Almost 30 years later, she is still dreaming of becoming a writer…
3. Ahh..tipping. How I detest tipping!!! One of the greatest things about moving to New Zealand is the lack of tipping. We don’t tip anyone for ANYTHING. Why? Because the minimum wage is a fair wage. And services/meals cost just a bit more. Tips are not expected, and there are no ‘tip’ lines on CC slips. It’s incredibly refreshing to walk out of the salon after a haircut/manicure/massage without a tip on top of the expensive service. Same for meals, cab rides (they even give exact change without irony), and bell hops.
Tipping for take-out is ridiculous. In fact – here – there is actually a standard 10% discount for takeout orders!
posted by Dawn on 5-11-2009 at 2:24 am
Three friends of mine had these job changes:
1) Dental hygenist to tattoo artist and piercing specialist
2) Chemical engineer to 3D animator
3) High school teacher to bouncer to stock broker
posted by Mina on 5-15-2009 at 12:43 am