Every Friday, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. Very casual. On to this week’s topics of discussion…
1. Summer is here, and millions of students are starting the summer jobs they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. What’s the most interesting summer work experience on your resume?
2. Have you ever gotten someone’s autograph (and kept it)? My grandfather, who passed away when I was one, gave me a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle. A few years later, I wanted to sign it, too. My cursive wasn’t too good, so now there’s Mickey Mantle’s sig, a note from my grandfather, and a bunch of red circles.
3. How’d you like to name my baby? No, we’re not selling the naming rights (though if you read that first sentence and thought we were selling the naming rights and were considering making an offer, go ahead). My wife and I like a number of female names, but if it’s a boy, we might just stick with Baby Boy English. So, armchair baby namers, got any ideas? In case it helps, my wife’s name is Ellen, our almost-two-year-old is Charlotte, and our dog is Bailey.
[See all the previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]
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1. I backed my moms car into a dumpster on June 1st (also my 16th birthday) and had to get a job to pay the 200 deductible. So I worked at a mom and pop chinese buffet. With the owner, his wife and his girlfriend.
2. — no, but when I was a kid a read a book about some kids finding old handwriting on a piece of furniture and a mystery ensues… so I would always write my name on the back of dressers.
3. Charles English. – can call him chuck, chaz, charlie.
posted by Amy on 6-25-2010 at 2:00 pm
1. I worked at Wendy’s the summer between high school and college. I used to finish my shift and then drive next door to Burger King to get a whopper before going home. Guess I didn’t want to eat what I’d been staring at all day!
3. Derek, Carson or Sawyer for a boy
posted by Hermoine on 6-25-2010 at 2:04 pm
1. I worked as a site interpreter (read: tour guide) at a local historic mansion. It was actually an internship but it was quite interesting and fun. Word of advice: Slinkies will not go down a grand staircase, but they work great on the servants’ staircase.
2. My friend got David Sedaris to sign a copy of Holidays on Ice for me. He explained that I couldn’t be there since I was working my crappy holiday retail job so DS signed it “To Charmingfare, Stuck Behind the Register.”
3. David, Miles, Jonathan, Gabriel, Benjamin. I like traditional names, as you can tell, but your taste may vary.
posted by Mother Chat on 6-25-2010 at 2:05 pm
Slade English
posted by Nic on 6-25-2010 at 2:10 pm
1) I was a Program Director at a residential summer camp for 8 summers. I can’t imagine any job ever topping the experiences I had there
2) I’ve never been an autograph seeker
3) With the Mickey Mantle reference, I would name your baby ‘Seven’
posted by jamie on 6-25-2010 at 2:13 pm
1) I was the announcer, grounds keeper, and scorekeeper for the local Little League for three summers. I was 13 when I started. What a great job. I’ve probably seen 500-600 Little League games.
2) Tuff Hedeman – professional bull rider.
3) My youngest boy is named Eli Jacob.
posted by Jeff on 6-25-2010 at 2:15 pm
1. I worked in an ice cream plant, in the company store, as a temp a few times.
2. Never gotten an autograph…
3. I decided the next child I have, male or female, will be Sagan. (After Carl Sagan.)
posted by Carolyn on 6-25-2010 at 2:16 pm
1. I work for the Amatur Trap Shooting Assoication in high school.
2. No.
3. Major
posted by Chris on 6-25-2010 at 2:17 pm
2. I have an Autographed photo of then VP Dan Quayle. Best part is that he spelled my name wrong. Best wishes to you to Dan.
3. You have to name your child something grand like, Hannibal James, Quincy Alexander or Chester Anthony. Ted works as well.
posted by Franko on 6-25-2010 at 2:18 pm
1) I found an hourly retail job at a party store when I was in HS. 4 years later, I’m still working there.
2) My mother is a teacher at an elementary school and told me one day that Andrew Clements (the children’s author) was coming into school the next day to talk to her kids. I was away at college, but I BEGGED her to take my copy of Frindle in to be signed. She couldn’t find it, was told that he would only sign the books the kids purchased at the book fair, but when I got home from school the next week, my mother handed me a signed bookplate. I still don’t know how she got it.
I am also a huge soccer fan, and have a passing acquaintance with some players on the local MLS team (New England Revolution). One day, when I was at work, I got home to find the Revolution sign on my bedroom door was missing. Three days later, it was returned, autographed by the whole team. Apparently, one of the players came over to see my parents, saw the sign, and took it back to the locker room to be autographed.
3) I’m a huge soccer fan, and if I were having a kid at this point, I’d probably name him after a player on the US National Team. But that’s just me!
posted by Julia on 6-25-2010 at 2:18 pm
1. Working in my university’s maintenance department and seeing all the hidden maintenance areas none of the other students have been in.
2. I have a CD autographed by every member of Straight No Chaser. :) I also got Ethan Zohn’s (from Survivor) a few years ago.
3. (Amy, I was thinking of suggesting Charles too!)
London, Gavin, Arthur, Benjamin, or Horatio.
(Yes, Horatio. I read too much Hamlet in high school and somehow fell in love with the name. Both Hamlet and Horatio Hornblower inspired the character of Captain Kirk, by the way.)
posted by Grobanite33 on 6-25-2010 at 2:18 pm
1) I ran the summer art camp at the museum where I worked for two summers. It was fun, but my boss was horrible. Like, if I were on a sitcom, this would be funny, horrible. She once yelled at me for setting back women’s rights fifty years for offering to make name tags for the teaching artists and including the word “Miss,” as in “Miss Megan.” She concluded with “Maybe that’s the way they do things in Oklahoma…” I suppose she forgot we were in Oklahoma…
2) I stood in the rain for the BAFTA Awards one year when I studied in London. I got autographs from Andy Serkis, Emma Thompson, Alicia Silverstone, and John Voigt, and a handshake from Ian McKellan. I also have Anderson Cooper and Joseph Fiennes.
3) I’ve always liked Edmund. Being named after The Count of Monte Cristo is always a plus.
posted by Megan on 6-25-2010 at 2:21 pm
1. During the summers when I was in university, I would work at a Museum – I made some great friends and had some great times!
2. I got Fergie Jenkins to sign my baseball glove at a game YEARS ago (it was retired greats against the city’s farm-league-ish team). He was NOT a nice person to me and my brother – lot nicer to the chick with boobs (this was 20 years ago when I was 8… so I didn’t help my and my brother’s cause).
3. My hubby and I like the names Alexander (Xander), Dexter… I can’t remember the other ones!
posted by Michelle on 6-25-2010 at 2:21 pm
3) babynamewizard.com It’s baby name searches folks who want to go deeper than a definition.
posted by Laura. on 6-25-2010 at 2:22 pm
1. Two stick out- my very first job, which was at the NYS Renaissance Faire, selling hair accessories and doing hair wraps. That was a really fun job…I was “knighted” as Eowyn by a kilt wearing co-worker.
Second one was the summer I spent as an intern on the movie my cousin was directing (does that count, even though I wasn’t paid?). It wasn’t interesting because it had any huge names (it was eventually shown on Showtime) but I worked with some really cool people. Plus it was filming on a farm, and I got a decent tan (all Irish, so that’s not easy!) and some muscles from lugging around cases of bottled water.
2. I recently saw David Sedaris live, and got him to autograph Me Speak Pretty One Day. He chatted with me a bit about Australian accents, and when he signed the book he drew a picture of a kite, and wrote “Your name in Australian” underneath it.
Then there was the time in junior high I waited hours in line to get one of my Hanson albums autographed. I was the world’s happiest 14 year old that day. :)
3. Something classic that would go well with Charlotte…Andrew?
posted by Kate on 6-25-2010 at 2:27 pm
1. I worked in a library one summer, reshelving books. It was actually a lot more fun and interesting than you might guess. I learned the heck out of the Dewey Decimal System.
2. I have three Neil Gaiman signatures, from three separate occasions. I’m still hoping to find a way to get Terry Pratchett to also sign my copy of Good Omens.
3. Nobody’s suggested Johnny yet?
posted by Lugh on 6-25-2010 at 2:33 pm
1. I spent several summers as a carnie – going from festival to festival, setting up & taking down rides and collecting tickets. It was a great gig because I got to sit out in the sun all day and it paid cash. And no, I don’t smell like cabbage.
2. I collect autographed baseballs from Hall of Famers. I have close to 100 right now, but no Mantle yet.
3. Bad English and Broken English are the first names that pop into my head.
posted by KAR on 6-25-2010 at 2:33 pm
1. Like so many in the region, my summer job when I was 15 and 16 was at Dorney Park. Worked in “catering” the first year, ride operations the second.
2. My wife and I have a few autographs. Barry “Greg Brady” Williams signed a copy of “Growing Up Brady” back when I was in college. Still have that to this day. My wife recently found a ticket stub signed by all members of Type O Negative (including the recently deceased Pete Steele).
3. Your male offspring should be named “Leopold Octavian”
posted by EMStoveken on 6-25-2010 at 2:35 pm
1) In HS and early college, I spent my summers scooping ice cream. It’s certainly not the most exotic summer job, but the family-owned ice cream parlor did treat all of their teenage employees very well. There’s nothing like being covered wrists to elbows in bright blue icecream of questionable flavor.
2) I have the autographs of two Farscape cast members (Raelee Hill and Lani Tupu), autographs of the entire tour cast from season 3 of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ (which is a story in itself), several comic book artists… and Judd Apatow. Once I list it all out, my collection seems pretty random!
3) I have no idea what to name a baby, but I felt the need to add that my cat’s name is Bailey.
posted by Susanna on 6-25-2010 at 2:36 pm
1. Box office cashier at a 10-plex. Met my husband of almost 19 years on this job (he was a manager) so I guess it was more than worth it.
2. I have a number of sci-fi/fantasy autographs. I gave Louise Jameson a Jelly Baby, Colin Baker’s autography says “Where the (beep) are you?”, and James Doohan signed my Enterprise blueprints. The best is William Shattner from when he did SNL, on NBC stationary. It was a Christmas present from my friends, and I couldn’t figure out who it was, they had to tell me!
3. Look up the family tree – that was the inspiration for Gabriel. If he had had a brother, he would have been Jared, but Cassandra showed up instead. If the name is unusual or uncommon, stick with “conventional” spellings, but don’t rely on it. Amazing the number of people who think Gabriel is a girl and Cassandra is spelled with a K.
posted by Laurel on 6-25-2010 at 2:36 pm
The only summer job I ever had (repeatedly for several summers in a row while in school) was working at a production greenhouse. Their two largest customers were Walmart and The Home Depot. They supplied plants to those two chains from Maine to New Jersey. Over the several summers I worked there, I filled orders for the truck, relocated flats of plants from one greenhouse to another, placed cuttings (chrysanthemums and poinsettias), worked as part of an assembly team using these awesome transplanting machines – the machines had claws that would grab seed plugs from one tray and place them into 4-pack or 6-pack retail trays. I also did some hand-transplanting and worked in seeding.
It always made me unhappy going to those chain stores and seeing the pitiful condition of the plants that had looked so vibrant and healthy when I’d pulled the orders two to three weeks prior.
posted by Cordelya on 6-25-2010 at 2:37 pm
1) I never had a job because I grew up when Obama was president, but even if the job market were better I would decide against getting a job because of welfare.
posted by Distraught on 6-25-2010 at 2:37 pm
1. I was assistant manager of an ocean front Kite Shop from age 14 to 17. I’m not sure why there are dedicated kite stores, or why they need asst. managers, but it paid well!
2. Kristy Yamaguchi – and I was so proud…
3. Emmett – always thought it had a good ring to it
posted by Abby on 6-25-2010 at 2:41 pm
My husband has recently been begging me to name our son Kaiser Chief. Please feel free to use it, because we won’t be!
posted by CPete on 6-25-2010 at 2:47 pm
1) I was a tour guide at the Gateway Arch for three summers and on weekends in my senior year. It was an experience, to say the least.
2) Al Gore, during the ’96 campaign.
3) I’m fond of “James”, for some reason, but I also like the way the names “Jim English” and “Jimmy English” sound. (None of my kids are getting that name, though: no Juniors in my family!) We’ve also recently discovered a distant relative named “Newton”, which has a nice science-y ring to it.
posted by jeem on 6-25-2010 at 2:48 pm
1. I worked at Baskin Robbins for three years in HS. I still don’t eat ice cream fifteen years later.
2. Jesse “The Body” Ventura–I saw him in the airport and he could tell I recognized him. It was uncomfortable because I could tell he wanted me to ask!
3. Camden won our name lottery. Cullen was second place.
posted by rjm on 6-25-2010 at 2:52 pm
1. Summer work in an ice cream parlor is the best work a teenager can find: always cool inside, free snacks, and plenty of social interaction.
2. I got Bob Huggins, former head basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati, to sign the menu of a local bar just before he was arrested/fired for a D.U.I.
3. The best boy’s name I can come up with is Irving Christopher English (I always thought the initials were as important as the name, and ICE is about as cool as initials come. And any guy named Irv is destined for an action-packed life).
posted by Jeff on 6-25-2010 at 2:52 pm
1- I spent 2 summers working the call center for Marlboro miles. memorable calls were little kids pulling pranks “killerssssss”, The guy who only bought american and I had to flip through the catalog to find the items made in the usa, and lastly the guy who asked what the foreign words on the front of the pack meant..veni vidi vici.
2 I never understood autographs attracton.
3 My Dad and brother are both named Terry. we don’t need anymore Terrys in my family but Terry English sounds nice.
posted by lewen on 6-25-2010 at 3:17 pm
1) I haven’t had any unusual summer jobs- but during college I worked at a swine virology lab and after college that became my permanent year-around job
2) When I was in grade school we had to write to someone and try to get their autograph- at the time Chris Carter (Vikings (american football) was my favorite player- he sent back an autographed card- i still have it!
3) My favorite name for a boy has always been Scott, I am also fond of Elijah or Shia
posted by Suz on 6-25-2010 at 3:19 pm
1) I used to referee soccer. This may not sound that interesting, but the parents could be absolutely insane. I played competitive sports from age 4 through college, so I get wanting to win and do well, but these parents were something else entirely. I once threw out an entire sideline because the parents were shouting obscenities- at a field full of 10 year-olds.
2. Rushdie signed my copy of The Satanic Verses, which was pretty cool.
3. I like the names Owen, Oliver, Arthur, and Connor for a boy. :)
posted by Maureen on 6-25-2010 at 3:22 pm
1. Packed plastic worms in bags for a bait company
3.I’m with Jeff & always check out intials. I like Jacob & Oliver so he could be Jacob Oliver English (JOE)
posted by Tricia on 6-25-2010 at 3:33 pm
1. The most interesting summer job was working at a Christian animation studio. I’m a fierce athiest, but it turns out many of the animators were as well–it was just a job. I did intern work, wrote some scripts and played Four Square with them in the parking lot.
2. Drop Dead Gorgeous was filmed at my middle school, and I hung out around the set for like 2 weeks. I got Denise Richards’ autograph out of it.
And this happened just the other day… I almost got Ken Jennings’ autograph. I was riding my bike down to a local beach, and I saw him hanging out there with his family. I had thought about bringing my latest issue of Mental Floss to the beach, but didn’t feel like going back up to my apt to grab it. So I settled for a picture with him.
3. Antidisestablishmentarianism English?
posted by Kevin on 6-25-2010 at 3:34 pm
1. I worked one summer for U.S. Customs and lucked out – I was assigned to a nice air conditioned office processing the forms people fill out when they come into the US with more than a certain amount of cash. All the other summer Customs people worked in the bowels of IAB.
2. I’ve got about 3 or 4 baseballs signed by NY Yankees. They are kept in a box, in a drawer, in a locked cabinet that my son (now 12) can not get to.
3. Presswunfa… (it’s Friday afternoon)
@Lugh – Oh, you know the family too? That’s what I was going to suggest.
posted by Sue on 6-25-2010 at 3:41 pm
1)One summer I worked underground in a trona mine (look it up – it is a real thing) shoveling rocks onto beltlines which ran up to the refinery on the surface, 1,600 feet above us.
2)I got Stan “The Man” Lee to sign my copy that Marvel Comics history book that came out in the late 80s. I have since become more of a warm handshake, pleasantry exchanger as opposed to an autograph seeker.
3)I am a big fan of traditional names. They simply travel better through time and space. I am the father of two girls (Isabella and Margaret), but our theoretical boy was going to be named John Clark and we were going to call him Clark.
posted by Andrew on 6-25-2010 at 3:42 pm
1) I worked at Grant’s Farm, an animal preserve/zoo type place on the Anheuser-Busch family property. I gave the talk on the tram ride, i.e. “And on our left side, is the buffalo herd…”
I also worked at a cemetery for one summer, weedwhacking around headstones. Most depressing summer of my life.
posted by Mark G. on 6-25-2010 at 3:45 pm
1. I work in theatre, so I’ve got a pretty good disaster story from every year doing summer stock. Like the time we had to stop the show because set pieces were coming in crooked from the fly system.
2. Ozzie Smith and Bruce Campbell. The Bruce autograph was during the Brisco County, Jr days and I was an awkward, awkward high schooler. The picture of him with me makes me cringe.
3. I second the Connor nomination and add Deacon into the mix.
posted by emmarmot on 6-25-2010 at 3:48 pm
1. The best summer job I ever had was working at a Dairy Queen. The owners were a young married couple and the staff was mostly teenagers like myself. The hours were great and so was the pay. I think the hardest part about that job was learning how to make the trademark DQ “curl” at the top of the cone:-).
2. When I was 13,I went to a Rick Springfield concert and then got to attend an after party, where I met him. He was nice enough to sit and talk with me and my friend for about 10-15 minutes. I still have the pics I took with him and his autograph **sigh**.
posted by Eli on 6-25-2010 at 3:50 pm
When I was about 13 I spent two or three summers as offical scorekeeper for the city park & rec adult softball league. Made $2 per game and was often out till midnight or later. Usually the league commish gave me a ride home.
posted by Steve on 6-25-2010 at 3:50 pm
1. One job I had was cleaning up at a small engine repair shop(lawnmowers, generators, chainsaws etc.). Once a week, I would have to sort out the broken parts and put them with like metals to be sent to the scrap and recycling yard.
Another summer, I worked nights pulling stock at a Piggly Wiggly grocery warehouse to send to the stores.
2. I have a signed copy of The Rookie by Scott Sigler ((FD∅™),one of my favorite authors.
3. Serious boy name: Lucas Nolan English
Not so Serious: Ispeaka Dee English.
posted by Varzil on 6-25-2010 at 3:55 pm
My best summer job was always the one at Army Cadet camp.
I have no autographs….but i have signed letters from relatives that have passed.
I like Callum, Simon, and Damien…for boys names. Also would go with Andrew (as Katie?) suggested, and Cameron is another favorite. I shoulda had more kids, 4 just wasn’t enough to use all the names I like…haven’t even suggested my own kids names yet!!! LOL
posted by Sandie on 6-25-2010 at 3:57 pm
1) Most interesting? I worked at a Coldstone before my Junior year of college, so I was the oldest employee, working with HS Juniors or Seniors. It was fun to live vicariously through my co-workers drama, and it was at an ice cream shop, how was that not a dream? :)
(and no, I didn’t gain weight – I was sure to run everyday and watch myself)
2) When I was in elementary school (early and mid ’90s), the fad was to send off for signed pictures of celebrities, so I scored several from cast members of “Home Improvement”, R.L. Stein and Michael Jordan, but the most important was one I got from the man who did the cover illustrations for Goosebumps. I guess he never got as much fan mail as R.L. Stein, so he sent me an autographed picture AND a hand written letter. I wrote him back and he actually wrote me a second letter. It was very sweet and meant the world to me (as a ten year old and a HUGE Goosebumps fan). That still stands out as one of the coolest celeb (or pseudo-celeb) experiences.
3) Sorry! I’m the worst at naming! My co-worker just asked me to help her name her new kitten and I’m drawing a blank, too. I guess I’ll go with a funny answer and say “Art Vandalay English” or something for lack of a pun, like “Speka D. English” :)
posted by okiemelissa on 6-25-2010 at 4:00 pm
1) I worked 2 hours at Sonic one summer. I quote, “Kid you got great constumah service. Come back when you can skate.”
2)My hometown has the NebraskaLand Days celebration, and all the artists and celebrities stayed at our hotel. My family would also throw parties for the artists, and one year they all signed a once blank poster to my parents…some of the spontaneous artwork and thank yous are out of this world.
3)Andrew, David or Jonah. And congrats!
posted by Helenann on 6-25-2010 at 4:02 pm
1. I never held a summer job, but I did work in a pharmacy during my high school years. The pharmacists taught me how to read prescriptions, fill prescriptions, mix compounds and stuff capsules. I loved that job.
2. I have autographs from Jack Black, Oliver Stone, George Clinton and Jeff Daniels.
3. Jonah, Everett, Oliver
posted by sjms on 6-25-2010 at 4:03 pm
1. I worked at my family’s bike shop from 8th grade through college. It was so much fun because I was one of the few girls that worked there.
2. Autographed Derek Jeter picture. I had him sign it when I was in Chicago for a Yankees/White Sox game.
3. Andrew, Gavin, Wyatt
posted by Andrea on 6-25-2010 at 4:13 pm
1. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor all through high school and college (the only times you can reasonably have a “summer” job). However, I just took a job as management in a school program, so maybe next summer I’ll get to venture into a summer job again!
3. As I will never be naming a child, I have lots of fun with this. I like Jacob, Xavier and Blane. Personally, I think that Jacob Xavier English sounds great.
However, I think its crap that you have to name a kid immediately. Sometimes its way easier to name someone/something once you get to know their personality a bit. But that’s just my two cents!
posted by jmayhp on 6-25-2010 at 4:13 pm
1. I worked every summer with my Dad… doing drywall. Fun for a girl!
2. I had an irrational crush on Mark Grace of the Cubs when I was a teenager, and hurdled several rows of seats in order to bound toward the dugout where he was signing autographs before a game when I was 15. Got the autograph and a little back and forth with him (no, NOT LIKE THAT), and was all mooney-eyed for the rest of the game.
3. Plain? Olde? Pidgin? Broken? ;)
posted by Staci on 6-25-2010 at 4:16 pm
1. During summer break one year, a friend’s sister got us both jobs at a factory. He got the cushy office job, and I got the job inspecting parts. It was the first time I had ever really worked a 40-hour week (I had worked in a theater before with much cushier hours). That factory provided me the extra push to stay in school and follow up with grad school.
2. I met Walt Wolfram, who is a linguist who studies American dialects. I got his autograph on his poster, which is now probably one of the nerdiest and coolest things I own.
3. I like the names Jeffrey, Michael, or Ian. However, I don’t have kids, and I am probably not the best person to give naming advice.
posted by Sara on 6-25-2010 at 4:16 pm
2. My stepdad used to have an autographed Babe Ruth baseball, but one day we decided to play our ball game with it. I hit it over the fence and it went straight into the mouth of this gigantic dog!
Benny leaped the fence and tried getting it back. A cross town chase ensued, but the ball was completely mangled when he did have it. Luckily the dog’s owner happened to play with Ruth, so he gave us a ball autographed by the entire 1927 Yankees starting line up!
I still have that ball.
posted by Smalls on 6-25-2010 at 4:29 pm
3) Major…
Imagine roll call if he’s in a class with another English:
English, Major?
posted by Amy on 6-25-2010 at 4:31 pm
1. One summer I temped (Kelly girl!) at a pharmaceutical insurance company. My job was to open claim envelopes and tape the receipts to paper so the data entry people could work faster. By the end of the summer they saw how I kept coming up with faster ways to do things and I ended up doing a complete revision of all of their workflow and procedures all the way to resigning the physical layout of the office. Started the summer in shorts in the mailroom and ended in a suit giving powerpoint presentations to the company VP.
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the MR. Universe days. Awesome signed photo!
posted by TimC on 6-25-2010 at 4:32 pm
1) Weekend job working for police officers at a moving company when I was 15. They broke every labor law on the books–12 hour shifts, virtually no breaks. Still to this day the only job that I’ve ever quit in under two years–I made it one month.
2)Two come to mind: Jason Giambi homerun ball and Val Kilmer. I caught the ball during the game and got him to sign it after. This was before he turned to Satan (went to the Yankees) but definitely after the roids had started to kick in.
Val Kilmer is on a Doc Holliday 8 X 10. Who doesn’t love Tombstone?
3) Gabriel Ryan is going to be the name of my second son. However, unless the pull and pray fails or I got a summons to the Maury show, that might be a while so fee free to use it.
posted by Jeff on 6-25-2010 at 4:33 pm
2) I have a copy of Sophie’s Choice that I got William Styron to autograph
posted by Amy on 6-25-2010 at 4:34 pm
1. I worked in a sweetshop for a couple of summers. I made silk screened t-shirts with orders in the 100′s and had to stand next to an oven and put the shirts on a conveyor built. Good perks of getting any shirt I made I wanted, and getting “test” shirts with a bunch of logos on them.
3. I would go old school with a boys name and call him Balthazar. (good thing I am not planning on having kids.)
posted by HansMoleman on 6-25-2010 at 4:46 pm
1. Disneyland
2. Julia Child
3. It’s clear that any boy’s name you choose must have two syllables, so as to fit in with the rest of the family.
posted by loripop on 6-25-2010 at 4:48 pm
1. In college I worked at Tweetsie Railroad and I was a bodyguard for someone in a Sir Topham Hat costume (the conductor from Thomas the Tank Engine). He would walk from our back room to a set location about 100 yards away, where children could have their picture taken with him for half an hour each hour. My sole responsibility was to walk behind Sir Topham Hat to make sure he didn’t fall over. Because of OSHA regulations concerning individuals in non-air-conditioned suits, he could only be in costume thirty minutes at a time. Thus, we got a half-hour break every half hour.
2. Only autographed memorabilia that I have is a baseball signed by Muddy the Mudcat — mascot for the local minor league baseball team. Never had the heart to throw it out
posted by Zach on 6-25-2010 at 4:53 pm
1) I used to work as a hostess in a trendy bar/restaurant in New York. It was a hard place to get into so there was always drama and customer’s thinking they were the Queen of England. Yet all my coworkers were extremely vulgar and hilarious, so I’ll be going back in a few weeks for another summer.
2) I randomly got invited to a taping of the TV show Moesha, and somehow left with a script signed by the entire cast. Weird, because I never really watched that show.
3) Felix, Max, Miles, Oliver.
posted by Naomi on 6-25-2010 at 5:02 pm
1. I dipped ice cream in the summers when I was a kid. Hand dipped double dark chocolate up to my elbow! It was actually fun, because we lived near a campground so would meet lots of different people each year.
2. Vinny Testaverde and Boy George. Not at the same time. Vinny at Browns summer camp and Boy George on the streets of London.
3. My nephew was named for my maternal grandmother’s maiden name. It is unusual but not weird. I vote for something like that.
posted by Hyacinth on 6-25-2010 at 6:10 pm
The summer of 1984 after I had graduated high school found me working with the overnight cleaning crew at Swift Independent Meat Packing Plant that used to be in Ft. Worth, Texas
The job that another school friend and I had was to use a high pressure water hose and a vacuum device made from a 50 gallon drum.
We would hose the blood, guts, and various meaty bits off the insides of a very big refrigerated unit. After the hosing, we would use stiff bristled push brooms and Tide detergent to scrub the floor and the walls.
We pretty much stayed soaking wet, cold, and miserable for the entire shift. I was always covered in blood and viscera from the day shift’s processing and packing work.
I disliked that job but only because we stayed wet and cold all night long. Surprisingly, the blood and animal chunks didn’t bother me too much. I guess it sort of prepared me for another job in 2008 where I picked up and delivered dead people for a mortuary service.
At least I wasn’t cleaning up feces or vomit.
posted by Chuckula on 6-25-2010 at 6:12 pm
3. Boy’s names are easy. Nicholas Adam. My husband and I almost named our son Nicholas James. We also almost went with Edwin James, but finally settled on Nathan James.
posted by Dany on 6-25-2010 at 6:14 pm
1) One day I worked filling bags of bean sprouts for a Chinese shipping company. Apparently, they were really shady – not only was I hired and put to work the first day, the verbal abuse was horrible. I was so disgusted, I didn’t even show up to work the next day and didn’t even bother collecting my paycheck (like I said, the company was very shady-looking).
2) Being near the current location of Comic-Con, I’ve gotten quite a few signatures over the years. So far, the most interesting one has been Amy Allen, the actress who played Aayla Secura in the Star Wars prequels. The funny thing was that Kenny Baker – R2D2 himself – was also there, yet I wanted to get the autograph of the hot chick. Go figure!
3) “Modern” comes to mind… :-) That said, Rick sounds pretty nice to me. Good luck with the name search!
posted by Steve from San Diego on 6-25-2010 at 6:39 pm
1. My only summer job was at the ripe old age of 10. I helped a family friend sell antiques and collectables. I learned some very cool things about life and the value of certain objects. I worked for her every summer til I turned 18!
posted by Jill...Not Jillian on 6-25-2010 at 6:41 pm
1. I worked at Amazing Pictures on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco for a couple of summers in the early 90′s. It’s one of those places where you put your face on another body. It’s not there anymore, but I really loved meeting all of the tourists that visited.
2. I have a basketball autographed by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill (Duke basketball).
3. I named my son Alexander, but he goes by AJ. I almost named him Blaize. I blame that on the hormones.
posted by Corinne on 6-25-2010 at 6:42 pm
1. My only real summer job was also my worst… I drove an ice cream truck. Since I only made 30% of what I sold after gas – and either gave away or ate a lot of the ice cream… I didn’t make any money. i only lasted three days.
2. Leonard Nemoy, Pistol Pete (which I actually sold) and Fab 5 Freddy.
3. When I was a kid at summer camp, there were a family of brothers. I forgot their last name, but their first names were: King, Duke and Baron. If they had a brother named Prince, I didn’t ever meet him…
posted by Stuart on 6-25-2010 at 7:04 pm
1. It’s a toss up. Working in a factory was awesome because I discovered the value of doing things to get me out of my head. Working at a consensus driven summer camp also had its moments, especially because kindergarteners really don’t get the whole idea of consensus.
2. I have a copy of Jane of Lantern Hill autographed by L.M. Montgomery (the author of Anne of Green Gables).
3. Personally, I would name my son Thomas, even though it’s not as good a name as Derrill.
posted by Becky on 6-25-2010 at 7:07 pm
1. I’m currently pet sitting three cats and a bunny.
2. When my family went to see a baseball game (it wasn’t pro, or college, but the minor league, I suppose.), my little brother got the bat boy’s autograph. He still has it.
3. Proper :D
posted by Scotti on 6-25-2010 at 7:36 pm
1) Washing windows, stuffing envelopes, making printing press wipers and working retail…can you feel the excitement? I did meet Martha Stewart at the grand opening of the store I worked at during college vacations/breaks…
2) I have a letter and autographed book sent to me from THE Lovecraft scholar ST Joshi, a postcard from Florence King, and Tony (Candyman)Todd’s signed headshot with a message that sounds suggestive but really isn’t once I explain exactly why he wrote what he did…
3) Nathaniel, Theodoric, Charles, James, Frederick, Paul…
posted by Gwendy on 6-25-2010 at 7:59 pm
3. I’m going to have to second a few names already mentioned and stick in a few more:
Benjamin
Felix
Zachary
Max
Micah
I know they don’t all fit in with the 2 syllable theme you have going already,
posted by Moth on 6-25-2010 at 8:14 pm
Moonies, believe it or not. They managed to get themselves into a state program the helped find jobs for teens. They were awful employers.
I have Mr. Dave Barry’s autograph, of which I am quite proud.
Melina is a nice name. So is Jonathan.
posted by ajollypyruvate on 6-25-2010 at 8:43 pm
Library page/desk clerk (actually 2 years). Hated the children’s reading room (aka zoo).
Temp office assistant at a small printing company, where I got to walk job jackets through the plant and coordinate subcontracted printing jobs. Got indelible black printers ink on a new grey skirt in the camera room on my first day. Spent an entire weekend comparing a print run of tens of thousands of salad dressing bottle labels with the original proof for color accuracy, using a jeweler’s loupe.
Dipped ice cream for a franchise store. Felt like I always smelled of stale dairy. Learned how to decorate the ice cream cakes and pies, which has come in handy.
As a Kelly temp, did a 2-day marketing thing with another person asking people in a Denny’s type restaurant to taste-test thin fries and steak fries because the restaurant thought maybe it should change. Very different from office work. Learned that I dislike intruding on people, so no sales or telemarketing in my future.
Temped as a typist/word processor in a legal office. 20+ years and much education later, I’m still in the legal field but am on the other side of the desk now.
After college, I had a day job in a law office but evenings I was on-call at a fast food place for after-hours clean-up. Most of the staff were high schoolers who had a curfew, so the store was short-handed for closing. When they needed me, I came in jeans and sneakers to break down the salad bar, clean the dining room, take out trash, sweep, mop, etc. I got a paycheck but never wore a uniform.
posted by Jessica on 6-25-2010 at 10:03 pm
1. I should actually put this on my resume because it’s so cool: Intern on the NJ.com Munchmobile’s inaugural year.
2. Strangest thing I ever got autographed: A wrist brace I had to wear for tendinitis. Dr. Demento autographed it. It was a first for him, he said. You bet I kept it!!!
3. Name the kid after someone in your family, or your wife’s family, who you always tell stories about and smile.
posted by Elizabeth W. on 6-25-2010 at 10:33 pm
1) I spent 3 summers in university working as a housekeeper at fly-in fishing resorts in Northern Ontario. I’d go for 4 months at a time without seeing a single car. Great fun!
2) I have Jean Little’s autograph on one of her books from when I was little. She was my hero.
3) I like fairly solid names that aren’t super-common. I know way too many Steves. A personal favourite is Thaddeus.
posted by Manda on 6-25-2010 at 10:36 pm
1. I worked for a Fortune 500 company – in their sewage treatment plant.
2. My son got the autograph of Joe Mather of the St Louis Cardinals (his favorite team) at a Cincinnati Reds game a couple of years ago.
3. Andrew English has a nice ring, but I may be biased.
posted by Andy on 6-25-2010 at 10:49 pm
1. I’m not old enough to work yet.
2. My older sister got the 12th Series of Unfortunate Events book signer by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler). He messed up on the date.
3. Jack or Ianto
posted by Cecilia on 6-25-2010 at 10:58 pm
1. never had a real summer job, just babysitting for nurses my mom worked with, but I got fantastic Christmas gifts!
2. I’ve gotten autographs from Weird Al Yankovic at Hampton Beach, NH. He was performing at the Casino Ballroom that weekend. My favorite though, is Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. I was at the Anchorage restaurant in Sunapee Harbor, NH, and literally walked into him as he was passing the door to the restrooms. I wasn’t thinking clearly as I rummaged in my bag for a piece of paper. I realized after the fact that I had handed him a bank envelope that had my whole week’s pay in it. Then I dragged my fiance across the street to the ice cream stand to have our picture taken. He was eating black raspberry!
3. I named my firstborn son Joshua Craig, after Josh Lyman of the West Wing and my husband Craig. My second son is Jonathan David. The David is my dad’s name, who we found out had colon cancer 3 days before I learned I was pregnant. He’s in remission now. The Jonathan is for Capt. Jonathan of the Time Bandit on Deadliest Catch. Joshua took to introducing himself as Jonathan and convincing people it was his name, so we took it off the table to get him to stop. It worked!
posted by Pamela in NH on 6-25-2010 at 11:21 pm
1.) Somewhere there is a picture floating around of me cuffing a teenaged boy with my knee in his back. I worked as a uniformed security officer in Myrtle Beach (in SC we have the authority to make arrests), and the kid pestered me until I gave in and posed for his PG-rated S&M photo.
2.) I have Bill Clinton’s autograph stuffed away in a scrapbook somewhere, and a picture of me with America Fererra (Ugly Betty).
3.) I’m biased, but I love my own daughter’s name: “Sylvia” (and she loves it too). She has a Dr. Hook song with her name in it which happens to be written by Shel Silverstein (who also wrote the poem Sara Cynthia Sylvia Stout). There is a minor planet with her name as well as a figure from Roman Mythology, blah blah blah. It’s special to both of us for a lot of reasons. Just keep looking and you and Ellen will know when you find the right one.
posted by Chris on 6-25-2010 at 11:37 pm
For boys, I think Silas is greatly underappreciated. I also like Jonah, Henry, and Frederick.
posted by whitney on 6-25-2010 at 11:48 pm
1. I spent my summers in college working at a summer camp for at-risk middle school kids. I worked on the ropes course three of those summers, and mixing kids with heights will always create memorable experiences. Helping a girl that was paralyzed in her left arm and leg go off the zip line was probably the coolest thing we did. The kids were fun to work with and I had some great co-workers.
2. All I have are a few from college football players.
3. Cameron
posted by Courtney on 6-26-2010 at 12:37 am
Autographs, Cher, Hank Williams, Jr., Peter Max, Dan Seals, Will Durst, Bernadette Peters, Country Dick and, my favorite is John Entwistle’s autograph on a picture of him from another concert.
How about “Friday” for a unique baby name.
posted by Andi on 6-26-2010 at 12:53 am
1. Delivered ice, like bags of ice, to gas stations, grocery, stores and such from the age of 15 to 21 during the summers. My uncle owns the business and so we got to do all the “fun” jobs too like clean the floors in delivery trucks and scrape ice off the freezer floors or double stack 2000lb pallets of ice, it was always a good day when they fell over.
3. I’m partial to the Elijah/Jonah/Judah -ah ending names. Though a friend named his son Elijah so thats gone for me.
posted by Aaron on 6-26-2010 at 12:57 am
Candyman was the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. I’d be afraid the autograph was haunted. ha ha
posted by Andi on 6-26-2010 at 1:37 am
No interesting first job
Have had multiple books signed and gone to multiple readings by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) AWESOME!!!
Fav names for babies (though a little different…) Valkyrie for a girl and Mordecai for a boy
posted by ChelwaFispo on 6-26-2010 at 2:07 am
Just don’t give the baby some weird, trendy, or “creatively-spelled” name. It’s going to stay with him the rest of their life, and he is the person who is going to have to explain why his parents named him (for example) “William” but chose to spell it “Hwyljam”.
-”BB”-
posted by Bicycle Bill on 6-26-2010 at 3:00 am
Ryder English!
posted by rachel tara on 6-26-2010 at 3:57 am
1. I volunteered four hours per week for two full years at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum as a docent.
2. I have the autographed autobiographies of four U.S. Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. I have a Spider-Man comic book autographed by Stan Lee. I have books autographed by Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and some others.
3. Your name is English? That’s easy. His name shall be Britt.
posted by B-Doc on 6-26-2010 at 5:18 am
1) I’ve had several summer jobs. Grocery Store, YMCA, Poultry Farm, Golf Course (2 of them!), a roofing membrane plant, and of course…McDonalds…
posted by CK on 6-26-2010 at 5:40 am
One summer job I had in university was working in a hospital laundry. I’ll never forget the maternity wards bags one morning after a birth the night before with 2 new nurses who did not know proper procedure for disposing of the “soiled” linen–after that I felt I had been in birthing room—YUCK!
posted by DeeFan on 6-26-2010 at 6:16 am
Ive always worked delivering things. From newspapers when I was 11, to wood floors in my teens, and now the job that stuck is ice in Boston year round too changes the meaning of selling ice to eskimos a bit though. My favorite part is the tourists and anyone really not working in bars or restaurants tellin me I have the best job for the summer working with ice all day. In reality I get hotter the more I’m in and out of the truck and it gets busier exponentialy with the temp rising
posted by Ptoomboston on 6-26-2010 at 7:12 am
1) Worked for a reputable survey company in Canada on a breast implant phone survey (seriously). Women (and a few men-turned-women) voluntarily called to answer some questions about their breast implants. It was so sad to hear some women say that despite problems with leakage and hardening, they kept their implants in because they knew their husbands would leave them if they had them removed. I felt like saying “LEAVE HIM NOW!”
posted by QuercusQuill on 6-26-2010 at 7:42 am
I had mundane jobs. I worked grounds and janitorial at a nursing home and my school, and on a highway department crew. My brother, however, worked at a canal lock. He even learned how to operate the system.
posted by gus on 6-26-2010 at 7:52 am
My ex-wife and I worked out a system. For a boy I picked the first name and she picked the middle. We would switch if we had a girl. My son got the same first name as my grandfather, my uncle and me. His middle name is his maternal grandfather’s name. If he were a girl it would have been Autumn Leigh. My sister said it was to hippy sounding (Autumn Leaves). My oldest brother, by coincidence, has his dad’s name combined with our maternal grandfather’s name.
posted by gus on 6-26-2010 at 7:57 am
I taught swimming during high school and a few summers during college.
I’ve gotten lots of autographs after broadway shows, most memorably Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in The Producers on a CD case. Sutton Foster and other cast members for Thoroughly Modern Millie on a poster. When I was in elementary school I sent away for Lily Tomlin’s autograph.
My husband has Steven Pinker’s autograph on his copy of the Blank Slate
Mortimer, (I just watched Arsenic and Old Lace the other day). Although on a less old fashioned note I do like the name Owen quite a bit.
posted by Jenna on 6-26-2010 at 12:32 pm
1. Most interesting was probably repainting the barns at my neighbors pig farm when I was 12. On top of tall ladders, moving them by myself, and trying not to fall into the troughs.
2. No autographs, never really got into them.
3. We could only agree on one name for our son – Nolan Wyatt. Others we liked, but couldn’t agree on how to put together, were Gavin, Owen, and Ethan.
posted by Andrea H. on 6-26-2010 at 12:48 pm
1. Haven’t had one yet
3. I’d go with the names:
Graham Chapman (Monty Python ftw!) English
Caleb English.
Arthur English.
Jeremy (or Jeremiah) English.
William Shakespeare English.
Oscar Wilde English (Not English, though)
posted by Ellie on 6-26-2010 at 5:12 pm
1.In high school I was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons. It was the best, I got to be outside all summer long!
In college I had a summer job doing QC for Haagen Dazs ice cream. It was the best job ever, every hour I had the horrible task of taste testing the ice cream. The only down side was days when they made coffee flavor, I’d be up all night!
3. How about Jake?
posted by Krima on 6-26-2010 at 8:03 pm
4. To follow up on the first post, promoting Charles, but there’s another nickname from Charles that isn’t mentioned: Chip.
As in A Fish Called Wanda: “The chip. The English contribution to cuisine.”
I doubt kids his age would be literate enough in movies to get the reference and use it against him by shoving french fries up his nose.
Of course, loyal Flossers will know that there is a danger in reminding people about that scene as it has been known to cause people to laugh themselves to death…
posted by Big Jonny on 6-26-2010 at 9:59 pm
Name your kid Frank. Thats a good name. . . . . . for a boy.
posted by Gilbert on 6-26-2010 at 10:28 pm
My partner and I have never been able to agree on a boy’s name… she likes Lachlan, and I like Tyler.
So one of those maybe. Also, congratulations. :)
posted by tina on 6-27-2010 at 9:03 am
Hey @KAR, I was a carnie, too, for several years. Most fun was the ‘fool the guesser’ game. I got really good, and lost a lot of my shyness, speaking on a microphone. I once guessed the weight of a man and his son in his backpack baby carrier, within 3 pounds. I was up in Hamburg New York, about 30 years ago.
I had the autographs of all of the Osmond Brothers for many many years..
I’m 50 years old, I’m OVER naming babies! lol…
posted by old hippy chick on 6-27-2010 at 9:17 am
1). worked 3 summers as a ride operator as Hershey Park. Best job of my life, and I still have my old name tag proudly displayed at my desk.
2). When I was about 12, I read the book “Yeager” and then wrote Chuck Yeager a letter. He sent me back a personalized autographed picture, which I still have. I had a chance to meet C.E. “Bud” Anderson (who was Yeager’s buddy during WW2 and for years after; he was also a triple-ace during the war). I paid $20 for an autographed pic. He seemed kind of angry when I asked him about Yeager and said they hadn’t spoken in 8 years.
posted by Pete on 6-27-2010 at 5:58 pm
In 1979, a year after graduation, I worked on a small touring carnival sideshow. Gabora the Gorilla Girl. It’s the only one of it’s kind left now. The audience would see a girl in a cage visibly turn into a gorilla, then the ape would go crazy, break down the bars and escape by jumping onto the stage. The audience would run out the the tent every time, screaming. It was a blast!! I tell people my job was to induce riots in small groups of people.
That job was a big influence on my career, and I have been a professional magician since then.
posted by Greg McMahan on 6-27-2010 at 6:08 pm
3. Somebody already mentioned Broken, so how about Olde or Freshman.
I had a teacher in high school who made the mistake of asking her freshman English class for suggestions for the name of her baby. Her last name was Anker and the ideas didn’t stray far from Drop, Rusty and Weigh.
posted by eric! on 6-27-2010 at 10:59 pm
2. I have a page from the Kids in the Hall “Tour of Duty” program where they are all dressed in wedding (bridesmaid/bride) attire with their signatures on it.
posted by Megan on 6-28-2010 at 2:55 am
1. One summer I worked as a secretary in a nuclear power plant. It was certainly interesting..I spent most of my time staring at the glass “break in case of emergency” cabinets!
3. I’ve always liked the name Ian.
posted by Logan on 6-28-2010 at 6:05 am
Mangesh English has a nice ring to it …
posted by B on 6-28-2010 at 5:20 pm