Author archives

My Random Job: Election worker

King County Elections

My county in Washington (King County) has elections up to four times a year: a general (fall) a primary (late summer) and, if needed, two special elections (winter and spring.)  I actually didn’t know this until I got called to work at the elections! Many election positions are PAID…not volunteer!  Of course, this varies depending …

My Random Job: Derby Belle

Derby Belles

I’ve met a lot of really cool people through teaching my Mystery Shopping classes. One of whom, Clara, ran a marketing and PR agency.  Clara liked my outgoing personality and hired me to be a “Derby Belle” for an event she was promoting. The event was a fundraiser for people in the construction field to raise …

My Random Job: Standardized test scorer

Standardized test

Do you remember taking standardized tests in school?  I’m a horrible test taker.  I think I got something like a 20 on my ACT’s.  My mom wouldn’t even show me my SAT score thinking it would depress me too much. (My IQ is apparently in the high 160s, so go-figure.)  I remember the test-taking days …

My Random Job: Vacuum cleaner salesman

Rainbow vacuum by Rexair

Yes, I sold vacuums.  Actually, I sold a vacuum.  Well, truth be told, it wasn’t a vacuum, it was more of a “carpet cleaning system.” That’s right…I’m talking about Rainbows! If you haven’t heard of Rainbows by Rexair, well, you just haven’t lived.  I cannot imagine going back to a traditional vacuum now that I have experienced …

My Random Job: Touring puppeteer

The flower lady

I have no idea how Das Puppenspeil came into my life.  I don’t even remember where I saw the ad, or who I had spoken to, to learn that they were casting puppeteers. All I remember is that sometime during my third year of college, (at the age of 24…I took my time) my awesome dance instructor Alice and I …

My Random Job: Teaching community education

Classroom chairs

I have been told that I’m a natural teacher.  Frankly, I think I’m a natural performer, and it’s just that the message I deliver is fairly educational. I’m an info-tainer! In 2002 I moved back to Michigan, and was trying to figure out what I could do to make some money. Around the same time, …

My Random Job: Census taker

SNL Census skit

During my last few months of college, I was hired to be an enumerator for the Census.  Every 10 years, the Census, (a division of the US government) does a head-count of our residents, gets information on nationality, income, and family status to help better understand the needs of the population. It definitely was a …

My Random Job: Elderly caregiver

Elderly woman

One of my mom’s closest friends, Debra, had a mother who suffered from dementia. It was heartbreaking to see this once-vibrant, sassy woman, lose her mental faculties.  Debra and her husband still worked, and their daughters were off at college, so I was hired to hang out with Momma during the day. It was a …

My Random Job: Movie extra

Dancing crowd

Movies and TV shows are always looking for “regular people” to fill in background shots, making the scene feel more real. The first time I was a movie extra was in 1999-ish for a movie called, ‘A Leonard Cohen’s Afterworld.’  It was shot at the Seattle Center, and the movie somehow revolved around Kurt Cobain’s death.  …

My Random Job: Housekeeper to the stars

Elegant bathroom

People always ask, out of the many random jobs that I have done, which are my favourites? Two immediately came to mind: Ronald McDonald’s Bodyguard, and cleaning Bill Gate’s toilets. No, I didn’t work on a cleaning crew at Microsoft.  I was actually hired by the company that cleaned Bill Gates and Paul Allen’s estates. …