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View Full Version : This has got to be my last ssason!!!!!



gimmethesimplelife
5-1-11, 3:56pm
I say this every year but I am of the opinion that this has got to be my last season waiting tables. This year I have really had to struggle burnout to get packed and this morning I woke up with lower back pain, just like I had last season on stressful days. HMMMMMM......Wonder if my body is trying to tell me something????? I used to discount completely when my body spoke to me this way - now I take note. OK, then, one more season, one more block of 5 1/2 months to make the most of, and time to do some serious thinking if I am truly getting out of food and beverage.....At least I am in a great place to have a last season! Rob

puglogic
5-2-11, 12:17am
Take tender care of your body, Rob, for it is the beast of burden that carries you through this life.

And listen to it, too :)

I did not listen to mine this spring, and have suffered for it. Once again I promise it I'll listen, and once more I hope I can keep my promise...

Wildflower
5-2-11, 4:38am
Rob, out of curiousity what other career choices do you have in mind if you stop waiting tables? You come across here as having such a great personality I'm betting you would be good at alot of things that an introvert like me could never do. You seem quite outgoing, and that will carry you far no matter what you do. :) Or maybe it's time to just retire period.

gimmethesimplelife
5-2-11, 11:34am
Rob, out of curiousity what other career choices do you have in mind if you stop waiting tables? You come across here as having such a great personality I'm betting you would be good at alot of things that an introvert like me could never do. You seem quite outgoing, and that will carry you far no matter what you do. :) Or maybe it's time to just retire period.LOL WOW! I am amazed as usual that I come across as outgoing.....I am actually deeply introverted and very introspective. As I have posted here before, I am able to wait tables as once I punch in it's like I become someone else - some days I think I should get an academy award for my performance - and once I punch out, I become who really am. Online it is easy to come across as outgoing I guess because I have the "safety" of the Internet here - not the wear and tear of human interaction IYKWIM? How I'd love to retire period but that's not going to happen, still working on paying down debts. As to other careers, I was thinking of getting a certificate in web design - only problem what that seems to be that I would be competing with others in cheaper wage countries who could do the same work online and expect much less for doing it. I guess this is the big question these days - so what then do I do? I can come up with no easy answer so far.....And I have the sinking feeling that I am not the only one in this situation, thinking, ok, then, what do I do then?

How different things are now from when I was in college in the late 1980's. I remember back then there was this beautiful feeling of faith that education would yield rewards and if you just made it to the degree, you would get a fair chance at being set. Not anymore.....I can remember that when companies came to campus to recruit, their standards were not so high as they are today. Today it is like you need to have several internships and proven leadership experience - back then they would invest in you by training you, and give you some time to pick up the skills and prove yourself. Not today. So.....I guess I will need to use my time this summer to get creative and to come up with some ideas. Rob

ApatheticNoMore
5-2-11, 2:01pm
I'd tempted to say: quit NOW. Join us the proud, the unemployed ... :~)

No, but really I say that mostly because of the signals you are getting from your body. It is better to quit in good health, than after your body gives way.


As to other careers, I was thinking of getting a certificate in web design - only problem what that seems to be that I would be competing with others in cheaper wage countries who could do the same work online and expect much less for doing it. I guess this is the big question these days - so what then do I do? I can come up with no easy answer so far.....And I have the sinking feeling that I am not the only one in this situation, thinking, ok, then, what do I do then?

Yea, what does anyone do in an economy without jobs? Ok, it's not entirely without jobs but neither is the economic situation good kwim (although I have seen a few help wanted signs for low paid jobs, I do wonder how many applications they get for a single job though).

I've really tried to observe the economic situation lately, people that are self-employed the whole darn thing. I see:

- of course people who have successfully found a place for themselves either self-employed or at a job, happy people and unhappy ones

- people going the self-employment route who frankly I think have little qualifications (and I don't mean pieces of paper, I mean these people aren't qualified period) to be doing what they are selling themselves for. Of course P.T. Barnum being right, they'll probably succeed >8). But I still stand by my assessment.

- people taking time off work (not always by choice so much as being forced into it by this economy and then taking the reigns) to try to build the next economy. What is that? It doesn't exist yet and I don't think anyone has the final blueprint. An economy that would somehow be ecologically sustainable. NOT infinite growth. Of course being that we live in *this* economy, eventually the need for the currency of this economy and all it implies (long commutes for jobs producing junk perhaps) asserts itself. But I'm sure they see building the alternative as more important if they didn't need money.

puglogic
5-2-11, 4:43pm
As to other careers, I was thinking of getting a certificate in web design - only problem what that seems to be that I would be competing with others in cheaper wage countries who could do the same work online and expect much less for doing it.

You're talking yourself out of this based on a false premise: that clients are ONLY interested in the rock-bottom cheapest price. Sure, there are some who are, but there are far more who want a human face in their own neighborhood or city, charging a reasonable wage, speaking the language well, able to communicate with them. There are thousands of niches, for example people who become adept at doing web sites in Wordpress (which is super-easy to learn, no certificate required), people who work specifically with restaurants (could be YOUR niche!), people who help oldsters like me understand social media, people who just do the designs and the client contact, then farm out the geeky programming work to Rajasthan (marking up their wages for a double profit).......the list goes on and on.

Don't rule it out just because you think it's a one-size-fits-all world -it's not. We turn work away routinely because we're too busy.
But only do that if you think you would enjoy it.

Easier on the body in many ways, too.

I just want you to be happy and healthy, Rob! :)

From one introvert to another,
Pug

Tammy
5-2-11, 8:23pm
my husband has found a job he loves at http://www.azpedicab.com/. a person sets their own hours and works as much or as little as they want. it's all tips. 1/3 goes to the owner and the rest is yours to keep. he loves it for many reasons, including the improvement in his health. lost 40 pounds. sugar levels are now normal.

you could try it out when you return to the city in the fall, and then see what develops when it comes time to return (or not return) to the mountains for the summer.

gimmethesimplelife
5-2-11, 10:53pm
You're talking yourself out of this based on a false premise: that clients are ONLY interested in the rock-bottom cheapest price. Sure, there are some who are, but there are far more who want a human face in their own neighborhood or city, charging a reasonable wage, speaking the language well, able to communicate with them. There are thousands of niches, for example people who become adept at doing web sites in Wordpress (which is super-easy to learn, no certificate required), people who work specifically with restaurants (could be YOUR niche!), people who help oldsters like me understand social media, people who just do the designs and the client contact, then farm out the geeky programming work to Rajasthan (marking up their wages for a double profit).......the list goes on and on.

Don't rule it out just because you think it's a one-size-fits-all world -it's not. We turn work away routinely because we're too busy.
But only do that if you think you would enjoy it.

Easier on the body in many ways, too.

I just want you to be happy and healthy, Rob! :)

From one introvert to another,
PugPug, thanks for the pep talk and for giving me some hope. I will look into this more - I am especially intrigued that I could blend this with my restaurant experience. From one introvert to another - Thanks!!!

gimmethesimplelife
5-2-11, 10:54pm
my husband has found a job he loves at http://www.azpedicab.com/. a person sets their own hours and works as much or as little as they want. it's all tips. 1/3 goes to the owner and the rest is yours to keep. he loves it for many reasons, including the improvement in his health. lost 40 pounds. sugar levels are now normal.

you could try it out when you return to the city in the fall, and then see what develops when it comes time to return (or not return) to the mountains for the summer.I wrote down the web address and will definitely check it out, Thanks Tammy! Rob