Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. I was busy sleeping. 
Since you asked, I work as a Production Electrician. Basically, I build lighting rigs for conventions, trade shows, theatre, concerts, etc. It’s a niche market; I don’t think there are but a few dozen people in the country who do what I do, at least not on the same scale. As such, I make a decent living and I rarely work more than 100-150 days a year.
Thus, I have lots of free time, which is how I like to live my life.
Hey, you and me both. We seem to have different definitions of the word “job”, though, as I would call building lighting rigs for conventions, trade shows, theatre, concerts, etc a job.
Nope, it’s not a job… it’s the work that I do. I have no regular employer, no set time to go to work, no co-workers other than those on the current gig. If I don’t line up another gig, I don’t work (or I fall back on my union for a gig, but that is all on-call work also). At the end of the year, I have a stack of W-2 and 1099 forms to sort through and more IRS Schedules than I really care to see. I have no pension or retirement other than thru my union or what I put aside myself.
It’s not a job; it’s an adventure!
Well then, we do have different definitions of the word “job”.
Actually, apparently not:
There must be two Snowboarder Bos.
Or one with two brain cells…
Nope, there’s just one of me…
Sometimes I work through the union; sometimes I work freelance.
The types of work are different.
When I work through my union I am a skilled tradesman, and we have a contract that governs the work we perform, hours, wages, etc. when I work through my union I work as a Master Electrician. In this capacity I supervise a crew of people (from 4-80) as we perform the work involved in installing a lighting rig.
When I work freelance, I work as a Production Electrician. I cut my own deal with my clients, and I spec how the lighting rig will be built. I will order materials, prep them, and do all the necessary pre-production work and planning, including hiring the crew (union whenever possible) and checking power requirements. I work as a PE about 90% of the time.
In either case, I have no regular employer. When I work thru my union it is on-call for each gig. Some gigs last for one day, some last for a week or two. But after the gig ends, I am unemployed until I find another client who needs my services, or until my union calls me to work.
As I said, there are very few people who do what I do for a living. Unless you are in the entertainment business, it can be difficult to understand what I do and how I work.
Oh, and Dr. Rieux: fuck you. :wally
sniffle And I thought I was the only one… sniffle
Perhaps you should change your name to Backpedaler Bo.
Perhaps you should learn to read and comprehend.
The thread you linked to was a thread about unions. My comments in that thread were made in the context of a discussion about working thru a union.
Bo makes sense to me. It’s the difference between working a steady job and a series of gigs.
Both of them are work, but one’s working for the man, and the other is consulting on your own.
You have my sympathy there mrald. I worked as an aide in nursing homes for several years. I did start out working in one facility. Then I decided to work for a nursing agency and have never looked back. If there is a good agency in your area, that would definitely be an option. Generally, they pay better, and you can pretty much make your own schedule.
But would you go into a thread and say you have been unemployed/haven’t had any job for the last 11 years? I doubt it.
And in the context of this thread you look like a deceiving asshole. It’s funny how you have/don’t have a job when it suits your argument. Now if only I could use that tactic with the tax office…
And what is this “thru” and “tho” you keep on typing? I know it isn’t a typo, either, because you keep on typing it.
WTF is it with people that they have to remove syllables from words to make themselves look less intelligent? I’ve had it. It’s the last straw. I’m calling bullshit on it right now.
It was bad enough having to put up with all the idiots who talk about “l8er” when they really mean “later”. It was bad enough watching people type “teh” when they really meant “the”. It was definitely bad enough seeing to people type “u”, but this… this…
If you mean through, say through.
If you mean though, say though.
And you, Mister Jackass, if you mean job, say job.
To all those who remove necessary syllables from words, I will now be correcting you. In public. Accompanied by rolling eyes and snorts of derision.
Learn to spell or shut the fuck up.
[hijack]
Nitpick: through and though are one syllable words. The people you refer to have removed letters, not syllables, from the words.
[/hijack]
I now return you to your pit thread.
Bravo, GYBRFE! Bravo!
As someone (on this board, I think) once said, I cry for the continued rape of the English language.
That said, back to the topic on hand: Bo, you went from working every year but one for the past 21 years, to never working, to working 100-150 days a year, to working whenever you want. Get your damn story straight! You then proceed with much smugness that’s ever-so-present on these boards that you have a great-paying job that you never work at/work whenever you want/whatever. Here’s the reality, “dude”: many people in this country are a rent payment away from being homeless. It’s not a matter of, if you just go out and look for a job, you’ll be well-fed and well-housed. They didn’t get lucky like you allegedly did, and I say “alleged” because I think you’re full of crap.
Yeah, pretty much what GYBRFE said.
Adam
Snoboarder Bo, what makes one a ‘Master Electrician’?
And what union do you otherwise sometimes work through?
I missed that when I was trying to keep as many words as I could the same. :smack:
Here the agency pay less, much less. I started there. This town sucks job wise, and I would move but I… Just. Bought. A. House. Here. :smack:
No dog in the “job” definifight, but a part of me somehow admires Bo’s approach to life. Reminds me of Erin Brockovitch’s boyfriend. Live simply, work sparingly.
