Suppose some billionaire buys a private island, already with hotel built. Said Captain of Industry has Big Plans™ to develop it into an 8-star resort and wants you to manage it. All well and good, except those plans can’t be put into action for six months and the offer to let you manage it comes with the caveat that you must ‘guard’ the hotel until those six months are up.
You’re provided with enough food and fresh water to feed a football team for six months, the island has a generator, back up generator, back up back up generator and undersea phone line to the mainland if necessary, with unlimited internet use for you. On arrival you find everything for your personal living quarters is shipshape and comfortable, but the rest of the hotel and island is empty, so nothing to do except look after yourself, use the internet and ‘guard’ a deserted island.
You can’t invite anyone who isn’t an employee or take photos (some sort of confidentiality agreement), you can’t swim in the sea - something to do with why it was sold; you’re not given any reason and just told “swimming in the sea is not advisable until the health visitors check” which you believe. The gym and all facilities were stripped, the pool was emptied, and just your accommodation was - very comfortably - fitted. So you have plenty of food, an emergency phone if you get sick, no contact with anyone but unlimited use of superfast internet.
Do I have any specific rounds I have to make or specific tasks (e.g. clean out the air vents every two weeks, complete one circumnavigation of the property at least once every four hours during the daytime, once every eight hours at night) that have to be done to a specific standard or schedule, or is the job a vague “try not to let anything happen, and if something does, call” job?
Are there any specific known threats? E.g. bandits in the area that are believed to be planning a burglary?
Am I responsible for fixing problems (e.g. putting out fires, shooting invaders) myself, or do I simply call for help if anything goes wrong and then go hide?
My wife is a recluse, & I can be one if I want to, so no problems there.
Many questions come to mind.
Do I have to manage the place after the six months is up? While I am good at management duties, I actually hate being in management. I love being a “grunt”. So if this is a requirement, No thanks!
I assume that I can bring some (many) books with me? I like the feel of a good book, something that is not present in a computer screen.
I’d hire a security company to guard the place and check in with them periodically. I wouldn’t stay on the island, cause I’m no Rambo and a security company would do a better job than I ever could.
You don’t need a gym to work out. So I’d hike a lot and actually so some push ups / sit ups. Always things around to lift. And then there is porn and checking the Facebook status of my friends. I could also hone some skills like learning how to better use Excel and take some management accreditation courses online. And then there is porn.
Wait, I just re-read the OP and can bring an employee? Well the island is going to need entertainers and management must ensure that they are customer friendly. After all the rich and famous expect the best! I think I’m going put a nix on the Excel learning.
It’s alone. No employees will be joining within the six month period. The island is small, an hour’s walk across and there’s nothing much above sea level, just some trees and grasses. You won’t be bothered by any bandits or intruders as it’s far away from shipping lanes and very private, so no cruise ships stopping nearby.
The job description is ‘be’, that is all. All you have to do is be there and raise an alarm if something breaks or you see intruders. You’re just house-sitting for six months, with an endless supply of food, water and internet (and getting paid well). No bikes, no gym, no pool, no Yahtzee. You have access to every book, movie, series or website you want - through your computer - but all you physically have is your clothes. You could order a book but it’d come on the next transport plane in which would be at the end of your probation period.
Everything is monitored by computer on the mainland and also robust enough to likely not need maintenance, but if it breaks you’ll have a guy fly in, fix it and be gone within a day. There’s no need for inspections or routine, just a body on the island until it becomes a working resort. After the six months (or before) you’re free to leave and will be paid for every day you were there.
If it were as much money as I’d make in a year at my current job, I’d still say no because that is a major, if bearable, life disruption for me. I have a wife, kids, and aging parents in my life, six months away from them would be hard.
On the far end of the spectrum, pay me enough to retire on after 6 months and I’m in.
Do we have Skype? Because I could do it if I could work on my book and have calls with my editor so she can berate me every two weeks or so.
I’d also like some real books and puzzles. And it should pay well enough to make it worth being away from my wife during the time, and pay better than work. In other words, I should be able to retire immediately upon returning - which doesn’t require all that much.
Hell, I could get to 50k posts easily in this scenario.
Thanks, that’s the sort of thing I was looking for. I imagine there are quite a few professions where isolation is a component but there’s plenty of money for some creature comforts (sea rig worker, for one example).
To the questions; you have Skype and everything else you can get through the internet :rolleyes: you’re paid a handsome sum (the owner’s a billionaire), you can quit whenever you want, once it’s open it’s not a secret anymore and you can have guests/family for short stays in an 8-star resort.
I live alone (well, with 2 dogs) and work from home, so this sort of situation wouldn’t be much of a stretch for me. It’d be like how my life is now except I wouldn’t get to go to the grocery store.
I think I’m going put a nix on the Excel learning.