What would you be if you weren't who you are?

[beet1e]

Ooooh look - an interesting thread in the O'Club! I've enjoyed reading these stories, so decided to give something back to the thread by adding my own, especially after reading oboe's

Originally posted by oboe
I recently ended a twenty year career in IT with the same company, and I'm searching for direction myself.     I think I'm pretty much done with IT in a large company setting, and I'd like to spend the second half of my working life doing something really different.    Habadasher, maybe?

There are a lot of military types in here. to them, but shortly before they cut the umbilical cord the day I was born, I knew I was not military material. Like many teenage boys, I flirted with the idea of being an airline pilot, but most have them had come up through the military route. That, coupled with the careers officer telling me that a pilot career was OK - provided I could withstand the 3000-1 competition was enough to put me off. Besides, any job wearing a uniform did not appeal.

I was still at school studying for GCE 'A' level in various uninteresting subjects, such as pure and applied maths. I hated it. I wanted to do Chemistry, and a language - but in those days you had to do related subjects. That has all now changed.

I did not want to go to university. In those days, the extra curricular activities seemed to be drug taking, wearing silly outfits, and protesting against the Viet Nam war - student sit-ins, singing wanky political protest songs,  and all that crap - not for me.

Couldn't face another year of school, so dropped out and got a job as trainee in data processing, as IT was then known. Piss poor wages, boring job - left home and hit the Smoke (that's slang for London) and got another piss poor job, quit after a few months and landed on my feet at a Town Hall as a "local government officer". I was actually a computer programmer, and this job introduced me to the programming language then in vogue - COBOL. Went as far as I could go in this job, but after 2 years, reverse ageism kicked in (I was still only 20) and I dropped out, and spent that incredibly hot summer of 1976 with a friend, selling clothes in old people's homes - lol. Back to reality - got another programming job, but on a fixed salary. Inflation eroded it faster than pay rises could keep up.

So I bit the bullet and went freelance. It was great! - doubled my income overnight, and for two years managed to escape income tax. Got pissed a lot, as IT was quite a boozy scene in Britain. My contracts lasted 3-6 months typically, and each time I got a new one, the weekly rate was renegotiated, so I kept up with inflation (which had been 25%). Needed to make the jump to IBM mainframes, and got work in the USA for a few years. Came back in 1982 to find that the IT world was at my feet. Enjoyed a very lucrative career, bought first house, got married, lived well. In 1986 gave up programming to do database admin - even better paid, but fewer DBA jobs than analyst/programming jobs. Had contracts with companies like Xerox, British Aerospace, Phillips Petroleum, IBM; nice cars, foreign holidays, learned to fly, owned shares in 4 aircraft (not all at the same time!) - heady days indeed.

1995 - all change. Separated, moved out, got divorced, started over. Poorer but better! Continued the IT thing - even worked in the USA again in 1997, but the gravy train days seemed to be drawing to a close. Now it was all "change control", "accountability", and the "blame culture". IT had gone from being a walk in the park to being part of the rat race. Had several duff contracts which pissed me off. Y2K provided me with steady work for year, but then there was a collapse. And then came the government's package of new tax measures known as IR35. That was the other two haystacks which broke the camel's back as far as I was concerned. Oh well, my IT career had lasted 29 years before I packed it in.

Hoping that oboe might give me a few tips on haberdashery!

[rpm]

Originally posted by Airhead
Oh gee, life story time....

I was abandoned as an infant next to a pond in Golden Gate Park and was raised by ducks. I was a good swimmer, and as often or not when some tourist threw a piece of popcorn in the water I would get to it first, but being unable to fly I was unable to accompany my adoptive parents and siblings South for the winter, so it was a lonely life.

I grew older, and larger, and when I was fifteen years old a strike replacement worker hired to clean the ponds noticed I wasn't a duck at all, but a human being. Still, to this day, I say God Bless the Unions- had they not gone on strike I'd still be swimming around in that pond, begging for popcorn today.

The sociologists worked miracles and, except for my habit of building nests out of twigs and weeds, I was "normal," whatever that means, by the age of 21.

I then took advantage of being able to speak both English and Waterfowl and entered into business- the Goose Down business. I'd helped out countless tired, hungry ducks and geese in the midst of migration back in the Old Days before I was rescued, so I started swapping goose food for their down and feathers. It wotked out great, too- made me millions of dollars, and tons of waterfowl friends.  

The yachts, the limos, the supermodels are all OK, but, still, I wonder.... What if I had really been a duck? What if I could REALLY fly?

I could have been the leader of a great flock.

Can you get me Anna Paquin's phone number?

[Suave]

Your question is flawed Nash. What you do is not who you are.

That is assuming that you are talking about occupation and not literally being something other than one's self.

[lada]

Originally posted by Nash



Did you always want to do what you're doing now? Was it a straight line?

When you were younger, did you picture yourself doing something different than what you're doing now?

When i were younger i wanted to be a ritch man
I didnt think much about work, but i liked computers. I were thinking about about being some sort of trader.
But i studied only computers, electronic  and programming

Today im woring around networking.

Originally posted by Nash

How did you wind up doing what you're doing?

I found that networking is interesting stuff when i were working at the university instead of serving in army.

Originally posted by Nash

Any regrets? Or conversely, thoughts of "Thank god!"

God ??? ummm well... i knew that best guys who are working around networking and security have sallary 5x bigger that avg. salary, so i stolen some e-learning materials and went for it by learning 6 hours a day. For year or so.

Originally posted by Nash

Do you like what you're doing now? Or wish you were doing something different?

I like it, but i need to change it a little bit from time to time. Like change products that i use or technology.

Originally posted by Nash

Do you think your occupation matters, and that you matter to your occupation?

Absolutly... i must like my job, coz i usualy work hard.

Originally posted by Nash

Or does none of it matter, and that wherever you wound up is (and was) never necessarily important, when compared to other aspects of life?

If so, is that an attitude you've taken on now but didn't subscribe to when you were younger? Or always held?

Since my childhood my parents always tell me, that i should do, study things that i like.


and now.... i have same job for almost 2years and im thinking about some more drastic change. Like shift from networking to security and consultations or soooo... :]

[Thrawn]

Originally posted by Toad
Study real hard and go Navy. I heard they need someone to steer the oldest of the two canoes. The old guy just retired.

Good luck! [/B]

Thanks.

[cpxxx]

Original post deleted by botched edit so here goes again.

Originally posted by Nash
..

Did you always want to do what you're doing now? Was it a straight line?

No and no.  This was my nightmare scenario.

When you were younger, did you yourself doing something different than what you're doing now?

Yes, I expected and believed I'd be a military pilot.  Probably the equivalent of a Major by now. Failing that I was going to be an airline pilot.

How did you wind up doing what you're doing?

They offered me a job and I was desperate having been out of work for seven months.

Any regrets? Or conversely, thoughts of "Thank god!"

Regrets every day. It was a foul up from start to finish.

Do you like what you're doing now? Or wish you were doing something different?

I hate my job and I do wish I was doing something different.  But I have difficulty getting a better job because of my age and experience.

Do you think your occupation matters, and that you matter to your occupation?

No it doesn't matter and I'm totally expendable as has been proved many times.

Or does none of it matter, and that wherever you wound up is (and was) never necessarily important, when compared to other aspects of life?

It does matter and until recently it had a disastrous effect on other aspects of my life.   A few years ago I calculated my net worth including a car as about  300 pounds Irish which was about $500. Pathetic.  That has changed now slightly for the better. But I'm one month's pay away from a crisis.

If so, is that an attitude you've taken on now but didn't subscribe to when you were younger? Or always held?

When I was younger I was more of an idealist  now I know better.

[beet1e]

cpxxx - we need to talk - over several pints of Guinness.

[skernsk]

Originally posted by airbumba
Thanks Skernsk, btw, what dept in Alberta is responsible for inter provincial journeyman cards?

Fire me and e-mail airbumba ..  skernsk@shaw.ca (easier that way)

[BluSamRN]

Hmmm...well, my story is just as unusual as everyone else's: I graduated high school, hit college and discovered intense alcohol worship. College lasted about a year and a half, then the dean threw me out for having one of the lowest GPAs in the history of the college. I moved back to Georgia, failed the vision portion of my Naval entrance exam and bounced from one crappy job to the next for next few years. Got married and had to get a real job. A friend got me involved in real estate appraisal. Good money but no job satisfaction. Did that for five years and ended up in school to become an LPN. Graduated and went into psych ursing for three years. Left that and did Renal/oncology for a yearn ad a half. Got divorced and went to Hospice nursing. Got married again and went back to medical/surgiacl nursing for the next few years. Finally graduated with an associates of science: nursing and sat for my RN boards. Passed in 45 minutes and the minimum 75 questions. Went to ICU and hated it intensely.Transferred to hospice as a case manager and love it dearly.

  That being said, I still want to be Batman...

[Drunky]

If I wasn't who I am now I would be a bra.

[cpxxx]

Originally posted by beet1e
cpxxx - we need to talk - over several pints of Guinness.

To make it worse I'm in work now on the night shift.

More like double Vodkas with Smirnoff ice chasers:eek:    
.

But I'm an optimist. It could all turn around tomorrow.  What really cheers me up though is a great flight like the one I flew on Wednesday. Good for the soul.

[medicboy]

BluSamRN, after 12 years in medicine I can see why you like hospice.  I have watched a lot of people die and actualy some of my best experiences in EMS have come from those times.  Sounds wierd to those outside medicine, but trust me...

Oh ya, forgot to mention that first wife in my story, married at 18, divorced at 22.  Remaried at 27, never been happier.