Top Ten Most Boring Jobs

Here's a brief sampling of the most boring jobs from my own experience and from a sampling of others' across the web:

THE TOP TEN MOST BORING JOBS

1. Envelope Stuffing
2. Car Detail - spraying Armor All on tires for 8 hours a day.
   
3. Call Center Operator
4. Brick Turner - "I once had a job where I had to sit next to a conveyor belt carrying bricks. My job was to turn each brick from front to side. A brick came by about every twenty seconds. The most exciting part was when a brick arrived slightly turned so that I would have to stand up to turn it."
5. Tape Rewinder - "I spent a week working for a books-on-tape company. My job was to sit at a bank of industrial cassette tape decks and make sure all tapes were rewound and in working order before they were shipped out to the next recipient."
6. Chalk Line Operator - "When I was a student I once had a job sitting by a production line watching packets of chalk for 8 hours to ensure they all had 12 sticks in them."
7. Bottle Quality Control - "I used to know somebody who worked at a drinks factory and his job was to watch the bottles come out of a tunnel and poke them with a stick IF they got stuck. On one 12 hour night shift he said they got stuck ONCE after about ten and a half hours of bottle watching."
8. Check Packager - "The person who puts the pads of checks in the box. I toured a check printing company once and this was truly someone's job"
9. Grocery Store Facer - I had this job when I was 17 and it lasted a whopping month. Pull items to front of shelf, rotate so label is facing outward, repeat. For the love...
10. Binder Assembly - I only had to do this for 3 hours one day, but that was enough to make me want to jab myself in the leg with a pencil. Ouch!!
    

Organic Gardening at the White House?

Unbelievable...the past Presidents of the U.S. used to grow their own food on the White House lawn! Cheers to Obama for reigniting this tradition. Check out this short video on the history.

Thailand Planning

Whew. Time and again I am absolutely amazed at the amount of stuff that I can accumulate. In preparation for my upcoming travels, I have been sorting through all of the things that I have accumulated in the last eighteen months out west and trying to get rid of as much as possible. It's clear to me that I have been kidding myself thinking that I own little material possessions. A DVD here, a new shirt there, and before you know it there are piles of rarely used media, clothes, etc.

I made the decision years ago that I would rather spend my money on traveling as opposed to material items. I think of it as an investment in my personal growth, with the returns being of far greater worth than any gadget or what have you could provide. That's not to say that I haven't spent my fair share of cash on entertainment, but when I do I try to make sure that it involves other people like going out to a movie, or concert, or just down the street to have a beer. It's a win-win situation as I don't accumulate useless crap and I have a good time living life.

So this brings me back to my packing woes and how I seem to have still managed to acquire quite a bit more than I remember fitting into my car when I made the journey out here. So I've been going through my belongings one by one and anything that I haven't used in the past year, and that I could acquire again relatively easily I put it in my ebay/donation pile. After all, quality over quantity is my motto. What's the point of having a vast library of books if you only go back to one or two each year? The rest is just taking up more space, creating more of a hassle when you move, and preventing other people from gaining knowledge from them.

So I'm far from perfect in this regard, but I work hard at trying to live simply and keep a clutter free life. It's amazing how much stress and unclear thinking having stuff piled up everywhere can create without me even realizing it. I'm definitely at the top of my game creative wise the less things I have around to distract me. I guess that is one of the major attractions to me about traveling. It forces you to take the essential and leave the rest behind.

“The things you own end up owning you.”
-Tyler Durden, Fight Club

The Adventure Begins

I did it. I conquered my fears and went against the advice of others. I am now unemployed and must say that it was the best decision that I have ever made. Long have I yearned for freedom from the nine to five and dreamed of traveling the world.

Yes, world travel is also on the menu. First stop is Bangkok, Thailand. This is seriously stuff that dreams are made of. I feel so fortunate to be experiencing this. It is a shame that other people get tied down, beat down, and shut down by financial pressures, jobs, etc. These can be overcome, like any obstacle, with persistence, dedication, and a positive outlook. However most people feel trapped and will give any number of reasons (*cough*excuses*cough) as to why things are the way they are. In reality though, we all have made choices throughout our lives that have led us to the present moment. Some good, some bad. All things that have shaped who we are.

So this is what it's all about, lifestyle design. Sure, different cards have been dealt to different people; that is beyond our control. Only thing we can do is make the best of what we have got. If you are truly happy in where you are at and would not dream of being or doing anything else on a daily basis, then that is absolutely fantastic and keep on living it up! However, I believe that is rare in society, at least from my short existence in this world.

So get off the couch, get on the internet and do some research, talk to people you care about, and dream big. Most people don't go for their dreams and live large, so the odds are in your favor should you decide to make the jump. The blue or the red pill? It's your choice.