Job secrets
Nothing like a glass of the vinolicious after a long day of teaching.
Zumba was outta control, I had a huge stretch class (over 40 ladies stretching!) and pool was surprisingly fun. They liked my playlist, which always helps things along, even when the particular class isn’t my forte.
Afternoon snacks:
(Broccoli slaw with hummus, balsamic and chicken, Sun Warrior in a shaker. After pool, it’s a frenzy to change for my next class, so the protein powder was something I could take with me. I mixed the protein powder with the orange sports drink we have, and it was pretty amazing)
When I got home, I fed and snuggled with miss Liv while madre and nana were putting the finishing touches on dinner.
Tri-tip steak, beans, salsa, salad and gorgeous grilled tilapia
Even though I had some crackers and an egg burrito a few minutes before, I still went back for seconds. It was perfection,
It’s been such a wonderful treat to eat meals cooked by other people (doesn’t food always taste better when someone else makes it?), and to be surrounded by family this past week. I’m going to be so bummed when my aunt, uncle and cousins go back to Key West- I love a full house. The exciting news is that we’ll be making a little family trip to Las Vegas next week. Liv’s first plane ride! Pray for me, haha.
Today, I was talking with one of my good friends at work and we were going over some secrets about our past jobs: little random things that no one really knows.
Here are some random tidbits about my current teaching job:
-One of the things we have to do for guests is offer and get them water, whether we’re in the weight room or assisting classes. This is NBD, but then of course you get the people who are like, “no thanks, but more ice, about 30% lemonade, 10% tea and 60% sports drink. That’s 60% sports drink, a little over half.” And then I punch them in the face in my mind. In reality, I happily take the bottle and make sure those ratios are dang perfect.
-We’re surrounded by treats, almost everyday. Sometimes I benefit from a little sugar buzz before teaching intense classes, but other times, I’ll just feel sick if I have more than a few bites. Today I was surprised to see that there were no treats in sight, and then cookies appeared. And then I ate one.
-Our Speedo swimsuits have a zipper in the back, and I haven’t met anyone yet that can contort their body to zip their own suit. We’re always running around zipping each other, but if no one is in the locker room, you spend your walk to the pool with one arm twisted up your back trying to grab said zipper. I’ve taught with mine half zipped, praying my hair will cover it.
Here’s something crazy about the Pilot’s job, that I didn’t know about until we’d been dating for a while and he showed me this video:
G-LOC = G-force Induced Loss of Consciousness, which can usually affect fighter pilots and astronauts. According to Wiki knows all:
Under increasing positive g-force, blood in the body will tend to move from the head toward the feet. For higher intensity or longer duration, this can manifest progressively as:
- Greyout – a loss of color vision
- Tunnel vision – loss of peripheral vision, retaining only the center vision
- Blackout – a complete loss of vision but retaining consciousness.
- G-LOC – where consciousness is lost.
As part of his pilot training, Tom had to go into one of the machines in the above video and withstand an intense amount of Gs, so he knew what to do and what it felt like if it ever started to happen in his jet. I’ve actually seen the video of the Pilot’s G-LOC from training school- crazy ish right there. A little more exciting than my water bottle ratios, but I do what I can, haha 😉
Spill one secret or little-known fact about your job! I won’t tell.
Hope you have a great night and I’ll see ya on TABATA THURSDAY. Get ready for it!
xoxo
Gina
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As a hairstylist there are all kinds of ridiculous things going on. The very worst would have to be dirty people however. Where I live (Boulder, CO) most people are super fit, which usually I love, except when people (men, haha) literally jog to come get their haircut and then don’t even want a shampoo. Yuck city my friend haha
OMG. Abby. I laughed so hard because I read “I work in Boulder” and “the very worst would have to be dirty people”– I’m a Coloradoan myself, and of course my brain jumped to stanky Boulder hippies… the clarification made sense, but oh man where my brain went…
Haha well there have been multiple dred lock removal experiences that I’ll never forget :/
Another Coloradoan laughing over here! 🙂
I work on a political campaign. It’s a fairly high stress environment and I have to calm down upset people on the regular. Usually I roll me eyes in my mind, take some deep yoga breaths, and fight the almost overwhelming urge to inform them that they’re not doing the thankless work of a social worker or curing cancer and they need to get a grip and get some perspective. Don’t get me wrong–I live and breath what I do, but I don’t think it should be all-consuming and sometimes I have to refrain from getting sassy!
*breathe. I can spell, I swear! 🙂
Rebecca, I work at a hotel in Hollywood so we see celebrities and VIP guests on a fairly regular basis. The way people act, employees and guests, can be ridiculous. The egos! And the catering to egos! I do a lot of the “roll my eyes in my mind” Haha! I can definitely relate.
I work in Washington for one of the political parties and we get people that call our offices all day every day demanding that they speak to the Chairman of the Party or our Presidential candidate over some ridiculous issue that has nothing to do with our mission. We actually employ specific interns to handle these crazies and convince them to never call us again.
I must say, I never truly *understood* Happy Hour until starting this job. The promise of wine with some same people at the end of the day keeps me going.
*sane.
Clearly I shouldn’t write comments on my phone. It makes me seem like I can’t spell!
Maybe an odd question but, where do you teach? I live in Tucson and need a place to go on the Eastside do hoping you maybe near by!
i teach at one of the health resorts here. i wish i could post my teaching schedule and everything, but it’s guests-only :/
I’m a high school teacher. It’s perhaps not surprising, but we look forward to the sound of the bell and the freedom as summer even more than the students do!
This made me laugh!
amen.
That video was kinda funny – It is like their faces melted. When several of them woke up – it reminded me of when a baby wakes up, haha!
Secret about my job? Not sure….maybe that some days I like to turn a movie on (even if it is educational) because I rarely get to watch TV at home!
Oh, the video is terrible! I respect Pilot’s job even more!!!
I can’t believe people dare to ask you for a special mix… I would never do that! It’s a gym, not a bar!!!
I’m a pilates instructor. We use the reformer machines, and sometimes (esp. in the summer) clients will come to class or to a private appt. wearing shorts that are just a littttle too short. We sometimes have to adjust our positioning so as not to glimpse things that should be more contained than they are!
We also have to think about our outfits when we are demonstrating exercises, to be sure that all is staying in place. We wear mostly Lulu, which does well with this for the most part.
We joke that there could easily be a reality show about where we work.. kind of like L.A. Ink. The people we work with, and the employees are all very colorful.
I’m a pediatric oncology nurse, so I’m always running around and chasing kiddos down the hallway on my unit. I actually try to eat my lunch standing, because otherwise I will get so sleepy and lose all energy that I’ve built up on my shift. One time, I was working a night shift and cuddling a fussy baby in a rocking chair, and another nurse found me an hour later… both the baby and I were sleeping like rocks! From then on, I always rock the babies standing up. 😉
haha, that’s great! Bless your work. When choosing a fellowship, I *almost* went with pediatric oncology/hematology, but I had my son at the time, and I just couldn’t do it and went with pediatric cardiology instead, but I always pass the oncology unit with the deepest admiration for the nurses and doctors that work there. They are truly angels.
ditto – I have so much respect for you nurses, and that sound like an incredibly tough job emotionally! Good for you!
I want to be a nurse one day. I could never do peds oncology. I envy you.
this gave me the sweetest image ever. thank you for everything you do for those kids <3
I work in the same building as both my parents, so on breaks and such I’ll go visit both of them.
The first 30 mins. of my lunch I hang with my dad and his mancrew, and the last half is with my mom and her gal pals.
You could say we’re the “power family” of our workplace. 😉
that’s so cool 🙂
I am in San Francisco visiting family. There was this mother on the plane who talked to her baby the whole time very loud. It was crazy. Not to mention it was 7am and it was a five hour flight. (this seems like I am telling you to be quiet on the plane. I can assure you that I am not saying that by all means. I am just sharing a story. I dot want to offend you or anyone else. I mean this with all due respect to you Gina.$
school “work” – i have 2 types of visits as a student midwife: prenatal visits = patients love me. we talk about the baby, measure the belly, listen to heart tones…what’s not to love?! annual exams = sometimes pap smears = patients hate me. listen, i’m sorry i have to do this but i do it to protect you! also, i always do my best to be so very gentle. i love answering questions about birth control and pregnancy and i love hearing the ‘myths’ that circulate around about these topics….where do people come up with some of this stuff?! LOVE THIS JOB.
day job – childbirth educator/nurse case manager for pregnant teens. secret here: these teens are smart, motivated, loving, girls and they make top-notch mamas. please think twice next time you see a young pregnant girl out and about before you make a judgement. my girls are extremely motivated, mature beyond their years, and make amazing parents. LOVE THIS JOB TOO.
I am a senior in high school and I really want to become a nurse midwife. That is my ultimate goal. It was really nice to read your comment!
Ashley, I absolutely love what you said about teen mothers. Unfortunately, a lot of people immediately conjure up negative stereotypes when it comes to teen pregnancy (shows like Teen Mom certainly don’t help). It happens quite often and many teens prove to be great mothers. I’m not condoning teen pregnancy in any way, however, as a young mother myself, I really appreciate your comment. 🙂
I’ve taught in those suits! I think we all added short pulls to them. Think surfer suits. I just made mine from a study ribbon.
Hm. Secret about my job? schools think I customize stuff for then, but really they almost all get the same thing. We cite regulatory requirements if we’re asked.
omgosh where to begin…
1- when i used to work at whole foods, we had tons of cray customers. this one woman, i will never forget. she came in with a bunch of kids – like three or four. i was working in the cafe, as barista, so i wasn’t the one who rung her up, but i guess the kids came over to order ice cream. they got larges, which in honesty, were LARGE. i guess this woman had wondered off in the store and when she came back she FLIPPED out. i have never seen someone make such a scene due to the size of a gelato. i was a little (er, lot) embarrassed for her actually. if you don’t want you kids to have that, or want to control the size; don’t leave them alone to go do your shopping!
2) i just left this nanny job (thankgod) a few months ago with a pretty disfunctional fam. it was pretty sad actually. anyway, one afternoon i get to work and hear the 9 yo boy is “in trouble so has to sit on the couch after finishing his homework, no snack, no playing and no talking to you. and don’t talk to him. have him sit on the couch [for over an hour] until we get home” -the mom tells me. I later find out this kid was in trouble for giving his 4 yo sister NINE MELATONIN the night before. (i wasn’t there obvs)… oh yeah, and this happened because, as he said, “he was DRUNK.” he wasn’t drunk but his parents had given him alcohol. needless to say i got out of there
Hahahahaa to #1!!! I’ve worked there as well + can relate.
Oh my gosh, the drink ratios – too funny.
A secret about my concert industry job, hmm… Sometimes when artists are warming up and performing their soundchecks, they should awful. As in they clearly use a voice track during their live concerts, or maybe auto-tune microphones (if they are singing at all). This is a very rare situation, but when it does happen it’s pretty awkward.
Most of the artists we have come through are authentic and talented, an sound great 🙂
I’m sorry… I cannot watch that video! Planes and all that stuff freaks me out, seriously. 🙂
I guess the only thing I could share about my job is that I work in the same department as my husband. When he started working there (which was after me), we were engaged but not yet married. So, to keep people from suspecting that there was specialty treatment in his hiring, I kept my maiden name after the wedding. For a long time, people suspected that we were together, but thought that it started AFTER he got hired! Such a scandal!! 🙂
I’m a clinical dietitian and do a lot of counseling for patients with diabetes, heart disease, etc. I would never tell most of them this, but after a bad day I’ll go to my favorite mexican restaurant and get the biggest margarita they serve and eat a million chips with salsa. Then go out for ice cream after. Oh well, all food fits right? Lol
I’m going to start my dietetic internship next month and can only imagine the stress filled days ahead of me. Margaritas are the answer to all!
I know…I’m a RD and Personal Trainer. I can’t even tell you how my patients/clients have made me want to drink!!
hahaha!
I’m a resident assistant at a fairly large school (I have 72 residents just by myself.) During RA training we’re taught how to counsel residents who are going through literally thousands of different things. One thing that we’re trained to do and that I’ve always done is have closed door conversations with residents when they don’t want other people to know what we talk about. All of those “closed door” conversations get shared during staff meeting. It’s the highlight of our week to know that we are still more sane that most of the people living around us.
Right now, I don’t have a paying job! I sub at the elementary school, but I don’t really count that as a job because I get to spend the day with my kids! I am a college student (full time, working on my B.S. in Dietetics) AND tomorrow my study materials will arrive for my Personal Training course! SO excited!! So, I’m sure this time next year I will relate to your drink ratios 😉
Before I went on maternity leave, I worked in Tourism, which in general was pretty laid back and fun. I got to talk to a lot of visitors (mostly Germans), and they were all so excited about their trips, or sometimes, when they were chatty, they got curious as to why/how I moved away from there and to a different country, etc.
However, sometimes, when people came to ask some questions, I wonder if they realized that they were the 100,000,000,000th person to ask that question and I have answered it exactly this many times, and probably could tell them in my sleep. I’m not complaining, working with people that are on vacation and are enjoying themselves can be great, because they are usually happy and in a great mood, but it’s usually the same.over.and.over.again. So, if you have an upcoming trip to Vancouver, BC, and questions about the tourist highlights, just ask! 😉
glad you’ve been enjoying some meals cooked by OTHERS! (all mamas deserve that every once in awhile!)
and good luck on the plane next week!
My hubs and I work from home at our own discretion, so we usually keep a crazy schedule, like “dinner” at 4:00 am and sleeping until 2:00 in the afternoon. And that is why I have to check the calendar to know what day it is most of the time!
my comment either disappeared or went into moderation?
hope you have a great trip next week!
that is so weird- i was like “why is it asking me to approve averie?”
Yikes, that G-LOC sounds insane!
When I’m training, I sometimes get clients to hold their moves a little longer than I say I am. I figure they can do it and it’s to their fitness benefit, but they wouldn’t want to do it if I told them! 🙂
I hope the plane ride goes well. My sister-in-law flew with her two young children on a transatlantic flight from Canada to the UK on her own for our wedding. I definitely felt for her since my nephew apparently wouldn’t stop crying. Fortunately she had some very understanding and supportive seat mates!
At one of the schools I work at, the other staff always page me to try to talk to kids and figure out what they need when they are crying. They figure that since I’m the speech therapist I understand a student who is hyperventilating and crying better than they do. Not true!
This is so funny because my sister is an ESL teacher and this happens to her all the time with students whose language she doesn’t even understand! But they figure maybe she can understand through the tears!
I am at university ( in England) training to be a speech therapist! i like hearing that pther people are 🙂 xClaire
As a teacher, every once in awhile, when I’m overwhelmed with paperwork, grading homework just doesn’t happen. Instead, giving it a quick glance, looking for a few key problems, is enough to earn them full credit. And “grading” is finished in a snap.
I used to work at PetSmart and a lot of people thought that was an awesome job but don’t realize that things like picking up dog poop was in my job description. I never understood why people would just let their dogs take a poo the size of my head in the middle of the store and just leave it there.
I did get to see puppies all day though, so that made things a little better.
Love the idea of this post! I can only imagine how crazy people’s drink requests can be! I used to be a waitress and there is nothing worse than a super demanding customer! Some people are just crazy! One customer actually had me bring her sandwich back to the grill so the cooks could remove the lettuce for her! There were no allergies….she just didn’t like it!
I’m a full-time mama but my hubby is a firefighter. Sometimes when they are not on a call, they are…playing with fire. They purposely see what can happen when you do stupid crap with fire crackers and different things. Their excuse is they need to “test” things out so they can better educate people. Yeah right! Their just boys being boys! Kinda funny that they enjoy exactly what they are telling others NOT to do (kinda like your work place and the cookies and such) haha
I like this post. It’s amusing to find out what goes on behind the scenes in different professions.
I had to tell this story to y whole family. I found it do funny. These men who are trained to save people from various situations are playing with fire!
hahaha i love that so much.
I love that you stated that you mentally punch those people out, but then go and do a perfect job. I know the feeling…I have moments like that nearly on a daily basis. haha.
If you’re getting your eyes tested and you’re behind the refractor head (that thing where we flip the lenses), we normally assume that you can’t see us so we’ll be checking out your tattoos/clothing/jewellery, or checking our phone, or picking our nose while we’re working out your prescription… The rest of the time you’ve got our full attention, I swear!
I am a primary school teacher.. And yes, pushy, annoying parents are often the topic of conversation in the staff room! Also, coloring with no white spots is not to make your picture look better it is to drag out an activity for just that little bit longer 🙂
I read your blog way too much while i should be working, ha ha.
thumbs up, my friend, haha
I’m a civil engineer and I design roadway improvements… so yes, I am the reason you are sitting in construction traffic. But I hate the construction too and complain about any and all delays that I have to sit in 🙂
No weird stuff to share about being a stay at home-er right now, but that G-LOC stuff is scary! I had a boyfriend who was a firefighter once. He showed me videos of flash over training and it scared the sh** out of me!
I am a veterinarian but it always surprises me how much information people will give me about their own health and ailments. I have had numerous clients show me lumps and bumps in awkward places. I’ll never forget the time I had a client divulge way, way TMI about her husband’s *ahem* anatomy. Luckily I had my stethoscope in my ears so I just pretended I didn’t hear a thing! 🙂
On the not so creepy side of things, when I take dogs in the back away from their owners for blood work or procedures I usually give them a kiss on the head when they’re all done and sometimes tell them I love them, especially puppies. Or, wait, maybe that is a little creepy…… 😉
If their owners are acting all creepy toward you about “free” medical assistance, maybe the dogs need reassurance that not everyone is insane. LOL
Aww I love that you kiss the dogs! That’s the kind of vet I want for my dog 🙂
Me too! 🙂
Aww that is so sweet, I want you as my pups Vet!
that is so sweet!!
I have recently just started following your blog and want to tell you…I LOVE IT. I also am a military wife, my husband is currently deployed with the Army. This post was so funny! Imagining you trying to walk around zipping up your swimsuit or mentally punching the person in face who asks for 60% sports drink about made me fall out of my chair! 🙂
I love the job secrets! I taught at a university for a total of 3 years. My secret? I disliked most of my students. I taught upper division classes (Jr/Sr level) and many of the students couldn’t follow instructions. They wanted way to much hand holding and wanted me to just teach to the tests. It’s a big part of the reason why we decided to continue to homeschool through high school when #1’s Neurologist suggested it to us. We want to help our children learn to think, learn and do these things for themselves so that if they choose to go on for higher education they will be ready.
I remember when I was in junior high, my physical science teacher had us grade each other’s tests (regular classwork, I get. But TESTS?!), and I got the class slacker. Every answer was “You’re the teacher. You should know”- type answers, and I don’t know if that’s lack of motivation on the student’s, parents’ or teacher’s part. But, frankly, students shouldn’t see other students’ test scores. The more I think about it, the more I want to homeschool my future children.
I work as a Quality Assurance Analyst. People always say “Oh! That’s so interesting!” It’s really not. That’s the big secret. I don’t know if people are trying to be nice or just have no idea what else to say, but no! It’s not that interesting! I also know more about cell phones and plans that any one person should. People are usually pretty shocked when I give my two cents about what carrier they should get (It’s usually NOT the carrier I listen to).
I used to work at a tuxedo rental shop. When I first started working there I was shy about touching the customers when helping them with their garments. It’s suprising how many guys ask for help zipping their pants. Some of them were perves; others legitimately needed help (like the zipper was stuck). I eventually got used to it, quickly helped them, and sent them on their way out the door.
I’m a food scientist for a large food company and I have to say one of the things that surprised me the most when I started my job is the process that it takes to make small changes. If we want to change the manufacturing location for the almonds in Larabars, it takes MONTHS of testing, decisions, meetings, audits, checks with legal and approvals before the change is finally implimented. But, I love what I do, even if it’s a long process to make small changes!
this is so fascinating to me- what an awesome job
When I was taught first grade, I had to make up code words that took the place of curse words. So, if I was ever heard saying the word “friends,” I really wanted to use a different f-word. I also got used to saying things like “fiddle sticks,” “aren’t you creative,” and “oh my my.”
I also had to learn to laugh without smiling, so that I could cover it up as shock. Half the naughty stuff they did was actually hilarious. But so very innappropriate for their teacher to laugh at. “Huh-huh-huh, I’m not sure that THAT word is the right word to use in school. Why don’t we just say ‘I have to use the restroom’ instead.”
MMMM… that broccoli slaw with hummus and balsamic and chicken looks so tasty!
I get paid to play with kids- or that’s how I see it!! I’m a speech language pathologist! 🙂
I love reading the work secrets! I’m currently a pediatric dietitian, but I used to work as an RD on a cardiac rehab unit and both jobs were great fodder for entertaining stories and secrets. Such as:
1. On more than one occasion, I would catch people “pretending” to be asleep when I came in to give them their cardiac diet education after open heart surgery. There was one time where I couldn’t handle going along with their schtick and told my patient, “you know I just saw and heard you on your iphone as I walked by your room to go see another patient, right?” and started laughing.
2. For all you parents: if you take your kid to get nutrition counseling, you can tell me all you feed them is steamed veggies and baked chicken, but 99% of kids won’t lie and if you give them junk food, they’ll tell me. Gotta love the honesty of children.
3.While my title is as an RD, I think I spend more of my time as a counselor/life coach. For whatever reason, once you sit people down and get them talking about food, all their family secrets and problems come out, which can be awkward at times. I’ve even had to break up a fight between a mother and daughter. At least there is never a dull moment 🙂
I love this post! your meals look damn good, too! It’s funny what you write about regarding your job. There is always SOMETHING, right? I love my day job, so no real issues there. But teaching zumba at night, I hate it when people ask me questions about what I eat after zumba. I guess I should be more patient, but I am like, UGH I just want to get out of here.. please go read my blog! I also hate when people want to talk to me for 20 minutes after my late tuesday night class…LET ME GO HOME!! ha.. but then watch, if NO ONE talked to me after, i’d be upset. Catch 22. Can’t win!
Teachers look forward to snow days more than the students do! True fact!
that dinner certainly looks delicious! i love eating meals cooked by others:) you can taste the love! hahah
It’s so weird that food always DOES taste better when someone else makes it!!
There is a haunted mansion on the property of my office building! There are ghosts that live it in and the staff like to dare each other to spend the night there. NPR did a piece on it a few years ago, ha ha.
Love this post!
I work in HR and am one of the people who sends out messages to the entire company. I often ‘roll my eyes in my head’ or roll my eyes at email or on the phone. People just DO NOT freaking read. I’ve sent out emails about benefits and other items (while our website had full information and their manager was informed and was going to talk to group about it) but they will reply and ask a question that was answered exactly in the email. It drives ME nuts, and I have ADD! 😉
The other job secret is that HR people think a lot of the policies are stupid too but we have to enforce them by law or by company preference. We are also NOT the insurance company and you should know that any request takes them at least 3 business days for things.
I understand about the drinks. Last night at Starbucks there was a new guy and he was a bit slow and apologized. I told him no worries as I wouldn’t remember half of what was ordered and how they wanted it!