In honour of Labor Day in North America, tell us what’s the one job you could never imagine yourself doing.
Definitely not pilot. It is Ok to sit in a plane to get where you want to go. The distance between the soles of your feet to firm ground is too far to actually enjoy it, but it was a nice photo to take somewhere over France I think.
We do not have a labour day in Switzerland. I believe we have no labour days anywhere in Europe. We just go to work to earn our living, if we want to or not. I like the thought of a labour day although the idea is strange to me. Does everyone stay at home and do nothing, something like the jewish Sabbath on Saturday? I remember my mum telling me that when she was a kid there was some pocket money to be earned doing jobs for those of the jewish faith, as work was not allowed on Saturday, but correct me if I am wrong.
Mum told me all sorts of things when I was growing up which I discovered were not true. She even told me she found me beneath a gooseberry bush when I asked her where babies came from. Of course this was wrong, she found me beneath a rose bush, or did the stork leave me in front of the door wrapped in a cloth that he had carried in his beak. I never did get down to the truth.
Anyhow the job I could never imagine myself doing is the one where someone tells you what to do. Unfortunately this sort of job does not exist. Even if you are the boss, the bank tells you what to do, it is one vicious circle. Unfortunately it seems that people were born to work and obey. Even ancient caveman was told by his wife “kill animal for food and light fire” and ancient caveman would drag his caveman wife by the hair to the fire and say “wife, cook animal”. Wife would cook animal and man would eat it throwing the bones all over the cave. Who actually had to clear the bones away is left to discussion, but someone had to do it, and so labour arrived.
I have done most things in my life. Served in a restaurant, cooked daily for 40 kids and 12 adults in a children’s care place, been an export clerk and even taught English in evening classes. I was accountant for the local first aid society, but that was the worst job of all. I was given the job because I was the only person in the organisation that knew how to use a computer. Dealing with accounts is not fun, especially when you have an audit once a year. It was a job I did at home, but it was a job with a lot of responsibility. It was not a paid job in the sense of the word, but I did get my perks. There was always someone that knew everything better and I was glad to give the job up. I had problems finding someone to take over, which was obvious. Not everyone likes to do such an unthankful job.
Why did I go to work? To earn money, to put food on the table and clothe the kids. Mr. Swiss naturally also worked, for the same reasons. We did not really have a choice. At one time we had four kids and they were not working kids, they were either at school or babies.
I could never be a vet. I would probably come home crying daily about the poor little animals that would suffer. Being a soldier would also not be my thing. You get action when there is a war and what do you do in the war? Yes exactly, not my sort of thing.
I never really found my dream job. I often wondered if undertaker would be something. You are unique, no problems with unemployment and the money is good. The clients are quiet, do no argue about their treatment and those that pay for the service do not generally question the costs. There are also variations on the methods used to bring a little variety into the work, but we do not really want to go into details.
Now I am a simple housewife and Mr. Swiss is a houseman. Are we happy in our work? We receive a monthly wage from the government for being retired and have no-one to tell us what to do. We arise and retire when we want to. We now work as being senior citizens. Some might say end station, but we just say you never know what is around the corner, so why worry.
On this happy note I will leave you and enjoy your labour day.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Here Here!
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Funny thing is all my working life I looked forward to retirement. I now have it, it is nice, but what comes after? Think that one over.
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I thought May 1 was labor day in the rest of the world. I like my current job, best. 🙂
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1st May was just referred to as May Day, but I suppose it was a sort of labour day, in honour of the workers.
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Oh, no. Labor Day is chocked full of around-the-house projects that have been neglected. In the US, we go back to work on Tuesday comparing blisters earned and injuries incurred. It’s sort of a Red Badge of Courage (I apologize to Stephen Crane for the theft I just committed).
I’ve never understood why Labor Day is an American thing, either. It’s all very Socialist.
As someone who makes his living in an airplane, it gets old very quickly. Like the expression about the view never changing unless you are at the front of the dog sled team. A lot of days, I don’t even get to enjoy the view because my windows are sealed over. C’est la guerre, I guess.
A final thing I ask of all the Europeans. Could you please stop calling us “Yanks”? A Yankee is the worst pejorative to cast at someone from the South. 🙂
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1st May was just referred to as May Day, but I suppose it was a sort of labour day, in honour of the workers. I never referred to an amerian as a Yank, although I must admit I generally refer to them as colionists, after all when the Mayflower landed they did begin to colonise the country. George Washington decided to change things and I think they all had a tea party somewhere, but my American history is not so good. Anyhow we British lost the war and now (for the past 200 years or more) it is all yours.
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I guess I could live with Colonist. You could also add “rebellious” to that, as well. lol
I’ve deployed with Brits, and they miss home, too. So no big difference there.
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I’m one Brit that left London 48 years ago for Switzerland. After a couple of years I met Mr. Swiss and have been here since. I still go back once a year to practice my cockney english.
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1) Yes. Orthodox Jews hire “non-Jews” to take care of things on the Sabbath — like lighting the fire, turning the over on or off, etc. I know a lot of non-religious Jews who did these jobs too. Easy work if you can get it, but it’s not exactly a career.
2) To the best of my knowledge, there’s no escaping the whole work thing here, either. You Europeans get a great deal more time off — far more holiday time — than Americans do. We get between 5 and 10 (depending on the company you work for) holidays and an average of two weeks vacation, but may get as little as one week — or none. And only a few sick days.
So you need not envy us our holidays. We have few enough. It helps to really love your work because then, you don’t mind doing it. For the most part, I really like my work. Had some great bosses too. Some awful ones naturally … but the good outnumbered the bad, And I earned a good living.
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Yes exactly, my mum referred to lighting the fires. I know we do have more holidays than in America, When I was a working woman I had five weeks a year with some small extras, as well as religious holidays now and again and a few Swiss things.
I didn’t mind work as it got me out of the house and I saw something different. The problem was that I was multi tasking most of my life in two places and it was not fund. Now we are reaping the benefits, but now we do not have the energy to enjoy it so much.
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I also find accounts very boring so never went for something where I have to deal with accounts or computer.
It is so nice to find you along with Mr. Swiss enjoying life, looking after the house and a lovely garden, dealing with wordy, designing word press T shirts and of course cats need your attention too.
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Where would I be without the daily prompt. it i now early evening, sitting on the porch, writing some comments, drinking some juice and eating a vanilla cream. I have a t-shirt on, but more a golden oldie t-shirt.
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Cheers to life !!!
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That’s a lot of jobs!
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I just went where the work was. I was not a native Swiss, and had to find work that needed the english language, or something that needed no language, like accounts or cooking.
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You are amazing , you can always find something different to write on the Daily Prompt. I find it difficult without repeating previous blogs. My first job, which I loved, was being a children’s nurse. I did this until I married and had children ,then changed to working in an accounts department . I loved making things balance , working to a deadline at the months end. This amazed me as I didn’t get my O level in Maths. I think I must have been hit over the head at some time.
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I got six O levels if I remember rightly. I was quite good at maths, which was arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and a little bit of trigonometry and some logarithms and antilogarithms, all of which I now need a calculating machine to reach an answer. I really don’t know how I did it. I learnt the accounts from my job with the local first aid organisation, but did it all in Excel. I failed in one O level, which I had to retake and passed. That was english, believe it or not. I hated english.
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AngloSwiss,
Your take on every topic is amazing- fun filled, full of life and inspiration. Each of us has gone through everything you have written in your post.
I agree I could never be a veterinarian and for that matter a paediatrician- I could never bear to see children or animals in trouble.
What I would really love to do is to move to Switzerland and walk around the pastures, looking at the cows grazing and gaze at the distant hills and mountains and wonder what went on there.
That would involve a lot of labour for me.
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I would like to do that as well, but contrary to public opinion the Swiss have to work for their living. We have cows as neighbours, and a local mountain, the Weissenstein. As with most things that you constantly see, eventually you take it all for granted.
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