Oh man, would this be a retro-metal throw back day? Queensryche! Remember them? Popular back in the day of Van Halen, Judas Priest and the Scorps. Well, we'll just have to see if parking with the bus is all that we imagine it to be...

Sony Online Entertainment - Seattle

Spent a day with the Sony Online Entertainment Seattle studio Creative Director for the MMO game The Agency TM. By the way, MMO means massively multiplayer online game. Sony Online Entertainment is a testosterone-fueled environment with a sprinkling of chicks. Concept art of mercenaries and spies fills the halls along with a Ducai motorcycle from The Matrix and a purple ping pong table. With dimly lit cubicles and guys in jeans, combat fatigues and lots of black, meetings were super efficient and standing. No one sat down. They kept things moving and were very serious. It was 24/7 gaming, so if you're not up on the latest and greatest in assassination plots or all-out assaults, check your fanny pack at the door. Every game nuance is analyzed from length and complexity of missions to issues with lighting and bugs. Aside from my time with The Agency, I spent the day testing the Beta for new tween targted 3D virtual world game, Free Realms TM, to launch a bit later this spring. It didn't feel like work, but was part of the job! All I can say is that I couldn't get the Robgoblins out of the pig pen. But, as a non-gamer, they said my feedback was invaluable! Check out the Free Realms website where you too can sign up to be a Beta tester! www.freerealms.com

Heebie Jeebies Funeral Home

Yikes! This was a crazy, creepy day. No place I would want to work. Ever. But people do. I was expecting to walk into the place and have it all dark and, oooh, so scary. But it seemed pretty normal. At first. It was light and bright in there and looked like an office. I met with the funeral director and went through his typical day. He explained every little detail, because I wanted to know every tiny thing. I knew NOTHING about this stuff. And now I do. Then spent a pretty interesting lunch with him over bbq around the corner. Lots of silly stories and gross ones too. I guess these guys gotta keep funny to be sane? Then after lunch was the freaky tour of the whole place and process. Yowza! Not something I ever want to see again. I will try and block it from my mind. Not the career for me. Learn detes in the book...

It Snot What You Think - Living Through Lockdown; An Interesting Day at Middle School

Giggling and attention getting is a junior high must, but sometimes it can go a bit too far. My morning shadowing the Vice Principal started out witnessing a student making gun and bomb threats. It was obvious the kid was agitated, but pretty sad to see he was willing to go to jail for a lie just to get attention. Without wanting to back down, tell the truth and come clean about what he was saying, an official process had to be started. The sheriff arrived and talked with the student, then his dad came by and a detective. If he wouldn't give up the gun, the bomb and gun sniffing canine units would have to be called in. They were. But you'll have to read the book to find out what happened next. And a hint, it wasn't just detention. 

Fire Station | Hot or Not?

No pole. No basketball. No kidding. But as a job, the firemen I met seemed pretty content, even without the pole. Seems some firemen sleep walk and fall down pole holes as well as roll their ankles playing basketball. This causes injuries, disability and overtime pay for others. Bad. Bad. Bad. But since there is a lot of free time in some stations waiting for a call, they gotta do something. I found that some spent time avoiding report writing and bonding with the guys discussing important stuff like Kung Fu Panda. But when that call came in, things were hoppin'. Most of the action at this station consisted of medical transports to the hospital and a lot of EMT type stuff: checking vitals, giving oxygen, putting in IVs etc. All pretty cool and important. But one warning to those with a weak stomach. That paramedic truck you ride in the back of has no real windows to see out, so bring your barf bag. The last thing they need is another patient. For more of the exciting inside scoop, stay tuned and then buy the book.

Scheduled for February, I will be working as vice principal of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic middle school. I'll get the low down on who's cool, what's played out, and which clique is the best to hang with.

Fire Station scheduled for February. I'll get the inside scoop on whether it will be better to work there, or just work it. Ha! Fireman body conditioning starts at 7:30am. Hmmm, interesting.

The Skinny

Idea:
I am writing a book, 50 JOBS IN 50 WEEKS, MY MID LIFE, MID CAREER, MID CYCLE MAKEOVER. It’s a real life account of an adventurous woman, me, putting myself out there and contracting and working 50 different jobs in approximately 50 weeks time. The point is to create a funny and informative inside sneak peak of what it’s really like to work in places you may or may not have considered as a mid-life career direction. From fire fighting to doggie day care, this book will prove to be a LOL chronicle exposing details from corporate hi jinx, to scooping poop. It will examine and compare different work environments, the people, what’s in the fridge, and other must knows.

Why?:
In a time of economic descent, and a not so stellar job front, let’s be realistic, there are a lot of people who have been recently laid off and are wondering what their next steps will be. Too early and unrealistic to retire, many mid-life women not only need to, but seek to reinvent, retool and reinvigorate themselves in order to make it all work, and also find where they fit in.