Oh! Let me pass you through to the mayor!

Sedona Reflections. I love going to Sedona. A peaceful sanctuary in the middle of Arizona. The energy in that city is amazing. This was right before breakfast on the porch balcony over looking a small creek. I can’t remember the name of that bed and breakfast, but I had read about their 4 course breakfast and made reservations. It was one of the tastiest breakfasts I ever had. I like to travel and I like to eat, or I should say ‘we’, because these adventures are always with Gary. I think that is becoming quite apparent in my blogs!

I had the most amazing phone call yesterday at work. I do have a second job, I’m not just a pinhole photographer. I am also a Communications Specialist for Earth911.com. If you have never been to that website, I highly suggest you give it a whirl! At the top of the website you’ll notice a box. Enter in what you would like to recycle and your zip code, and voila! Instant results from numerous places you can take that item in your own city. Now you never have another excuse for throwing out that #6 plastic or for dumping that used motor oil down your drain.

Oh, yes, back to the phone call. I called Ellijay, Georgia yesterday to update recycling information for their city. The woman who answered the phone in her pleasant southern accent said, “Oh, Earth911, Let me pass you through to the mayor!” and she did just that! That phone call made my morning and my day yesterday.

For the first time in my working career, I actually have an amazing job with an amazing company. It’s not non profit, but we are providing an incredibly important service, so it has elements and feelings of a non profit.

I have had some interesting jobs in my life. In fact, I lived in Chicago for 3 years, while I went to undergrad and had 22 jobs! YES! 22 jobs! A lot of those jobs only lasted a day or two, I wasn’t really interested in working, but like every photography student, film and photo printing paper were like drugs and I handed paycheck after paycheck after paycheck to Central Camera to get my fix.

I’ll never forget my very first job, for a I have a scar the length of my thumb to always remind me! I worked at Biffles BBQ in Concordia, Missouri. Best BBQ in the country! I hear a rumor that one may open in Phoenix… how’s that coming along Chad???? hmmmmmm…… One day instead of opening the potato salad, I opened my thumb and received 14 painful stitches.

I worked at a gas station also in Concordia and that was fun. I was able to do my homework at night and the band P-Funk All Stars were driving through, filled up on Thanksgiving and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with me! It was wild. I was 17, I had NO IDEA who they were, but they did give me autographs and told me to go home and ask my dad about them. Unfortunately my dad wasn’t the funky 70′s kind of guy that would have listened to them, and he didn’t know who they were either. Ha! I have lots of great memories from that job…

I think my most interested job was working for this lady who designed fetish wear in Chicago. I can’t remember how I ended up in her apartment/shop, but before the end of our ‘meeting’ she offered me a job! Since I had recently quit my job and was looking for something, I thought, why not! I had to read all these books, I had no idea what bondage was. There was also two security guards outside the door at all times. People would come into the shop with masks on because they didn’t want their identity to be known. Part of my job was to photograph the fetish ball in Chicago. That was a highlight for sure! I took awesome photos that were published in the Columbia Chronicle, my college newspaper and I got to talk to Billy Corgan himself! Yes, yes, the infamous Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins was there and gorgeous as ever.

I have a couple of other interesting working experiences, but I’ll save those for another blog. After all I had 22 jobs in one city… you know a few more of those were jobs only a college student would accept.

I’m happy that I’m 28 and only have 2 jobs right now! Pinhole Photograph and Communications Specialist at Earth911.com