Work, Live, Rinse, Repeat

​In the past ten years I’ve gone from owning a boat business to building bagpipes nobody wanted to running a kilt factory to writing trivia questions to working in a machine shop to driving a Duck to driving a city bus to driving a trolley to driving city tours to working in a senior living facility to being a drawbridge operator and to end up with three jobs- I am Captain Braveliver, Assistant Director of Vitality and Bridge Operator.
 
A year ago I had one job, at the senior home. It’s great and I love being there, but it’s not a good paying industry. After my first year it was obvious, even with the health insurances and meals, I couldn’t afford to just work there. So I got a job with the City to be a bridge operator and went back to driving a duck.
 
I’ve never had even two jobs at the same time before, but now I have three. And somehow it works. Right now I’m full-time at the facility. I do Doctor Runs and Grocery Runs and Mystery Tours and Short Story Night and WWII Discussion and whatever I can think of. It’s a great atmosphere and it gives me Purpose. And I get to hang out with some pretty incredible people.
 
The City job lets me operate three hundred-year-old bridges, the biggest concrete swing bridge in the world, and a spanking new bridge in South Park that’s right next to Lorretta’s, which, according to Thrillist, has the fourth best cheeseburger in the country.
 
The Ballard bridge is my favorite, of course, but next is the Fremont Bridge which is the busiest drawbridge in the country.
 
Once I’m able to go full-time, I’ll have a pension, should I live long enough to need it. There’s also some down time that gives me a little time to do some writing.
 
And the Ducks are fun. Driving the WWII-designed amphibious through city traffic and out on Lake Union is a blast. I get to meet people from all over the world who are experiencing this great city for the first time, and I’m working with fun people.
 
Purpose, Security and Fun. Which is pretty much the Three Pillars of Scottish Buddhism- Be Nice, Take Care of Yourself, and Have Fun.