The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera web browser

I've recently come to terms with the fact that there are several jobs I could never do, no matter how well I'm trained. First, I could never be a flight attendant, mostly because of my fear of flying. I actually quite like planes, it's just the actual flying (well, the turbulence, really) that gets to me. Being a pilot would probably be OK, since you usually don't get motion sickness in a car when you're in the front seat and I'd guess the same about being in a cockpit. Of course, I made myself sick one time while driving. It was a really fun, windy road though, so you can't exactly blame me.

Second, I couldn't be a hair stylist (I believe that's the current "politically correct" term for a person that cuts your hair). No, it's not because I have no sense of style (though that certainly would be an issue). Over the years, my hair stylists have always been excellent at remembering my name. While I'm pretty good with faces, I'm quite bad with names. I'm really quite embarassed by it sometimes, especially if I run into someone I haven't seen in a while. I try to pass it off by saying something like, "What's up, man" or "How's it going, dude" rather than using their actual name. Sometimes it'll come back to me, but usually not right away.

What's worse is when I think I remember someone's name and I use it, but that's not their name. I think that's only happened once, back when I was working as a cook in a family restaurant. A waitress was passing my work station and I said "Hello, Shannon" (or whatever her name wasn't) and later realized that her name was Laura (or whatever it was), so then I had to stop her and apologize for calling her the wrong name, which apparently she hadn't even heard in the first place. Oh well.

Finally, I could never be a train conductor. Sure, motion sickness plays a part, but that isn't the main issue. If you're not familiar with a train conductor's job, they go around and make sure that all the train passengers have a valid ticket. Some times they'll leave a slip of paper above your seat to mark that you've paid. The train conductors in Norway just remembered you. That astounds me. They see hundreds of random people a day and simply remember them for the short period of time they know each other. I know I'd go around asking people for their tickets several times, interrupting perfertly good naps or conversations. It just wouldn't be good.

Thankfully, I don't need to do any of these things since I have a super cool job. I've worked for Opera Software for just over three years now, making it the longest I've held a single job (which I don't think is uncommon for 26 year olds). I've been very blessed to be able to do something that I feel makes a difference, gives me ample opportunity to learn, and is just plain enjoyable. And if you're enjoying yourself as a flight attendant, hair stylist, or train conductor, more power to you.