The Job Is Always Greener: A Curious Interview Everyone has highs and lows when it comes to their jobs. Lately, I've been feeling like a cold front is brewing. That's not to say that I don't like my job, but I can't help but think that someone else has found the key to job bliss. And maybe with a little prodding, they'll make me a copy. Shoe shine guys are always a source of wisdom, so my path to enlightenmight began there.
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| PLUG: Do you enjoy your job? SHOESHINE: I do. PLUG: Would you say your job is easy? SHOESHINE: No way. My job is hard. PLUG: What makes it so hard? SHOESHINE: It's hard to get customers. Look at me. I need a customer right now. [laughs] PLUG: Maybe you need an easier job. Is there any job easier than yours? SHOESHINE: A judge. PLUG: A judge? SHOESHINE: Yeah. The police do all the work, you know? They catch the criminal, but the judge just sit there, listen to the case, and then judge. PLUG: What's a job that's harder than yours? What's the hardest job? SHOESHINE: Manual labor. Manual labor. Those guys got it hard. |
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...Which led me to a guy sitting in the back of a delivery truck. Aside from the fact the man was "resting" (his words), he seemed to be the embodiment of manual labor.
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| PLUG: What do you think the easiest job is? TRUCK: When you're running things. PLUG: You mean, like, a manager? TRUCK: No. Much higher than that. CEO. PLUG: That's an easy job? TRUCK: I think so. Stare at a bunch of paper. Make sure the figures are right. Nowadays a corporation probably doesn't do that. They just take the money and run. PLUG: What do you do? TRUCK: I deliver alcohol. |
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...Which led me to a guy who owned his own company. He also pays me money. Because he's my boss.
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| PLUG: I asked a delivery man who he thought had an easy job. He said a CEO. BOSS: He was in the office? PLUG: No. He was on the street. But you're the president of a company. What do you think of that? BOSS: I think it's important for you to define easy, because does easy mean you don't have to think? Or does easy mean you don't have to exert physical energy? PLUG: I think people probably think of it as, yeah, you don't do anything, but you get paid a lot. BOSS: I think that you're probably right. When I think of easy, I think of stimulation that generates positive energy, and thereby directs one's energy in a way they get rewarded. PLUG: So what do you think an easy job is? BOSS: I know exactly what my answer will be. I think an easy job is the job one loves. PLUG: So… you're not picking a specific job. BOSS: I think the job that is easy for each person is the one that they are enthused about and connected with. That makes it easy. PLUG: So would you say your job is easy then? BOSS: Absolutely. |
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My boss made a lot of sense. Clearly, I had no other choice than to visit an adult video store.
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| PLUG: Hey. PORNO CLERK: Hey. PLUG: Question. I want to know who you think has an easy job. PORNO CLERK: Okay. PLUG: My boss said… Hang on. I wrote it down. So, my boss said an easy job is one that has “stimulation that generates positive energy.” PORNO CLERK: Okay. PLUG: Is that you? PORNO CLERK: [laughs] What? What's this for? Are you renting? PLUG: Uh, no. I'm writing an article. For work. PORNO CLERK: Okay. So what do you want? PLUG: I want to know if you think you have an easy job. PORNO CLERK: I don't know. Probably easier than most. PLUG: Can you think of anyone or anybody that has an easier job than you? PORNO CLERK: Um. [laughs] No. |
Did you know that adult video stores will not allow you to take pictures inside of the store even if you ask nicely? However, they will allow you use a pocket tape recorder if they have no knowledge that the recorder is in your possession. |
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