After five days in my new house sitting job, I finally learned how to turn on the radio! While working on my projects, I overheard the radio announcer say, "Come tomorrow to watch a video and have an interview for working in Alaska for six months. The money is good if you don't have any ties and can be gone for that long!"
Well my ears really perked up! Alaska! I've never been there! The money is good....what...$50,000 for six months? That's good money! Not knowing where I'm heading next and where my next buck is coming from I'm open to checking out all options!
Today as I walked into a room full of young men and one young girl, I hadn't been aware of the fact that I was the only old lady there! I took a spot in the back of the room, anxious to hear about this great money opportunity and adventure all combined into one!
The facilitator was very clear about the fact that this was not a glamorous opportunity or even a chance to see and experience Alaska, it was a hard job in a seafood processing plant with long hours.
"You will be working mostly 12 hr shifts, either the night or day shift and you can work all the way up to 16 hr days. There is no guarantee of hours. If the boats catch a big load, you work until it is processed. There may also be days when there is no work at all and then you don't get paid." "The work is hard, it's lifting, it's cold, damp, noisy and smelly." she continued. The only good news, while the contract is for six months, the January shift is usually finished in three!
The whole time, I'm scanning the paper they handed out that told about the operation and noticed the pay...the great money maker.....pay is $7.75 an hour! I could barely contain myself! Oh, yeah, over 8 hours you get time and a half, $11.24. I spent my time trying to figure out how much I'd make for the time I'm away. I guess the benefit is that you can't spend any money while you're there, being 812 miles from Anchorage. When you're on the island, you're on the island! If you leave early, you have to get you own ride back to Seattle.
I raised my hand and asked the only question, "Is it dark all the time?" Nobody else seemed to care.
While my daughters and I have had a great laugh over the whole idea, the really funny part is that I haven't closed the door. I haven't been to Alaska and I haven't worked in a fish factory. (Not sure I'm missing much with the latter!) And...I need the money!
Like the other jobs that I've been interviewing for, the diverse jobs in completely different areas of the west, I'm just going to wait and see what ...if any jobs are offered to me, then I can make a decision.
In the meantime, I'll follow the flow until it stops, laughing at the silliness of life! While this is something that I would do once for the experience (and money, lol), there are people who will be doing this kind of work for their whole life! I'm really lucky!
Today reminded me of a line in Mamma Mia, a movie that I travel with and watched the other evening..."It's an adventure Harry!"
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