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Daniel_Oriordan's avatar

I went to a branch of a state university the first year so I could live at home and save money. I got a job working on the branch's maintenance crew, part time during the school year and full time in the summer. One day during the summer, we came into work and learned that we'd be spending the day moving the assistant branch director into his new house. The guy was a history prof before he got into administration, and he had boxes and boxes of books.

He fed us lunch in return for the "help". Sandwiches and beer. The beer was Iron City. Aside from lunch, the state paid me for my efforts that day.

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Daniel_Oriordan's avatar

My state job involved a Union, which I was so grateful for since I worked for an elected official. I heard stories from people who worked for state and fed legislatures. Like the state rep who came into work every morning hungover and needed a lot of quiet time in his office. But if he was left alone for too long, he'd get pissed off about being ignored and throw a tantrum. Lunch was the three-martini type, and, when he got back from those, he was worthless. This rep introduced legislation to re-introduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court ruled the electric chair cruel and unusual punishment. He had no idea what bill he was introducing for a vote when he read the speech his staff prepared for him. (The vote was taken in the afternoon.)

No thank you. Give me a mindlessly repetitive paper-pushing job, a recalcitrant public with an extremely low opinion of state workers, and a union rep when anyone with power over me looked cross-eyed at me.

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