I've been working for thirty eight years, since the age of thirteen when I took a job at a local supermarket sorting one litre soda bottles returned for washing and re-use. It wasn't a glamorous job but paid me a few dollars an hour, which seemed like thousands to a little tacker like me.
We weren't a well-off family so that job, seventeen or eighteen dollars a week, made a big difference and provided a degree of responsibility and the satisfaction of reward for effort - An ethos that stuck with me.
I've had a few different jobs since and, fortunately, they paid a little more each time as my experience and expertise grew. Now...Well I work at executive level in a huge company operating in the property sector. I lead others, mentor and guide, consult with clients, have budgets to write and, luckily, enjoy a large degree of autonomy in my role. It's a job I'm good at, probably to be expected after twenty years in the industry, and I enjoy doing it mostly.
Today...I enjoyed it a little more than usual and here's why
I've just finished a client meeting; We've been communicating in respect of her investment portfolio and are at the business end now. Today was a casual meet and greet, a coffee meeting, which gave me a chance to add the final layer of value with the client, with the contract to follow.
She proposed the meeting place, further from my office than I would have liked but I jumped at it and I think the images demonstrate why.
Jetty Road, Brighton, South Australia
We met at a café called Alimentary, 47 Jetty Road; It's a casual place that serves breakfast, light lunch-meals, desserts and coffee. It was busy but she reserved a table; We greeted and got down to the serious business of business talking about investment, the market, life in general and basically sealed the deal in a fairly friendly and civilised manner and in pleasing surroundings.
After the hour-long meeting we parted ways and I decided to take advantage of this stunning location by wandering down the road towards the beach for a walk.
Brighton is small suburb to the south of the city, some fifteen kilometres from the Adelaide CBD, and is highly regarded for its cosmopolitan and relaxed vibe...And that stunning beach you can see in my images.
It draws thousands of people each year although never seems to be crowded; I suppose this is because we have so many amazing beaches like this that people tend to space themselves out between them all.
The esplanade is a popular place for walkers and runners, bike riding and skating and on days like today there's always people making the most of the views and atmosphere. It wasn't a hot day today so only a few were in the water. Paddle-boarding, kite-surfing and kayaking are popular water-sports and the jetty often hosts recreational anglers hoping to snag a bite.
I added myself into the mix today by taking a stroll along the esplanade and breathing in some of the fresh sea air and the stunning views in this beautiful place. I grabbed a drink and just plodded along really, nothing strenuous considering I was wearing work attire. There seemed to be no hurry...A perfect working day right?
On my way back I took a stroll along the jetty which is where I took the image above, it's looking north back towards another legit Adelaide seaside location; It's called Glenelg and I wrote about it a couple weeks ago which you can see here if you would like.
The colour of the water was stunning today and I wouldn't have minded going for a dip on company time but thought better of it and walked around instead. It'll be a super hot weekend this week so I'm sure there'll be plenty out there in the water in the next few days...I might head back down for a dip too considering that it's a four day weekend for me this week.
Jetty Road itself is full of cool little shops, funky, even quirky, places offering all sorts of things like clothes, homewares, crafts and even toys...I went into that toy shop for a look...No Lego though.
The most prevalent shops are the eateries though and it's at the café's, ice cream parlours and bakeries where you'll find people socialising, eating and drinking foods that have a distinctly local flavour, and generally loving their Jetty Road lifestyle...And there's a lot to love.
It's where I am writing this post actually, a café where I'm enjoying smashed avocado on rye toast topped with poached eggs with chargrilled chorizo on the side. Yep, you read that right! It's awesome. I took a look at the photos I snapped on my phone during my walk and figured they were post-worthy...So, hiving on company time! Yeah I know, naughty me.
If café's, bakeries and ice cream shops aren't your thing there's a big pub on the esplanade, imaginatively named, Esplanade Hotel, where one can sit on the balcony with a cold beverage enjoying pub-fare and the view...They do some great seafood there...Speaking from experience of course.
People are parochial around here; The locals love Jetty Road and are happy to come back again and again most walking from their homes near by, and why not I guess, when it looks like this! People from right across Adelaide come here though and it's a really great spot to meet friends and family offering a nice mix of eateries, shopping and that amazing beach. Speaking of the beach, the Brighton Surf Rescue Club is based here so swimmers can enjoy themselves knowing there's help close at hand if required.
I enjoyed my office environment today, which is probably not surprising considering the location; I'm pleased my client proposed Jetty Road, Brighton for the meeting. It's time to head back to my real office now though where the view is...Nowhere near as amazing as it is down here at Brighton.
Still, I can't complain I suppose; Doing deals in places like this is about as good as a work day gets and I'm lucky my job allows me the luxury to spend work time in places like this sometimes. It's a big leap from that supermarket job where my working life began thirty eight years ago and I feel lucky to have the opportunity.
So, tell me, what was your first job and have you had the fortune to work in any fantastic locations like this?
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
Now that's a nice office extension ;D
That is one of hte great things about Australia isn't it, if the nice beach is too crowded for you, just head up the road to the other nice beach/es which are probably less crowded because they're 5min further away xD
Exactly! We're pretty luck here in Australia aren't we? So much to like about the place...Yes there's problems too, but in the main it's a fairly good place to live. I can't think of a better place to be born and raised and I'm glad my first breath in life was of Aussie air! Although that bastard doctor smacked my ass a bit too hard to prompt that first breath...I'm still looking for him for some payback!
!ENGAGE 25
LoL! Ahh those doctors back in those days that didn't realise that babies don't need to cry to breathe XD
I think he took some kind of sick pleasure it smacking my bum...Sicko....If I ever catch up with him I'll give him a smack or two of his own to go on with...Although he was in his 40's when I was born apparently, so I guess he'd be about 100 years old or so...Still, if I find him I'll give him a wallop or two. 😂
ENGAGEtokens.I read 38 years and instantly thought that you could have paid off a mortgage, I then calculated my age and working yrs and I'm not that far behind.
I remember my first job, safeway/Woolworths earning $1.75 an hr. I'd look forward to weekend work or public holidays which would take my fortnightly earnings upto $75.
Slades! The recycling drink thingy. I remember them, I loved them as a kid. Wish they were still around and far better than the plastic on offer in today's day and age. The youth of today are missing out on driving in and filling your own crate of different flavours.
When I read Brighton, I thought of the snobby upper-class town in Melbourne's East. Clearly the direct opposite to me 🤪
Great post, enjoyed the read!
!WINE
Paid a few in my day...Still doing so. :)
Back in the day in South Australia there was a 0.20 return on 1 litre soft drink bottles. So, you pay more to buy the drink then the repay you the 0.20 when you take it back for the refund. People rarely did and so others would collect them and bring them into the supermarket. They'd be counted at the service counter and placed in a massive cage on wheels, all stacked and jumbled together. I'd come along, roll this thing to the cage out the back and sort them into Coke, Schweppes and Woodrofe brands and put them in their plastic crates, a dozen in each. Once stacked and we had enough the respective company would send a truck and take them away.
We still have deposits on cans and bottles here, 0.5c each and people can be found sifting bins to pick them up for the deposit.
I figured someone would mention Brighton in the UK...Although yep, there's the suburb of Melbourne too I guess now you mention it.
I'd love to learn a bit more about housing and real estate. I tell ya what. Out in Melbourne's West its a booming business. Growth corridor has opened up which is seeing boomers sell and move further out into new homes. Former outer west now in the cusp if becoming inner west are selling between $750k and some as far as $1.2m 20yrs ago these homes were 90k -$150k
Commission cost me on 440k sale a whopping 13k includes conveyancing.
Anyway was a lil off subject Here's a !BEER
$13K...So about 2.7% plus the conveyancing...That's not too bad. I wouldn't work for less then 3% + GST back in the day but over the course of my selling career it averaged out at 2.8+ which is strong.
I've been doing property for 20 years so know some stuff but still it's very difficult to make predictions. We have areas that have performed like those you mentioned. I actually gains 367% in value on a place I bought in 1997 by the year 2003. I bought two in 2002 that gained well too although I sold them quite rapidly. Should have held two more years. Live and learn, and as I said, it's hard to know.
There's places you can go to get information but the best information is paid for, like the systems we use in the industry. But a private person can still get loads of stuff, one just needs to know what's relevant and what cause and affect different things have: Schools, malls, sporting infrastructure, new roads, public transport and so on.
If you scratch deep enough you'll find plenty.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @galenkp, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @melbourneswest for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.Wouldn't mind having a meeting there every day. But just a couple of hours meeting so I can spend the rest of the day in that fantastic beach!
Yeah, I've have meetings in worse places, that's for sure.
A lovely beach that you posted here and I like the southern hemisphere's long beaches. Our beach over here is only 40 kilometers long. From Muizenberg to Gordon's bay.
My first paid job as a child; I was employed as a snake hunter on a huge citrus farm during the harvesting season.
Snake hunter for a first job sounds pretty cool, although totally not what I'd want to do. I don't like those slithery little things.
Hahaha, I knew that you would say that, but as they say, a job is a job.
Desperation knows very few limits my friend.
Yeah I guess...Many people have done things they didn't envisage themselves doing, or never wanted to do...Life forces our hands at time I suppose.
Oh yeah, life can indeed force us into different avenues my friend, but how amazing to discover that we have the talents to cope with it. Later in life that same developed coping talents are of great use to cope with life's problems.
The farm I grew up on of course was "a job" from my earliest memory.
But the first official, low wage, over taxed, and documented job was in the early eighties at one of your FAVE burger joints with a clown named RON as a mascot. Heheh...
Flippin' the fake beef, cookin' the chickens "nuggets" (WTF are those nugs made of?) and cleaning/closing a large shopping mall location in Erie, PA. (Formerly the USA)
I was a handsome young lad back then, much like yourself...
I like your day better than my 600+ mile trek and now sleeper bunk exiled tired brain and body. But I did walk the 1/4 mile park lot to grab some of Ronalds french fries and a coke. The only things that are even edible from that clown show cafe these days... Later Bro.
Lol...Flipping the fake beef beef etc. Yep, no one knows what in those nuggets...Styrofoam maybe?
So...Is it just me or did you look a bit like Hugh Grant when you were 15, just around the eyes? No wonder the ladies were throwing themselves at your feet! 🙂
My first job was a paper delivery round and not in a location like this one you had today.
I reckon if the area your paper round was in looked like this there would have been a lot of uniformed people waiting for their newspaper!
🤣🤣🤣👍
I began working at a young age too, by taking my fathers shoe-shine box around to the Bars and Beer Halls at ten years of age, charging people twenty-five cents to shine their shoes😎 Most guys gave me at least fifty cents and occasionally received a dollar bill from a tenderhearted old soul...
My father eventually noticed his shoe polish was running low a bit too quickly, then I had to invest in buying my own for business purposes.
Haha, now that's getting industrious! It's also smart to start your business with other people's products to keep start-up costs down. Lol.
It's funny you know, I hear many stories like this, People mowing lawns, delivering papers, shoe shining, raking leaves, washing cars and so on...But it's always from older people...It seems working for a living, providing for oneself isn't a highly regarded practice these days.
Yes, it was similar to how some of the greatest fortunes were made throughout history, by those who used 'Other peoples money...' (OPM) to amass great material wealth.
At eleven years of age, I got a paper route and began buying my own clothes and school supplies, in order to help ease the financial burden experienced by my mother. We were a large family and relatively poor.
Ah yes, the old OPM strategy...Empires have been built on it as you say.
With my first job came board to my parents. I was thirteen and didn't mind paying it. They probably just put it away and gave it back I guess but it was the thought, the act of doing it, that counted as it taught me valuable lessons that stayed with me. I ended up on $70-$90 a week at a major (national) supermarket chain collecting the shopping trolleys (carts) in the car park by the time I was 15 and I'd work after school and on the weekend...Eventually they took me inside and I helped the manager in the fruit and vegetable department. I got offered a management traineeship at 17 but I declined as I was moving in other directions. I had some good times there, some fun times and the work didn't kill me.
Working at that age was exciting to me... which made it an easy thing to. Having some money in the pocket for comic books, bologna subs and sodas was a joy too😎
I had forgot about that $ contribution for board, till you mentioned it. It wasn't until I was about 15 that my father told me to give something weekly to my mother... She never asked for much though. Once I went away to the Army, I would send her a Savings Bond each month. She never cashed them out, giving them to me once I got home again.
Subs and soda's is good motivation to start earning for sure!
That was nice of you to send your mum those bonds, and as expected, the saved them and gave them back - What a mum thing to do.
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You have a good start to the job and you are promoted. The beaches are beautiful. After all really amazing photographs.
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STOPthat blue sky!
i love it
Pretty neat huh? It's a great spot when the weather is good, which is mostly. 🙂
Gosh that’s beautiful!! I’ve been to Australia, but didn’t make it to Adelaide. If we venture that way again I’ll have to visit. I haven’t posted on this community yet so maybe tomorrow I’ll give it a go.
It's a good place to be, Australia, but I'm biased as I was born here. Where did you travel when you were here?
I arrived in Sydney for church conference and needed up staying 6 weeks and travelling up to Brisbane and Airly beach to sail. It was about 20 years ago though. I’m sure lots has changed. We were planning to move to NZ last year but COVID killed that plan.
Ah yes, in twenty years much has changed...It's also a very huge country so six weeks won't ever do it justice. I'm sure you'll be back sometime. New Zealand is pretty cool too, I really like it there but prefer the South Island as it only holds 25% of the countries' population. Less people = More good where I'm concerned.
That is a great location for a meeting.
I had avocado on toast for breakfast today but the egg and sausage additions sound wonderful.
I want to get back to a beach again soon but not sure when that will happen.
Australia is synonymous with beach typically as 95% of the population lives on 5% of the land and that's (mostly) coastal as the inland areas are brutal. We're lucky to have some of the best beaches around and we make use of them. You're landlocked I take it. Lakes and rivers though?
Yeah, I live in a place called Montana, which means mountains. We do have lakes and rivers so not completely without water. But a ocean beach just has something special that the beaches on lakes and rivers don't. Not sure exactly what it is but it feels different.
Oh yeah, that's right I recall now. Montana. A nice spot or so I believe.
I know what you mean with the beach thing, just something about it that feels nice. Well, you'll need to take a trip and find one I think. Treat yourself.
A group I am part of that runs RolePlaying games is starting a discussion about a beach getaway once vaccines are more widespread. I am looking forward to it.
Sounds like a good plan for sure.
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Its images are spectacular, the transparency of the water and the solitude of the beach make it a small paradise.
But I am even more surprised by his ability as a writer, as he describes all the places where he passed through and narrates the work history he had and still has. It really is a dream job to be "free" so as not to feel the pressure of a closed and inflexible schedule.
I am surprised at how well he uses his images, I have a lot to learn 🤣.
To answer your question: my first job was in an ice-cream parlor and it left me pleasant memories because sometimes the clients gave me ice-cream and I had some very good bosses, I have not been fortunate enough to enter an environment like this.
Thank you and enjoy your publication. Greetings @galenkp
Hi there, thanks for taking the time to read my post and make a comment. Yes, it's a very nice spot and I'm fortunate to live in a place that has locations like this.
Your first job was an ice-cream parlour? That's a dream job for me...I like eating ice cream although I suppose I'd not be able to eat ice cream all day...The customers, and bosses, might have some complaints right?
Jejej, I couldn't eat every day. But there were special days, when all the ice cream was gone from the container I could take it out to wash it and the residue of the ice cream that was left was mine.
That is, I ate everything that was left in the container before I washed it, and sometimes I could eat 5 cups of ice cream and excellent quality.
Ice cream container residue is still ice cream so is just as good! 😉
Ah look at that colour! Great! I remember my grandmother in the countryside sending us kids to sell cherries at the side of the road in full season. We ate most of the merchandise but still made a lil' profit. Sweet times. Not so sweet when she made us manually collect the cockroaches from the potato plant. I despised those orange buggers. Brrrr
!ENGAGE 20
Sellingeating cherries and collecting cockroaches...One good, and one bad job. 😂We used to throw them in the middle of the road and watch them spread when cars came. Kids can act interesting🤔😂
ENGAGEtokens.what a marvelous color of water! I've never seen it alive. Looks like great Photoshop. But NAture and life is the best Photoshop ever;)
Btw does it often rain in this place?
The thing is all Soviet people knew this very Brighton beach very well! But not because they all visited it, no, of course;) but because we had a very popular song where one line says "It's again raining at Brighton beach":)
The Brighton beach you refer to is in the United Kingdom...This one is in Australia, in the city in which I live, as per my post. It rains, but not on the day I was there, and not much at all.
Adelaide has an average of about 527mm of rainfall a year and about 118 days of rainfall over the calendar year. The average annual temperature is 22.4°C and the hottest recorded day was 47.7°C with lowest temperature recorded being -0.4°C.
No Photoshop was used. That's how it looks.