Thomas Jefferson once engrained in the Declaration of Independence that we are entitled to 3 God-given rights, most notably the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the everlasting quest for the pursuit of happiness within the United States, this usually comes with the attainment of money through various means. In my many years on this planet, this acquisition of monetary value has been solely derived from working at various jobs my entire life. In this post I shall seek to describe how each job went.
1. In the summer of 2006 I worked at the OC fair, selling newspapers to random vendors for 25 cents each. Even back then, newspapers were already dying a slow death. Because I was being paid hourly, I ended up using my own hourly income to buy the newspapers when I wasn’t able to sell them. I still ended up making profit though, earning bonuses for selling all my newspapers. It was fun, but hot at the same time. Although not nearly as hot as it today due to climate change.
2. From the summer of 2007 to 2008 I worked at Popeyes. Quite literally the worst job I ever had. With Korean bosses who were super strict and yelled at me all the time for washing dishes improperly, I was yelled at more often than not. And not attractive enough to be the cashier at the front of the store. One time, I was seasoning the chicken in the rotating spinner and it fell out. With my boss around the corner and knowing his reaction, I feared the ramifications of failure. Subsequently I put the chicken back in and cooked it regardless. The hot oil burned all the dirt I’m hoping (for the sake of the dining customers).
3. My first job at UCSD was at the Career Center, where I shredded a bunch of private documents. It was fun, but only lasted a few months. I was “master-shredder” so to speak.
4. My summer job in 2009 was at Conference Services, where we checked in various guests who were using the college dorms in the summer for various camps. One notable event was Lebron James’ summer camp – where a little girl said she lost her missing keys. Trying to be the master of customer service I went back to help her look for the missing keys. Unfortunately this led to me getting in trouble for being with a child alone. Tragic. Common sense got in the way of me diligently trying to provide excellent customer service.
5. For the rest of my time at UCSD, I worked at Environment, Health, and Safety where I did basic officework duties like scanning documents and scrolling Facebook. I got to drive the cart around the campus and deliver things too, which was cool, including placing laboratory safety signs in all the labs around the school of medicine.
6. Though simultaneously a club on campus, the Inter-College Residents’ Association also provided quarterly stipends, giving me a chance to earn extra money on campus. I was the Vice President of Public Relations which entailed of course organizing and cleaning the office, and advertising for different residential life events on campus. It was a fun time, and two of my closest friends were derived from that one club.
7. My first unpaid job was of course my internship at the Sustainability Resource Center at UCSD, where I designed the website for the school. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to ever get published.
8. The summer of 2011 my teaching skills were awakened when I worked at a summer camp for ThinkTogether at Waigenheim middle school. While there, I taught math and film after busing 40 minutes there and back daily. I appreciated the interactions with the students, who gave me chisme everyday on all their everyday relationships. Ever since, I’ve been the master at accumulating gossip from middle school students.
9. Upon my return back to Garbage Grove, I acquired a position at the Anaheim Family YMCA. I worked at the after school program at various schools until I ended up at Loara and eventually Katella high school. While there I had to witness some crazy ordeals, like running detention where a student got up on the desk and started twerking inappropriately. Tragic.
10. Fairmont Summer Programs remains one of my favorite job memories to this day, because of all the fun interactions with campers, camp counselors, and of course the field trips we got to go to. It’s no surprise that I would make a surprise return as counselor after leaving for a few years. The whole experience allowed me to enjoy a childhood and adventures I never had growing up due to being socio-economically disadvantaged.
11. I became a substitute teacher for the Garden Grove Unified School District while student teaching. Needless to say, my classroom management was crap whenever the master teacher was not in the room, despite building a decent rapport with the high school students at Santiago.
12. My first teaching job was of course at Cram Middle School all the way in Las Vegas. I learned quickly there that being nice and kind was an ineffective teaching strategy. I also coached the Boy’s Soccer Team to many losses and many interesting adventures in the process.
13. Rise Kohyang Middle School was my next crazy adventure, and I lasted there for 3.5 years. Here I grew the most as a teacher, and made the best of friends. There’s nothing that bonds you together for life more than hardship, and Bright Star was definitely good at executing that at the expense of their teachers. Despite all this, I’m grateful for all the school did for the students overall, contributing to many positive life experiences lessons. I’m grateful I got to go to Hawaii, go camping in Utah, and of course go to Seattle in the process of my days there. And of course a needlessly expensive 20,000 trip to Phil’s BBQ.
14. At Excelsior school, a boarding school in Artesia, the rich students from all other countries were able to pay money essentially to get their high school diploma. It was an interesting experience only teaching there half the year, and realizing how little private school teachers get paid. Quite tragic.
15. I simultaneously tutored some children at Data for Children, an after school program. Nothing much eventful happened there, other than me realizing how polite the Asian children in the San Gabriel Valley Can be.
16. My least favorite teaching job was at Equitas Academy, where I would end up quitting after a mere 3 months – the best birthday present I could give to myself. The children there were HORRIBLE. The strategies acquired over the years regarding classroom management were ineffective in that environment, and students were treated like prisoners lining up to move from classroom to classroom and being forced to eat in their cohorts at lunch. I knew I had to quit after realizing every morning that I would rather be in a car crash than have to endure the rest of the year.
17. And so, quitting mid year meant I needed to sub. Westminster School District was the first district I opted for, which proved exciting. One of the first days on the job the aide in the classroom told me I had better management of the students all year than their regular teacher.
18. I simultaneously also worked for Irvine Unified, the best district by far to sub in. Students even thanked me daily after they left my classroom – a politeness I never received as a teacher.
19. Fountain Valley School District was another subbing opportunity. Fun fact: I left my hydro there accidentally on the day before schools closed down due to Covid-19. And so it’s ultimately gone…. forever.
20. I also worked at Gate Education, a tutoring center for some privileged kids living in Irvine. It was good to sub at an Irvine school and then drive right after to the tutoring center to continue to help kids. What a world of extra help they get… the kids in Irvine who need tutoring are smarter than the Honors kids at some of the Title 1 schools I continue to work at to this day. What a crazy world we live in.
21. In an effort to further my teaching prospects, I acquired a special education teaching position at Hosler Middle School. It was pretty easy teaching “online” during the Covid-19 pandemic. I didn’t even have to tests the students for their IEPS. What a chill year.
22. I taught at Opportunities for learning that same summer, an online program where students got to complete their classes online electronically. I was merely a special education teacher there, and I helped the students that needed accomodations. Only 1 student really needed it the entire summer, so it proved quite easy.
23. The next summer, I would teach at Options for youth (basically the same company), but this time I would be a general education history teacher, having to grade the students’ written responses. This proved easy money-making opportunities for me as well. I really only worked 1 hour a day, despite being paid for 8.
24. And finally, I am at Dale Junior High School, where I continue to shine in my teaching experiences with my students. Moving from teaching history to special education (and hopefully moving back soon), it has been a pleasant experience with all my colleagues. The Anaheim Union High School District continues to give me opportunities to grow in my practices – most notably allowing me to be Civic Engagement lead, being in charge of the website and marquee, being in charge of Lancer Stars, and even doing summer school this summer in the form of Apex, an online curriculum that is super easy for both student and teacher. I will continue to embrace my time here until it is time for new adventures perhaps eventually in high school or administration, but I hope to stay within the district until retirement.Â
