McDonald's vs. Oxford English Dictionary

I love this thread. Keep the updates coming, Rick.

 

Because you've fashioned a nice little niche for yourself here as the financially-strapped guy who has a hard time making ends meet even though you live on a miniscule budget in West Bumfuck. What better way to prove it than by working at McDonalds? It's just a little too perfect, especially the detailed description of your workday. Who would have such total recall of such a mundane activity? Moreover, who would come to a site called sportsjournalists.com and spend a few thousands words talking about his job at McDonalds? Who would seek out a three-year-old thread to do so?

I also can't believe anyone in this business would choose working at McDonalds b/c he hates trying to find freelance writing work. You hate starting a story cold? You do that everyday. You hate having no relationships with sources? You do that with every new job. You went to college (presumably, for all I know you couldn't afford it) to study journalism. Why would you not try to maximize that investment by working as often as possible in the field? If I needed to make extra money, I'd rather find spend my time finding writing work, with the hope that it would pay off on the back end with steady work, than work at a fast food joint.

I also find it extremely hard to believe that a freelance writing assignment would be less lucrative than a shift at McD's. What'd you make your first shift, $32? And you have to wash your clothes afterward. And you had to fight the urge to quit multiple times on your second day. The worst freelance story is better than that, b/c you'll net more than $32, you won't stink of grease and you won't hate your life when it's over, b/c the assignment is truly over and you don't have to go back the next day.

It's as if you're trying to elicit equal parts sympathy and admiration--holy smokes, wow, Rick Stain isn't kidding, he really CAN'T make ends meet, he really IS working at McDonalds, and he had to walk there, and he has trouble walking afterward b/c he's not young anymore, even though he's only 25 or so--except I think you're in on the joke. But what do I know? I'm not even intelligent enough to carry on a conversation with you.

 

My god, I'd so much rather work at McDonald's than do freelance.

BYH, not everyone sees writing the way you do. I'm not defending him, and you may be right, but it doesn't strike me odd at all.

 

Freelancing a story for which I'd be required to take multiple punches in the face from Brock Lesnar >>>>> working at McDonalds.

For one day. For one year.

 

How about Brock Lesnar punching you in the face with red lipstick?

 

What freelance work would I do? I live in West Bumfuck. Internet-based? The competition is ridiculous and it drives down the pay.

I don't think of myself as "financially-strapped" anymore. I used to be, but I learned to live on what I make and thrive. And now I want to make a little more.

I don't think anything I've described so far is all that remarkable in terms of recall. It's a repetitive job. I do the same thing all day. Over and over. On Tuesday, I get my first full paycheck and it'll have been worth it. I'll be about $300 ahead of where I was before.

Why did I seek out an old thread? I hate starting threads. I don't know why, but I just do. I think if you'll look into my posting history, I probably have one of the highest post:threads started ratios on the site. So I just did a search string on McDonald's until I found one that looks right.

Why do I post at all? I dunno, probably the vanity that is inherent in all people. I think it's an interesting story. On the one hand, I'm proud of myself for being willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want, instead of just sitting around moaning that life is stacked against me and I can't get ahead. On the other, I think it's hilarious that I worked this hard in college just so I could go back to flipping burgers. And people seem to agree that it's an interesting story.

Here's a photo I took of myself and sent to my friends during my break on one of my first days. Cropped out eyes and nametag on the pretense that there's still some sort of anonymity here, even though it shouldn't be hard for anyone to figure out my exact identity if they want to.




My next shift is 6 p.m. to close on Wednesday night. If you still don't believe me, I can do the same photo while holding a "Hi BYH and SportsJournalists.com" sign.

 

Please do. That would be fucking awesome!!!!!!

 

Still....yes.

 

Rick: Tell whoever cleaned that bathroom that it's looking sharp. Ray Kroc could eat off the floor in there!

 

The excuse that the Internet makes things too competitive and drives down pay is a lazy excuse. There's a ton of writing out there--not lucrative, but enough to put food on the table--to be done from the comfort of your recliner. I would know. I'm doing it. It took a long time to find the gig I have, but I don't for one second regret the gap in writing jobs, b/c I've invested too much in this career and honing my skills to do something that would give me the urge to kill, whether it's flipping burgers or punching a clock at some horrific 9-to-5 job. I'm good enough at what I do to not have to do that.

Turns out I was wrong about this being performance art, but your posts on this thread are still an impressive brand of hubris and ego. There's nothing different about what you're doing, other than where you're doing it. I'd bet that 95 pct of this board is doing something imperfect to make ends meet, or is freshly removed from doing so, and I'll bet most of those activities are just as repetitive and mundane and ego-crushing as flipping burgers at McDonalds.

But you know that most of the population views working at McDonald's as something only the dumb and/or desperate do. We all know you're not dumb, but if working at McDonald's happens to paint you as Dad/Husband/Guy of the Year material, well, that'd be great. What you are doing is no more dramatic than writing copy from home, but it sure looks it and sure makes you look more noble than the rest of us who aren't posting about it. If we are proud about the steps we'll take to provide for our families and to get what we want, we find fulfillment in the faces of loved ones at the dinner table, not from virtual backslaps on a message board.

 

I'm happy for you. I'm not that good at it, I'm not interested in putting the work in to get good at it, and I'm not interested in looking for a long time to find a gig. I've dipped my toes in freelance work and was not impressed with the results.

Doing some quick and dirty calcuations, I can make a guaranteed $6,000-$7,000 in net pay over one year of doing what I'm doing at McDonald's. It's predictable and reliable income with set hours. I'm not at all convinced that I could generate the same kind of revenue chasing down freelance work on the web, and even less convinced that I could do it with any kind of reliability.

I'm glad I impressed you! That's probably accurate, there is a certain amount of ego attached to this. There've probably been a half-a-dozen requests in this thread for me to keep it updated. If everyone shared your opinion, I'd stop posting about it.

Cool. I'd love to hear their stories.

Noble? I posted a picture of my short, overweight self in a greasy McDonald's uniform? I may be an attention whore, and I may have an ego, but sometimes I just tell stories because I think they are funny. And true stories are often the funniest.

False choice.

 

Can we still get the "hi SportsJournalists.com" sign? Just because?