Tied to the job

[joe_schmoe]

More than once I've caught myself answering my personal phone "Sports, this is Joe Schmoe." or something similar, usually to the amusement of whoever was calling when it happens.
But this week I realized I'm tied to my job more than I thought, as on my day off I was watching the Mavericks on TV. I wanted to make sure I knew exactly where they were in that standings so I grab my laptop and my homepage is Google...and proceed to type BKN. Google was no help.

I really need to step away from sports for a few months/years/decades.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

In the beginning of a couple of my jobs, I've found myself accidentally giving out my previous job's phone number, and then realizing it, sheepishly call the person back to give them the new gig's number.

 

[BDC99]

Yeah, I think we've all done the "Sports, this is .... " at one time or another.
And I worked at competing papers at different times, and I went to the new job, it took all I had to keep "from Podunk wires" from getting in instead of "from Potsville wires," ... or "Podunk staff photo" or whatever. Came really close to effing that up several times.

 

[HejiraHenry]

We've all done that.
Better: I'd just wrapped up a call with one of my college beat writers a few years back and just reflexively signed off as I would with my wife - "Love ya, honey."
Well still laugh about that.

 

[BDC99]

We've all done that.
Better: I'd just wrapped up a call with one of my college beat writers a few years back and just reflexively signed off as I would with my wife - "Love ya, honey."
Well still laugh about that.

Done that one too! And I almost did it last night, when signing off with the woman who typesets our pages. Caught myself just in time. She's a great gal, but that would have been awkward!

 

[joe_schmoe]

I've almost done that with a local women's basketball coach after a phone interview. I would have never lived that one down.

 

[KJIM]

I don't think this has anything to do with where you work. It's just force of habit.

When I worked in Detroit, from the ages of 25 to 40something, I still caught myself almost answering, "House of Pets, can I help you?" ... the job I'd worked when I was 16. (And once, while at the pet shop, one of the guys answered, "House of Plywood, can I help you" ... and there was no such place.)

In my job now -- five-plus years after leaving the Detroit job and three jobs removed, I still have to pause before I answer the phone. After 10 years of answering the phone, "Company, this is KJIM," it's still the most natural thing to do.

I also have to lock my computer screen every time I move from my desk. Not even a year and a half in at this job, I catch myself at home using the same keystrokes on my own computer when I step aside for even a minute.

In my experience, nothing to do with spending too much time at work. It's just a habit.

 

[MTM]

I'll sometimes answer my cellphone "newsroom, can I help you?" when my wife calls just to crack her up.

More than being tied to the job is the job being tied to you and being recognized frequently in public.

I don't want to be pitched stories at the supermarket or bump into a source on Sunday morning when I'm at breakfast with my family wearing a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops and a ball cap.

On the other hand, I blew away one of my son's friends when he was asking about having the mayor at his Eagle Scout ceremony and I said I'd text her and ask.

 

[DeskMonkey1]

You know, I don't really recall ever doing that, but for no reason other than the fact I've always answered "Sports (newsroom), this is Monkey, can I help you?" or "Sports (Newsroom)." I have been known to put in old passwords, though.

I did, however, when my first child was born, on her first or second night saying "You can't have people food" because I was so used to saying that to the dog.

 

[spikechiquet]

My college radio station was called "Radio X".
I took a job working for "Radio U".
Yeah, that got screwed up...a lot! Even had a caller ask me if the station switched letters.

 

[Batman]

We've all done that.
Better: I'd just wrapped up a call with one of my college beat writers a few years back and just reflexively signed off as I would with my wife - "Love ya, honey."
Well still laugh about that.

For the longest time, my wife's name was right next to one of our local football coaches in my cellphone. I have a long commute, so I'd text my wife every day when I got to work to let her know I'd made it safely -- just a simple, "Made it. Love you honey :)".
Was always afraid, every day, that I was going to send that text to the coach eventually and have some explaining to do.

 

[Bronco77]

More than being tied to the job is the job being tied to you and being recognized frequently in public.

I don't want to be pitched stories at the supermarket or bump into a source on Sunday morning when I'm at breakfast with my family wearing a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops and a ball cap.

I'm not recognizable because I've been on the editing side for many years, but I do have similar conversations with friends, acquaintances and my wife's family members -- even though I'd rather not talk about anything connected with my job when I'm not working. Everybody wants to talk sports, or asks if I get free tickets (or worse, if I can supply them with free tickets). These conversations occurred even when when I was editing news and business for many years. Almost as bad, people I'm introduced to are always asking, "What do you write about?" or "What team do you cover?" I have to explain how that's not what I do.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

I'll sometimes answer my cellphone "newsroom, can I help you?" when my wife calls just to crack her up.

More than being tied to the job is the job being tied to you and being recognized frequently in public.

I don't want to be pitched stories at the supermarket or bump into a source on Sunday morning when I'm at breakfast with my family wearing a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops and a ball cap.

On the other hand, I blew away one of my son's friends when he was asking about having the mayor at his Eagle Scout ceremony and I said I'd text her and ask.

I've been out for almost seven years and about twice a year, I'll get a "Hey, aren't you..." which has more to do with local TV/radio appearances than anything I ever wrote. Since it's usually followed up with, "How come you don't do that anymore?" I would not mind if that never happened again.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I'm not recognizable because I've been on the editing side for many years, but I do have similar conversations with friends, acquaintances and my wife's family members -- even though I'd rather not talk about anything connected with my job when I'm not working. Everybody wants to talk sports, or asks if I get free tickets (or worse, if I can supply them with free tickets). These conversations occurred even when when I was editing news and business for many years. Almost as bad, people I'm introduced to are always asking, "What do you write about?" or "What team do you cover?" I have to explain how that's not what I do.

For me, it's relatives that don't have a clue that my weird schedule is not some anomaly, but it's a part of the job.

They'll say, "why can't you just take off for this, or switch with someone? Aren't there day shifts?"

Well, no, I can't just take off unless I burn a vacation day, which I only get my two weeks and I don't want to burn through them quickly. I can't switch because, thanks to cutbacks, almost all of us are working the same shift. And there are very few day shifts, which were done by people who had been there 20 years. I say "had been there" because they were laid off, too. Why don't you schedule your little family event on a Monday? That's right, that's a part of your workweek. Well, weekends are mine.

 

[DeskMonkey1]

I'm not recognizable because I've been on the editing side for many years, but I do have similar conversations with friends, acquaintances and my wife's family members -- even though I'd rather not talk about anything connected with my job when I'm not working. Everybody wants to talk sports, or asks if I get free tickets (or worse, if I can supply them with free tickets). These conversations occurred even when when I was editing news and business for many years. Almost as bad, people I'm introduced to are always asking, "What do you write about?" or "What team do you cover?" I have to explain how that's not what I do.

Oh, God, isn't that the truth? Almost every time when someone finds out where I work, I get asked "Do you write?" and I have to respond "Only in my free time." Or, when I see extended family, I get asked what I think about this sport or that team and I have to tell them that I only keep up with one team and not once has it been a team someone around here cares about.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

It made dating interesting early on. I had one girlfriend who called me up, accused me of cheating on her because, "There is no way you're working as much as you say you are." The first time she did it, I was stupid enough to go to her place with a stack of papers and say, "Here is my byline and this is a dateline that shows I was in Tucson, just like I told you I was."

The second time she accused me of it, I just said whatever.

The most interesting one was when I was on a date and I got a call from the PR guy telling me a player I covered had just died and the AD was going to have a press conference in 45 minutes. I said, "Look I'm really sorry, but something crazy just happened and I have to get to a press conference..."

"Why can't you just call them back and say you're on a date?"

"Uh, unfortunately it doesn't work that way."

"Jesus, it's not like you're a doctor..."

I then pulled a $20 out of my wallet and said, "OK, you can either come with me now so I can take you home, or you can use this to take a cab."

 

[swingline]

Don't leave us hanging. What did she do?

 

[Ace]

The day after my son was born, I worked 16 days in a row (10-hour days) putting out daily World Cup sections when it was being played in the US of A. Does she remember that? Yes she does.

I was on diaper duty for son 1 and son 2 evermore.

 

[joe_schmoe]

Yeah I've been in this for decades now and people still don't get my schedule or my job function.
A few years back me and my sisters were all able to get off July 4 weekend, and we took my parents out. My mom mentions "I'm planning a family reunion for the first weekend in October and you all have to be there."
Trying to explain that getting a weekend day off during football season is next to impossible without a lot of warning. And three months isn't really a lot of warning.

And I still cringe when people ask what I do, because more times than not i hear "Oh so you go to all the (insert pro/college team name here) games? What do you think about (insert pro college athlete's name here)?"

 

[I Should Coco]

The day after my son was born, I worked 16 days in a row (10-hour days) putting out daily World Cup sections when it was being played in the US of A. Does she remember that? Yes she does.

I was on diaper duty for son 1 and son 2 evermore.

It's been a few years since the U.S. hosted the World Cup ... hope your boy is potty-trained by now. ;)