My Best Top 5 Jobs - Number 2

The last few weeks I have been going through what I consider my top 5 jobs of all time. Some that were pretty good didn't make the list but the reason why I chose what I did choose was not only were they fine jobs but each one changed my life in a certain way.

Number 5 - where I work now has given me the flexibility to be off when I have needed to be and kind enough to accomodate both my wife's and my hours so that we can play a big part in our kid's lives. That is a biggie especially with one car in the household.

Number 4 - was the Palisades Restaurant in Jasper Alberta where in 1991 I really felt I got it together as a waiter. Up to that time I was mainly behind the bar , held some management positions just before that , but especially at this time I needed to see some real success in my life. I needed direction and to focus on one thing and that is when I decided pretty much that waitering was where the money was at. The previous year had been terrible so the time in the Rockies was exactly what the doctor ordered. In 1991 I got it together personally so to speak.

Number 3 - my 2 years in Switzerland where I worked hard and travelled in 1988-89 for me was outstanding. That is why 1990 was brutal cause coming back from a high was difficult to take. The job experience I had and the people I met together with the places I saw was unforgetable. I didn't make much but learned tons. I think everyone if they can should work elsewhere for a while just to appreciate things they may take for granted at home. Although Switzerland wasn't exactly a tough country to spend time in.

Which brings us to my number 2 job and that is where I worked a short time ago. I know some read this blog with whom I worked with and still keep in touch. I was working at this fine dining restaurant in Oakville Ontario called Jonathans at the time when business slowed down during the summer and being the new kid on the block I was getting called off a lot of the time.

So I got on my pony and started to look for other work when I saw this ad from a restaurant looking for a waiter. It was closer to where I lived so I thought I would check the place out. I left my resume there and shortly thereafter I got a call to come in and talk with the owner.

We hit it off and he said come on in one night and we will see how you do. So I went in. I remember that first night and I guess really all I was supposed to do was shadow someone but we had a few walk ins and it got pretty busy so I think I mucked in pretty good and was invited back. Alex the owner knew the restaurant business and was very waiter friendly. Being old school he never liked too much staff so the waiters were also bartenders , bussers, food runners, banquet waiters , and polished cutlery all at the same time. Good money was made all the time there.

Being of the fine dining variety the tips were great and the place catered to corporate meetings , dinners , weddings , the works.

I worked there for 2 1/2 years before I moved on to where I am now so that I could manage my schedule better and also teach the bartending. My body was aching too as my back would give out. Usually you worked right through without a split. So physically it was taking a toll.

This job at Terrace on the Green www.terraceonthegreen.ca pretty much got us the town house we live in now. The tips were that good. So the years from 2005 - 2007 were income wise terrific years. It was fun and great people to work for. If I wrote a book I would mention Alex the owner as helping me getting what I have today. No question.

Next week my number 1 job.