Pet sitting and the other things we put ourselves through to pay rent!

As a 4th year full time grad student, I don't have a lot of time for anything outside of class, practicum (pre-internship), homework, papers, oh and that lovely little dissertation. So, work is almost out of the question unless I find a way to not sleep. I worked as a veterinary assistant through undergrad and freaking loved it, but it was time consuming and not incredibly lucrative. I was a server/bartender at Outback for my first 3 years of grad school and although I hated it, I made good money. Last December though I finally succumbed to the fact that I no longer could work on a regular scheduled basis like a normal person. So I quit, and although it was awesome and liberating and a huge huge relief, I also was (obviously) not making any money.

Solution: I now work for an online business that does pet sitting, dog walking and the like. It is perfect for me because I can take jobs when I have time and basically it is like a work study job. Not to fool anyone though by the term "work study" because boring, it is not! I usually get to stay in pretty nice houses all around Seattle which is fun....but there are the few odd cases. Some examples; a house that seriously reeks of urine, an obsessed to the point of psychopathology dog owner, a cat that needs insulin but hides in boxes in the basement. These are just a few, I could go on and on!

Although I am beyond excited to start my career, I will always have the memories of my various jobs. I have shoveled popcorn, slept in cleaning closets while waiting for my shift to be over, assisted in puppy C-sections, cleaned up some unmentionably nasty stuff in kennels, had to call the cops on gypsies who accused me of trying to kill them with diet soda, and walked over 200lbs of dogs at once! It has been awesome, scary, boring, frustrating, validating, painful, fun, and above all; wonderful incentive for continuing my degree.

So, discussion: What has been your favorite job? worst job? most interesting moment at work? best horror story? let the stories begin......