I have big plans to write a book at some point in my life. For the past few years, I’ve been thinking about one idea in particular but have yet to put pen to paper (is that phrase still relevant??). So, I figured I would use this entry as a chance to hopefully build some momentum towards making this dream a reality and possibly even solicit some feedback from all you nuts out there.
So here we go…the working title of said someday book is “I Never Thought I’d…” When completed, it will be comprised of a collection of experiences from working people in a wide array of fields/industries that evoked that exact thought – “I never thoughts I’d ___” or the ever-popular “Did I seriously go to school to ___?” often followed by “I can’t believe I spent $__ on college to do this.” I’m guessing that we’ve all had these moments – I know I’ve had more than my fair share.
For example, as a public relations professional, I never thought I’d have to argue with a major airline to allow me to purchase a seat on the aircraft for a dog. Oh, but I did. On multiple occasions. And, when I selected marketing as a major in college, I don’t specifically remember picturing myself walking into the Aon Building wearing pajamas after an “Extreme Sleepover” media event for a retailer client. But I rode the elevator with my slippers on and my head held high. Ordering truck-fulls of sod pallets, asking passersby in Millennium Park which local weather anchor they think is the hottest, shaving someone’s beard on TV or dressing up as a grape?? None of my classes ever truly prepared me for what I’ve been asked to do in my career so far. And I know this trend goes far beyond PR.
A few other good ones that I’ve heard include escorting the “Bathroom Angels” on a multi-city media tour, babysitting boy band pop stars Hanson and teaching them the ropes of radio, spending 14 hours at the Oregon State Fair, cold-calling people to sell them on corporate entertainment package at a golf event that more-than-likely wasn’t going to happen, taking a cab at 3 a.m. to hand-deliver a Power Point presentation to a boss, popping blisters at a medical tent following a marathon, going for an interview for an alleged advertising/promotions position and ending up walking the streets in a business suit hawking pizza coupons to the elderly, giving a group of bikers milk mustaches, unexpectedly being asked to wrangle cows, and the list goes on…
Clearly, the ideal audience to market the book to will be college students and recent graduates. In fact, I think it would make a perfect graduation gift, so if you’d like to pre-order a copy for a special student in your life (preferably one that’s graduating in 2030), please just let me know – that would surely help motivate me to get this thing going! Oh, and by all means – share your “I Never Thought I’d” stories with me – I know you’ve got ‘em.
Tags: "I Never Thought I'd", emily towey, msi
Hey Emily – This is a great idea… everyone has “I Never Thought I’d” stories and I would read this book for sure! Hilarious!
You booked a seat on a flight for a dog…
You booked a seat on a flight for a dog… I once sat next to a cello in first class. Somehow the guy and his cello were booked seats across the aisle from each other and when he ofered to swap seats with me I declined because I had never sat next to cello before and as it turns out, a cello is good quiet company when you are enjoying a first class flight across the country.
Hilarious!!
Oh, I LOVE. You are absolutely right, I do have some to add. I never thought that after close to $200,000 in college costs to become a Physician Assistant I would be working in the stock room of a retailer that focuses on 60+ year old women. Nor would I have thought that my biggest complaint at the end of the day would be that my fellow “retail associates” (a fancy term for us retail peons) just can’t seem to grasp the importance of keeping the tank tops and t-shirts separated in their assigned tupperware storage bins.
(sigh) …..that felt good to get out. Very cathartic.
EmTow…excellent topic! I would like to pre-order a copy please. Rush delivery please!
Sometimes I check in on my boy band pop stars from time to time and think “the least they could have done was given me a shout-out at their concert” following our day in the radio station. Pssh, celebrities….
I like your examples but I can’t beleive that exploring Manhattan to find gloves for an event where nothing seemed to go right didn’t get some type of mention.
Ha – I think I blocked out that entire experience…except the part where we got to meet LeBron.
I believe I can thank you, Ms. Towey, for a trip to the Lincoln Park Home Depot in the dead of summer, with an intern in tow, to pick up approximately one ton of potting soil. After committing identity fraud to pay for said items, I realized I could neither carry them or had I way to get them downtown and had to bribe a cabbie with my “weekend cash fund” to help me load the wares into his trunk and tote me back to work. He then waited while I went upstairs to alert the mail staff to come and give me a hand with loading them on the freight elevator — which took us approximately 20 minutes to locate after arriving at the Aon.
I think I have one:
When graduating from college, I NEVER THOUGHT I would receive a phone call from a client requesting health and disability insurance for 632 primates. I also never thought I would receive an e-mail from a client (same one) stating that primates are “the second most intelligent land mammals (and the only non-human species with opposable thumbs!), it’s truly a shame that primates do not always get the respect they deserve. Between you and me, I sure do wish a monkey could just walk into an agency on his/her own accord and choose the best policy for their lifestyle. I believe one of my closest friends here on site, Cleopatra, who is an eight-year-old femaile we rescued from a Bolivian ring fighting operation, undoubtedly has the capacity to own a home, drive a Prius and live a rather glorious, suburban life.”
I never was able to place the health and disability insurance for Ms. Shirley Jackson (and she mysteriously dissappeared after the above e-mail was written) and her lovable friends, but I did have a great story to share with my friends-until I found out my friends knew about Ms. Jackson and her “request” before I did. THANK YOU MOLLY AND EMILY.