What do you all do for a living?

wells2010

I work as a RN full time in a local community hospital. I mainly care for neuro/stroke patients, but basically see everything. 

Gftf7

I farm with my husband. (I grew up on a farm and always wanted to raise a family on a farm). In practical terms, that means I am a SAHM, but two nights ago LO and I got to help haul wagons and run parts. Yesterday and today, LO 'helped' me run the second combine (which was a good thing, as the other combine broke down both days, so we were the only ones who got anything done).

Before getting married, I was a manager, mostly in maintenance facilities, then in operations at the end.

ally2011

luxannie said:

I run the universe. Really tho, I have a job that can be hard to explain, so I say I'm a consultant or analyst. I work with numbers.

You're Chandler!

ohlordy

SummerLove21 said:

I am a Sign Langauge Interpreter; I currently work in the K-12 setting (benefits, vacation, retirement) at a high school and also the Video Relay Service (flexibility, I make my own schedule) setting where I interpret phone calls between Deaf and hearing individuals. Together, they make the perfect job, especially since they are a few miles apart and DD daycare is between both. My long-term goal is to get involved in the mental-health setting as an interpreter, but that is a ways away when I am prepared to be in that kind of setting.

I have always wanted to get into ASL interpreting. It is so interesting to me. I know only a few signs I taught myself...I probably don't do them very well. How do you get certified for that?

@Summerlove21, it is a great field to work in! I love the variety and I enjoy learning new things about both English and ASL. I currently hold NIC (National Interp. Certification) and the minimum requirements for that are a BA or BS in any field. It's a 2-part exam where part one is knowledge based (150 mult choice questions on everything from Deaf culture to linguistics) and part two is performance based. After certification is received, there are 80 hours of Continuing Education Units every 4 years. Youtube is a great resource to watch videos in ASL and there are some good websites out there ( lifeprint.com, oicmovies.com, handspeak.com, aslpro.com) to check out.

kelly321

I'm a translator who works at a university and freelances and an academic currently working on a post-doc proposal, so I'm unemployed in that area and getting money from the translation jobs.

ericalee27

Combines! If I'm not mistaken, it's huge farm equipment that you drive to cut and gather wheat.

I know them very well thanks to the truck obsession that both of my boys have!

Gftf7

@DC2London‌ I can try to explain, if you're interested (I love to help people understand things. I used to enjoy giving tours at my old job and making it fun for people to learn what we did). If you're not interested, no worries, that is fine too. Not everyone is.

@sagen probably?? I don't watch much tv, and haven't actually heard of the show you mentioned. But there seems to be a show about every tiny segment of life, so there probably is about this too!

@luxannie‌ (the super sleuth ) is on the right track. We are actually harvesting soybeans right now (think edemame, but after it has matured and lost most of its moisture. I suppose it's like the difference between buying black beans in a can or buying them dried in a bag and soaking them at home. We harvest and store the beans dry because they spoil if they are too wet.

Gftf7

@luxannie We took a family trip to WA this year and my H's favorite part was driving across the state and seeing the different terrain and the different farming practices. We had a very loose driving schedule, so he got to stop whenever he wanted and walk out in fields and snoop around old farm equipment.

They are serious about wheat in those Palouse hills though! Even going full speed down the road, you could tell how steep the hills were. It made me nervous for those that were working there.

We also saw a couple of fields of garbanzo beans / chickpeas that had been harvested. We didn't know what they were. One of the people we visited identified the beans and told us that most of the crop is shipped to NY State and made into hummus. Interesting!

Gftf7

@luxannie We might've went right by? We arrived in Spokane, drove south (through wheat and garbanzo beans in the Palouse) to Pullman. Went east into Idaho a bit. Then north and west to the Seattle area. Then east along Highway 2 back to Spokane. It was a fun road trip!! At some point (several years?) we might go back. I'll let you know!!!

Gftf7

We took the train to Spokane. We talked about driving to WA, but I was not up for that much 'fun' with a toddler. We saw a lot of ND and eastern MT on the train, then slept through the pretty mountains at night. Just the way the train schedule is. But we enjoyed the scenery we saw. When I worked, I lived in places others might not appreciate. I wanted to find the unique beauty in each location and I did. ::cue cheesy 70s song, "Everything Is Beauuuuuuuuu-tiful, In Its Own Way"::

Amstreagle

It's so interesting to see what everyone does. It's amazing how diverse we are but also have so much in common!

TarheelMama202

I've been a teacher in grades 4-7 and a literacy coach. Now I'm a full time graduate student earning my Masters in School Administration. I'll start as an assistant principal, but eventually would like to lead a charter school along the lines of KIPP or Achievement First. 

holly321

luxannie said:

@Gftf7‌ yeah, I thought wheat didn't sound right given where you live. Soybeans make a lot more sense ;-) My maternal grandpa is a wheat farmer in WA and my dad grew up as a town boy in a farming family in ND.

Can I guess where you @Gftf7 are located? I didn't know wheat can't/isn't always grown where soybeans are. The field beside my house was a wheat field early this season and is now soybeans.

And I was literally just telling Dh that I wish we could farm.  He thinks it is because I could make him do all the work.... But my parents have a farmette, and while the gardening/farming scale is small, I enjoy the work.

Gftf7

@holly321 I'm not that far from @luxannie! 

It's not that wheat can't be grown here, there are just other crops that are easier to grow (based on soil type, average rainfalls, etc).  My parents rent part of their farm out and I think their renters had wheat in one field a few years ago.  There just isn't much of a demand for wheat around here, plus other crops do well here.  (that's my top-of-the-head answer, I'll ask my H and get a more educated answer for you soon). 

Was the field next to your house planted into wheat last fall, then harvested in the spring before the beans were planted (so that two crops were harvested in a 12-month period)? 

I enjoy the work too!  It helps keep me in tune with the seasons and Mother Nature's rhythm of life.  In my opinion, the scale doesn't matter that much, the equipment just gets bigger.  I think you should do it!! 

Gftf7

DC2London said:

I never knew there was a difference between soy beans and edamame!  I am learning so much.  This is cool!

@DC2London I asked my H about this, we're not 100% positive, but think there might be small differences between the two.  We actually ate some of our soybeans as edemame earlier this year.  We didn't do a side-by-side comparison with our Costco edemame, but they tasted close enough for us.  Maybe it can be compared to buying garden seeds at the store?  I'm always confused on which type of beets to plant.  Here is a website that briefly explains the differences in different varieties of beets.  Perhaps the difference between edemame and soybeans is similar to the difference between Detroit Dark Red beets and sugar beets, in that they are intended for different purposes? 

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/varieties-beets-25430.html

Red Beets

Red beets are definitely the most common variety of beets grown, and there are many more from which to choose when you grow them. Their flavor can range from candy-sweet to almost bitter, depending on the type of beet and how long you let it grow in the garden. Among the most commonly grown red beets are Detroit Dark Red, which grows tasty leaves as well as the roots, and Gladiator, which is popular with people who can beets.

Specialty Beets

Much like other vegetables, beets have fans who attempt to find or hybridize the plants to get unusual varieties. Some of the more different ones include Chioggia, which is an heirloom Italian beet with a red-and-white bulls-eye design inside created by alternating layers of beet color, and Cylindra, which grows long and thin like a potato, giving cooks many slices of equal size.

Sugar Beets

While sugar beets are simply another variety of beet, they are grown with a different purpose in mind. Instead of slicing the roots for salads or meals, sugar beet processors turn the plant into table sugar, animal food and other products. Sugar beets are white, sweet, and much larger than ordinary garden beets, with roots that often measure 6 inches or more across.