12/11/2025
It took me 49 years to finally land in what I consider to be my dream job, which is telling stories about BC to British Columbians on TV, on social media, and soon in print.
It came at a time when the job market in Canada is terrible and my teenaged son is looking for his FIRST job, and it’s got me reflecting on all of the ones I’ve had over the years.
Growing up in the small town of Vernon BC, it was easy to find work in the 90s, when I entered the job market.
My first real job that came complete with a pay stub? Dishwashing at the local Smitty’s restaurant, which I got to by riding my skateboard along the weathered sidewalks.
Earning three dollars and some-odd cents an hour, I dealt with abusive senior kitchen staff who smoked ci******es while they cooked, but there were upsides.
Every two weeks I’d receive a cheque that I’d go to the bank and exchange for more than a hundred dollars in cash! And every shift I’d get a free dinner and a milkshake! I’d usually opt for a ground-beef taco bowl and a vanilla shake, which seemed like the appropriate choice at what might have been the whitest establishment in the Okanagan.
When I moved to Vancouver at 18 years old I made a lateral move to an Esso at Granville and 70th. It’s gone now but it was, quite famously, the only station in all of Vancouver that didn’t have a canopy over its pumps. We got soaked every day it rained, which was most days.
But things got better from there, as I got a job inside as a beta tester for EA Games in Burnaby, thanks to a connection through a family friend.
I then dabbled in journalism as the founder of an online skateboarding magazine, and from there hacked my way into the skateboard industry.
A decade later I hacked my way into community news, founding Vancouver Is Awesome while learning from friends and mentors and asking a lot of questions as I burned the midnight oil along the way.
It’s now been almost three decades for me working as a journalist and publisher, and when I left my office job at VIA at the beginning of last year, it was easily the best career (and life!) decision I’ve ever made.
My new job instantly started providing me with joy and not eternal stress and feeling completely frazzled. I enjoyed getting up and starting each day in natural light (often outdoors!) instead of under fluorescent lights.
I still do. Every single frickin day, I take at least a few months to reflect on how grateful I am to finally be here, doing a job I love, and which I feel I’m pretty good at.
I'm now at the halfway point of talking about my upcoming Now You Know BC Almanac print project, and 957 have already preordered a copy at bcbob.ca.
I’ve been working my way towards this release since… well… since I first started dabbling in journalism.
Or maybe I’ve been working towards it since my first job, the one I didn’t mention, where I delivered the daily newspaper to my neighbours on my bike when I was 12.
It’s been SO worth the ride. 🤗
