What is 365 Jobs?

I started 365 Jobs on a whim.  I got the idea on December 28, 2010 and by January 1, 2011 it was up and running.  It's more work than I expected.  It makes me insanely happy.

The short nature of a blog entry is a discipline, a cousin to poetry: you try to say more by writing less.

I'm mining my journals for memories.  What I find are entries of one sentence, maybe two sentences, sometimes just a person's name - and as with a whiff of a long forgotten scent, a flood of memories will flow.  With the distance of years I see these events in a new light: hopefully, the wisdom that only time can provide.  For each job, I try to extract the kernel of truth.

Here's what I wrote on December 31, 2010, when I launched the blog:

Most of the jobs begin like a blind date.  What's different is that you try not to get screwed.  You meet people.  They have problems; you try to help.  You work hard.  Stuff happens.  You live by your wits.  Sometimes, you do things that make you proud.  Sometimes, you make a friend. 

Since 1976 I've worked small jobs in the construction trades: carpenter, plumber, electrician.  Some jobs last an hour.  Some take months.  That's a lot of blind dates.  And all the time, I was keeping a journal.  For the next year I'm going to remember some of the people, the problems, the craft, the joy and sorrow, day by day.