State your name and the nature of your employment....

General Discussion
1

…which affords you so much time to surf/travel (Firefighters need not respond). 

I ask for the benefit of us less fortunate souls so we may figure out the formula. You are already secure in your surf friendly jobs so spill the beans for the rest of us!

I’ll go first:

Andrew. I have had a number of jobs in the corporate world, commercial real estate, & federal gov. I have not had the fortune of any firefighteresque jobs (not that these guys don’t risk their lives but how does 10 days a month sound?) yet but I have had some good runs. Several periods of corporate cube  invisibility and paid gaps between transfers have provided massive amounts of surf time over the years. Hands down though have been my periods of unemployment that were good for six months.  Oh, it will be a damn shame when the Golden State is able to link your passport number to a 4 month Indonesian sojourn and halt the unemployment train. Although maybe they can now, I haven’t done that one in a couple years.

The current cheat code is  “N,N,Y,N,N,N,N,N”. What does this mean?

 

No- I was not to sick/injured to work

No- There was no other reason that I could not have accepted full time work each day

Yes- I looked for work

No- I did not refuse any work

No- I did not begin attending any kind of school or training

No- I did not work or earn money whether I was paid or not

No- I do not want federal taxes withheld from my check

No- My address has not changed

 

Yep, that is the bi-weekly California unemployment insurance questionnaire. Unemployment has definitely fueled some of my best surf runs. Would I rather be gainfully employed and allowed 6 weeks annual vacation like the Euros instead of sapping unemployment? Yes. 

Do I feel guilty sapping unemployment? Hell no. Ive paid into it and so have you. Economists get pissy when unemployment goes above 5 percent, but ain’t that funny that the other 95% of us have been paying into it for years? Yeah, where did that money go during all of the good years when unemployment was 4%? 

So how are all of you affording a good balance of work and surf?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

The only good balance I can think of is no work and all surf.  Unfortunately, sometimes there’s no surf so I guess you might as well work in the down time.

Funny…someone just asked me in the lineup, “how do you have time to surf when you’re in grad school !?”

I said, “you mean, how do I have time for grad school when I surf?..well…I’m still working that one out.”

Last
year I was offered a great structural engineering job in Honolulu (for
those who aren’t familiar the with Hawaiian job market, this is like a
once in a lifetime shot)  The first thing I asked them was, “how many
hours do you typically work per week…are the hours flexible…how
much vacation”  To make a long story short, after a few calls back and
forth, and a couple emails, they were dismayed that I wanted to be
allowed to surf during the day when it’s good and take 6 weeks
vacation.  The offer was mutually declined and I’m still in grad school
making a 1/3 of what I would be making…but I never-ever miss a
swell…never.

3

[quote="$1"]

...which affords you so much time to surf/travel (Firefighters need not respond). 

I ask for the benefit of us less fortunate souls so we may figure out the formula. You are already secure in your surf friendly jobs so spill the beans for the rest of us!

I'll go first:

Andrew. I have had a number of jobs in the corporate world, commercial real estate, & federal gov. I have not had the fortune of any firefighteresque jobs (not that these guys don't risk their lives but how does 10 days a month sound?) yet but I have had some good runs. Several periods of corporate cube  invisibility and paid gaps between transfers have provided massive amounts of surf time over the years. Hands down though have been my periods of unemployment that were good for six months.  Oh, it will be a damn shame when the Golden State is able to link your passport number to a 4 month Indonesian sojourn and halt the unemployment train. Although maybe they can now, I haven't done that one in a couple years.

The current cheat code is  "N,N,Y,N,N,N,N,N". What does this mean?

 

No- I was not to sick/injured to work

No- There was no other reason that I could not have accepted full time work each day

Yes- I looked for work

No- I did not refuse any work

No- I did not begin attending any kind of school or training

No- I did not work or earn money whether I was paid or not

No- I do not want federal taxes withheld from my check

No- My address has not changed

 

Yep, that is the bi-weekly California unemployment insurance questionnaire. Unemployment has definitely fueled some of my best surf runs. Would I rather be gainfully employed and allowed 6 weeks annual vacation like the Euros instead of sapping unemployment? Yes. 

Do I feel guilty sapping unemployment? Hell no. Ive paid into it and so have you. Economists get pissy when unemployment goes above 5 percent, but ain't that funny that the other 95% of us have been paying into it for years? Yeah, where did that money go during all of the good years when unemployment was 4%? 

So how are all of you affording a good balance of work and surf?

 

Howzit Flatlands, I maybe totally wrong but as some body who has been an employer in the past I don't remember the employee ever having to pay into unemployement. Here in Hawaii the employer pays a % of the gross wages paid to unemployement. Employees pay taxes, TDI , FICA , and 1 &1/2% of their gross pay towards health insurance if they are eligible. Like I said I may be wrong or it may be a state thing but in Hawaii the employer pays the unemployement taxes. Aloha,Kokua 

 

 

 

 

 

[/quote]

4

Here in NZ we call it “riding for the Government Surfing Team”

The kiwis (and now the aussies) will get that one…

5

KK. In Vietnam I meet aussies and kiwis from time to time and they are there traveling usually for 6 months. They allways tell me they are On The Dole.(but they aren't surfers). I guess the government down there takes good care of their unemployed!!!  Another term I hear from the aussies is Humping their Bluey. (meaning looking for work)

6

Hahaha yeah we like travelling on the cheap, thats for sure!

I’ve got a kiwi mate in Santa Barbara who’s just been laid-off, and he tells me that the unemployment money is actually good money?

Here you can get NZ$190 a week max, which covers your rent and food, the way it should be. Nothing more nothing less, just survival.

How much is it in the US?

Dunno what  “Humping their Bluey” means, any aussies care to share?

I’m finishing my degree in a weeks time, so i’ll be on the Government Surfing Team til I find work!

(Government Surfing Team = GST = VAT) 

7

Im a shift worker. Love the mid week dawnpatrol. Though in summer, i can paddle out at 5am ( at the peak of summer ), surf for an hour ( or more if i know i can be a bit late ), then go to work after that. Too good. Or, i can go straight after night shift. My fave beach is only a few km's from work. It's actually in an industrial area, and across the road is a copper tube manufacturing plant. Would love to work there, you could easily (fitness depending!! ) surf before work, at lunch, and then after work!!.

 

Congrats KK!

8

Blue collar / non union.......chemical industry....Swing shift...2:00pm - 10:30pm....Monday - Friday.....Factory is 1 mile from the beach.....Smells like salt water and sunblock on my shift......watch the wind and the tide......stop watching TV....

Stingray

9

[quote="$1"]

Im a shift worker. Love the mid week dawnpatrol. Though in summer, i can paddle out at 5am ( at the peak of summer ), surf for an hour ( or more if i know i can be a bit late ), then go to work after that. Too good. Or, i can go straight after night shift. My fave beach is only a few km's from work. It's actually in an industrial area, and across the road is a copper tube manufacturing plant. Would love to work there, you could easily (fitness depending!! ) surf before work, at lunch, and then after work!!.

 

Congrats KK!

[/quote] Hey Beerfan, are you talkin about MM? at Port Kembla? ( also called Oilys ,depending on your age !) Havn't surfed there in over 30 years , but I know how good it can get!

10

I’m pretty sure Kokua is correct as it regards all states in the US. The employer pays a % of your total wages toward the state unemployment fund. The money a person receives from state unemployment does not come from any contribution on their part, nor is it paid by other working people. Here in MA the rate for benefits is roughly 60% of your gross weekly pay. I could be wrong on that figure as it’s been over 30 years since I’ve collected.

11

I am in school for nursing after a 12 year stint in business of various sorts. Business= 6  days a week. Nursing= 3-4 days a week leaving much more time to surf and you can do travel nursing and go to alot of great breaks all over the place. Thats my formula.

 

I'm excited

12

Im Ken

fieldservice tech

good pay

benefits

dont surf as much as I'd like cause I love to shape and glass,,,,,

what the f@#k is wrong with me!!!

 

13

Yes you are correct. Technically the employer actually writes the check for UI but its difficult pinpoint who actually pays for it. They pay a small percentage for each employee. It is sometimes misunderstood that your former employer has to pay for your unemployment while you are unemployed. Actually your former employer already paid into the Unemployment Insurance fund while you were employed with them. 

Here’s the debate. Is it an out of pocket expense for the employer or is it the employee’s money anyway? I see it as a state mandated cost of business but also my money. The employer only pays into to it if I work and only if I work. If employers did not have to pay into UI would my wage otherwise increase? Probably, so I see it as my money that I paid into the fund by working. Unions often see it this way- as a deduction from the employees overall wage. Ive contributed a lot more than I have taken. In say 15 years of work, I have taken somewhere between 1 and 1.5 years of UI- all from lay offs no fault of my own. Conversely some people have worked their whole lives (paid in) and never take a day of unemployment. 

Personally, Im ok accepting unemployment because I feel I have paid into it. I definitely prefer to be employed but sometimes you get laid off and you UI claim just happens to start in November!

What are California's payroll taxes and who pays them?

  • **Unemployment Insurance (UI)** is paid by employers. UI provides temporary payments to individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own.
  • **Employment Training Tax (ETT)** is paid by employers. ETT provides training funds to empower workers, promote business and boost California's economy.
  • **State Disability Insurance (SDI)** is deducted (withheld) from employees' wages. SDI provides temporary payments to workers who are unable to perform their usual work because of a pregnancy or a nonoccupational illness or injury (work-related disabilities are covered by workers' compensation). Beginning January 1, 2004, SDI also includes Paid Family Leave (PFL), which provides benefits to workers who need to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new child.
  • **California Personal Income Tax (PIT)** is withheld from employees' wages and credited toward the amount due for the employees' annual California state income tax.
  • Elective Coverage is offered to specific types of individuals and classes of employees who are excluded from UI and/or SDI. These can include: self-employed individuals; sole proprietors, husband/wife co-ownerships and certain family members working for them; partners; certain categories of workers for nonprofit organizations; SDI for employees of public entities; and school districts. For specific information, call EDD's toll-free number (888) 745-3886 or visit your nearest Employment Tax Office.

14

Yeah mate, that's the one. Never surfed oily's though, seems to be best in a big swell, when im usually watching haha. Usually port, mm, and sometimes warilla or mystics. Lots of options here as you would know!

15

haha

i have got the perfect job for myself

my work is as a assistance coordinator at an assistance company. we work 24/7, and 365/365. we do work for, say, americans with a health insurance, car insurance or travel insurance, who go abroad and experience difficulties covered by either 3 of those insurances...

hence the different hours to work, and surf! in summer, i can work real early, and finish early, in winter, start late, and finish late.

i hope everybody gets the package like i did!

bonus: pay is good to support surfing habits, i even got two custom made surfboards from america!! boy was that different in france...

16

I'm in outside sales.  Also the owner of the company I work for is a surfer.  I have a lot of lattitude when it comes to surfing......so long as I give my boss the surf report.  I set my own appointments and when the forcast shows a good swell on the way I schedule my appointments around prime surfing time.  It also helps that the majority of my clients are less than 20 minutes from the ocean.

17

I work developing & introducing legislation. But once I work 8 hours a day between 8am and 7am I can take a long lunch. I live near the beach and work near the beach. So unless I’m in the Capital working I never miss a  swell. It gets dark her at 4pm in the winter, so lunchtime surfs are the only way. The key is to be really really good at what you do and work hard when you are there. Take shit from the boss - but take liberties when the swell comes too. Once you are near the beach with a job like that your sorted.

18

Sounds like a good gig. Can you introduce some legislation for a four day work week? That would be a sweet deal! I’ll even settle for four 10’s instead of four 8 hour days.

19

Here's some other gigs that allow for surfing when Mother Nature calls:

Owner "When the surf is down Construction Company".

Commercial fishing.........I did the abalone and urchin thing, and if the surf was firing we would take a break......the Channel Islands is epic and like going back 50 years in time on the coast......maybe longer.

Wait tables at night.

I owned a factory and trained Mexicans to handle all but the shaping and airbrushing.

I had a roomie that was a night security guard. All he did was watch TV and snooze every shift. That way he was ready for the dawn patrol when he got off work.

20

[quote="$1"]

Yeah mate, that's the one. Never surfed oily's though, seems to be best in a big swell, when im usually watching haha. Usually port, mm, and sometimes warilla or mystics. Lots of options here as you would know!

[/quote]    I had 5 rolls of super8 footage, shot at the Cowrie-hole (behind Shellharbour slipway) , head high and barrelling....ah memories !