Posted by James Dawson on 2/14/11 4:30pm
Msg #372732

Does anybody just "enjoy" this job?

Today I did some general notary work for a guy with a net worth of 4 billion dollars. My wife said I should wear a suit, I said naw, he gets the same Levis I wore using my weed-whacker yesterday.

What a pleasant guy, he had on Levis too (probably was whacking somebody's hedge-fund yesterday). I would have never had the opportunity to interact with someone like that if it wasn't for this title I hold, Notary public.

He found me on the internet. You never know who's lookin' for ya, your profiles/advertising count folks.

Reply by Linda Spanski on 2/14/11 4:47pm
Msg #372737

I do! ... most of the time

So few people seem to be able to find meaningful, enjoyable work. I consider myself to be extremely lucky to look forward to every day with anticipation. Like you, James, I meet some very interesting folks and learn new stuff every day (sometimes how NOT to act!) And I get to be a real person, not an automaton with a script.

I am thankful that I've been able to make a living for the past 11 years doing something I like.

Reply by James Dawson on 2/14/11 4:54pm
Msg #372740

Re: I do! ... most of the time

..And make a living...good for you! I'm not there yet but it's alright, I'm satisfied.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 2/14/11 5:01pm
Msg #372745

Don't know if i just "enjoy" the job - but I do LOVE it. I also LOVE to gripe, complain and whine alot about it. (That's part of the fun). Don't know if that makes me officially psyho or what, but I wouldn't give it up for anything (unless I was starving - and one look at me you know that's not happening.) P. S. Love U too, JD!

Reply by jba/fl on 2/14/11 5:04pm
Msg #372746

Sure - warts and all.

I meet the greatest people, have great conversations and always learn something. It's fun.

Reply by Alz on 2/14/11 5:26pm
Msg #372749

Enjoy & love what I do. One of the greatest career

moves in a very long time. Can't think of anything else I'd rather being doing, except for volunteering .

Reply by cayenne1227 on 2/14/11 7:31pm
Msg #372765

Re: Enjoy & love what I do. One of the greatest career

well with what some of these ss want to pay, that is basically like volunteering!! LOL!!

Reply by kathy/ca on 2/14/11 6:34pm
Msg #372752

I really do enjoy it a lot. Every day is a different day and

all the different people I have had the pleasure of meeting in the years I have been a notary, have added so much to my life. So many interesting things are there to be learned and although there can be a lot of frustration in each and every signing, the challenges of those frustrations keep me on my toes! So yeah, I like it!

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/14/11 6:53pm
Msg #372755

Yes! I enjoy it but the problem is that when things get

slow it's very frustrating. You can market, work with regular clients, etc. but when the business is just not there due to market conditions or whatever, then it's tough to make ends meet. I had a super great run from Aug 2010 - Dec 2010, but then business suddenly slowed down to the point where I need to start thinking about other options again.

Reply by FeliseSoCal on 2/14/11 6:58pm
Msg #372756

Re: Yes! I enjoy it but the problem is that when things get

Me too! All of a sudden it got very slow. That's the main drawback. But I've been doing this for 8 years and Jan/Feb is typically slow.

Reply by MW/VA on 2/14/11 7:02pm
Msg #372757

I enjoy this line of work because I like people & find it interesting. The general notary work is sometimes the most rewarding. Regardless of the ups & downs in the market, it still beats working at Walgreens or Walmart, IMO. I'm one who isn't good at being tied to a set schedule. I worked in an office for many years & hated the everyday, 9-5 routine. This suits me because I like to be on the go.

Reply by Frank/NC on 2/14/11 7:08pm
Msg #372762

If I forget about the 5% of the job where we all deal with some variation of crazy person, it really works out well for me. Most of the people are real nice and do everything they can to cooperate. Fortunately, I can do this job and really not be terribly concerned when business slows down. I wouldn't want to do it to support a family.

Reply by James Dawson on 2/14/11 8:08pm
Msg #372767

Ditto Frank you and I "retired" from the same industry and no doubt can weather the storm of a slow month. Although I do truly enjoy this, I WOULD NEVER try to use this as a vehicle to support my family.

I enjoy what I'm doing because I can, not because I have to. I like want I'm doing, NOT the income derived from what I'm doing just to make thing clear. I admire those who can make it work for them.

Reply by RJE/MI on 2/14/11 8:40pm
Msg #372772

The best decision I ever made

was sticking it out every time I've been tempted to hang it up. I could have the worst day ever but when I'm invited into a signers home with appreciation and respect I know this is the career for me. I can't think of any job I've had in the past where my boss said thank you for doing my job everytime I did it.

Reply by LynnNC on 2/14/11 8:45pm
Msg #372775

I have been a NSA for 6 years and love it!

I like making my own hours (many 12-hour days), meeting people, seeing houses, and I like dogs and cats! I loved what I did during my banking career, and am glad that I found something else I enjoy as much. While there can be stress, all the good closings make up for it.

Reply by Claudine Osborne on 2/14/11 9:44pm
Msg #372781

Re: I have been a NSA for 6 years and love it!

I love what I do too! The most challenging part is when it is super slow and not knowing when that phone will ring again. Then I realize that its always that way. I think of all the sights I see as I travel and the stops I can make, the people I meet, stories I hear and also the homes I have been invited into! Can't get those perks from a desk job or a 9-5..Been there done that!

I do feel truly blessed to have this job and I keep on praying that we all have enough work so that we dont have to find another job!

Reply by LKT/CA on 2/14/11 9:45pm
Msg #372782

Yes, I enjoy the job - because of the flexibility but mainly because I don't have to convince anyone to buy snake oil. They either need a signature notarized or they don't. Which means they call me, I don't call them.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/15/11 12:20am
Msg #372790

I wish we had "like" buttons here -I don't really need to

add anything, just agree. "No snake oil - They either need a signature notarized or they don't. "

Flexibility.

Way better than WalMart.

oh, yeah, Time off to do the important stuff.

Reply by garland/CA on 2/15/11 3:11pm
Msg #372890

Love meeting all the different people and the interesting places it takes me. Last Thursday I had a signing in Pebble Beach. Forgot the ProAm was going on and as the borrower's house was right on the golf course, streets were closed. I had to call him to find out an alternative way to get to him. At first I was complaining in my head about the inconvenience, but the minute I walked in the house - beautiful large windows and view, right on the 17th hole and pro golfers still putting right therem 50 yards away - I took a nice deep breath and enjoyed the rest of the signing! Reminding myself once again, to enjoy the present moment.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 2/14/11 10:48pm
Msg #372787

A signing last year, redux:

Such a day! A signing on the seashore. It was really oceaning out there today. Bumper-waves, crashing every which way; exited gulls fishing, and toes in the warm sand against a chilly sun's windage.

A kindly gentleman, who paints in watercolors, welcomed me in, and asked me to remove my shoes before leading me across the cold tile out to his odd studio: his glass-walled, sandy-floored, airy-ceilinged 'annex.'

There was a pot of Lapsang Souchong tea, that smokey favorite, with uniformly thin slices of lemon, cream, and sugar comfortingly arrayed on the tray. The driftwood table amazingly flat and sturdy, and his easel in the corner, a testament to his art.

He had been to this rodeo before, he said as he poured. Sailed this ship, been around this block. He liked brevity, the gist, the bottom line, and more tea.

As I sipped, memories flooded back from High Teas with my grandmother on Tassy Drummond 's veranda, C Deck, she called it, overlooking the Shasta Valley, and my favorite mountain on the planet - I presented the first page, snapping back to the stack, and accepted more tea.

We sipped, we signed and stamped, we oathed, and about half-way through, he excused himself. I heard the refrigerator open, then close, and he appeared with cucumber and artichoke heart sandwiches, and napkins. Just like Tassy used delight in serving.

Resuming our work, he kept our cups hot and perfect, my toes delighted in kneading the warm sand, and his eyes twinkled as he wove stories in between signatures. For the first time ever, a signer commented on a 'plumb' stamping. It was straight.

Mhm. As I knew it would, the marvelous company, the tea and lemon, the bright, crunchy sandwich wedges, those sunbeams and emery sand, and that job came to an end.

At the front door, I discovered that little bench I used to take off my shoes and socks offered a mystery-mat that got all of the sand off - without tickling. Simplify. With tea.

Tell the truth? I didn't want to leave.

Reply by janCA on 2/15/11 10:55am
Msg #372828

Susan, what are you doing being a NSA???

My gawd, girl, you should be a writer. I feel like I'm reading a novel when I read some of your posts. The depth of your words make me feel like I am right there with you. Just extraordinary!

Reply by 101livescan on 2/15/11 8:55am
Msg #372813

It's the best of jobs, IMO. I've had some jobs I would never do again. Not like we're selling gravesites or coffins! encyclopedias or vacuum cleaners. It's an easy sell with all the disclosures lenders need to make now. I had five signings on Saturday, two parties were related, from Ojai, my old stomping grounds. One was the program manager for hotel and restaurant division of local college and a lovely gourmet kitchen, one was a veteranarian buying an REO property for his daughter and one was a simple refi for a couple. All interesting, grateful borrowers and packages without flaws. I love Saturdays like this, it's hardly work, but still lots of logistics and focus required. Everything got out the same day too, isn't that novel! I slept most of the day on Sunday, and got a late start yesterday with only one signing in the afternoon then back to my neck of the woods late yeserday to have ribeye and broccoli at my favorite restaurant with a glass of cab in the wine country. Life is good!

Reply by LynnNC on 2/15/11 10:58am
Msg #372829

Ribeye, broccoli and a glass of cab will work for me, but unfortunately, it is not wine country here!

Reply by jnew on 2/15/11 1:24pm
Msg #372854

I did a closing about ten years ago for a multi million dollar company and the CEO and his wife signed some personal guarantees for the bank. They were some of the most pleasant, well mannered customers I have ever had. The people who grew up with money seem to have grown up with good manners and a personality. A lot of times the "new money" rich are the ones with ego problems and an axe to grind. JMHO

Reply by nunu on 2/15/11 2:16pm
Msg #372865

The work is simple, the people fantastic, the best paying job I ever had and most of all, the absolute freedom makes it a no brainer.

Reply by Mary Ellen Elmore on 2/16/11 1:45pm
Msg #373004

I do!!!!

I have met so many great people! A few famous ones. Seen the most beautiful countryside driving from appt to appt.

Got to meet newborns, aspiring scientist, and wonderful animals from cats to beefalo.

It can be nerve wracking but in all _I LOVE IT!!!!!