DREAM JOBS
“It’s
a tough job, but someone has to do it.”
If you
can say that with a smile on your way to work on
Monday, you probably have a dream job. Best
online strategies for the New Year
BY
LINDA MELONE
Confucius once said, “If you enjoy what you do,
you’ll never work another day in your life.” Most of
us can only hope to find a job that blurs the line
between fun and work, but there are those, too, who
can’t imagine it any other way. Their jobs seem so
cool that they naturally inspire envy in those of us
who toil away inside a mundane cubicle, counting the
hours to the weekend.
What kind of job would make you look forward to
Monday morning? How about making gobs of money
living at the beach creating glass sculptures?
There’s someone doing just that. If you dream of a
job that absolutely requires you to catch the
perfect wave, that positions been filled, too. From
enjoying the great outdoors for dollars to writing
about fine restaurants for both culinary and
monetary rewards, the five people profiled here have
followed their dreams and found ways to pay the rent
while doing what they love. Interestingly, and
probably not coincidentally, money is not the
primary motivation for any of them. Instead, all
derive their greatest pleasure and satisfaction in
helping others in some way by means of the work they
do.
John
Barber
Age:
54
Job
title: Master glass artist
Residence: Laguna Beach
Time
on the job: 37 years
Pay:
$250,000 to $300,000 a year (business gross)
Best
thing: Working with other artists and creative
people in a collaborative effort
Worst thing: Working with people who are too rigid
in their expectations of the outcome
What
would you do if you weren’t doing this: Gas
station attendant
MASTER GLASS ARTIST
“Glass is one medium that perfectly records every
instant of its creation,” says John Barber, a Laguna
Beach master glass artist. Barber, who demonstrates
his glass-blowing talent at the annual Sawdust
Festival explains, “I can look at the vase I made
the day before, and I can see exactly where that
redhead at the Sawdust Festival distracted me.
That’s one thing I love about this medium.” One of
the many things. Barber, 54, who began his glass
artistry career at the age of 19, has not lost one
iota of passion for the art in that time.
Glass artistry wasn’t his original goal, however. “I
dreamed of being a Grand Prix racer,” Barber says.
That dream ended when two of his friends lost their
lives in the sport. “I thought to myself, what do
you have to show for it in the end? A trophy?” When
his sister, who lives in Munich, Germany, took him
to see a glass blower, he found his true calling,
one that would stay with him to this day.
“When I watched the glass artist at work that was
it. To me, it was as exciting as going 150 miles an
hour.” Barber studied with master glass artist Erwin
Eisch in Bavaria, Germany, before moving to
California and settling into his current Laguna
Beach residence 25 years ago.
Barber’s ultimate goal, to have a public piece in
his home town, came to fruition with a call from the
Montage Resort and Spa. Working alongside bronze
casters and metalworkers, Barber created two
lanterns that stand at one of the entrances to this
famed Laguna Beach property. Steve Wynn, of Las
Vegas Golden Nugget and Bellagio fame, was so
impressed with Barber’s work that he hired him to
help him dress up his Vegas buildings.
In
between designing elaborate works of art, Barber
never tires of returning to the basics; he will once
again demonstrate his talent at this year’s Sawdust
Festival. You can also visit his new gallery, Studio
Art, at the Old Pottery Shack place on Pacific Coast
Highway.
“This is what I’ve always dreamed of living,
working and selling my art all under one roof,”
Barber says.
Steve Boehne
Age:
59
Job
title: President, Infinity Surfboards, Inc., and
surfboard shaper
Residence: Dana Point Time on the job: 36 years
Pay:
Less than $100,000
Best
thing: Knowing all aspects of the business,
including board shaping, plus competing
internationally for 30 years in tandem surfing,
winning 12 national titles and two world titles
Worst thing: Mid-summer, swamped with surfboard
orders and facing another 10-hour workday shaping
boards in a dusty shop
What
would you do if you weren’t doing this: Captain a
50-foot yacht cruising tropical locations for
perfect surf
SURFBOARD SHAPER
“Every wave is different and creates different
challenges, just as each surfer is unique,” says
Steve Boehne (pronounced “Bay-knee”), owner of
Infinity Surfboards, Inc., explaining how a surfer
chooses a particular style of surfboard.
Boehne, who started surfing in 1959, shaped his
first surfboard in 1960 at the ripe old age of 13.
Today, it takes him an hour or two to shape a board,
and he has produced as many as 16 a day. The
shaping, however, is only one step of many in the
making of a surfboard. After shaping comes glassing,
sanding and polishing. Start to finish takes about
three weeks per board. “We can sometimes do it
quicker than that, but you better have a really good
reason why you need that board like you’re
starring in the next James Bond film or something.”
Boehne credits his board-shaping talent to some of
the best old masters in the art, including Dale
Velzy, George Downing and Ben Aipa. Although he
loves when customers call to tell him how much they
enjoy their custom-made boards, Boehne has an even
more impressive specialty: He designs boards that
enable the physically-challenged to surf. He tells a
story of an avid surfer friend who became a
quadriplegic after a mountain biking accident. He
was convinced he could surf again if only Boehne
could help him. After some planning, Boehne and
three others helped the 200-pound man onto a tandem
board at the beach. With Boehne in control, “he had
the time of his life.” Boehne continues helping
other challenged people out into the surf through a
program called Wheels2Water.
In
addition to loving the sport, the surfboard shaping
and all that goes with it, Boehne notes that surfing
is a relatively inexpensive sport. Sure, the
longboard and wetsuit will set you back, but, “the
waves are free.”
James Woodin
Age:
50
Job
title: Restaurant reviewer and president of the
Southern California Restaurant Writers Association
Residence: Anaheim Hills
Time
on the job: Five years.
Pay:
“My accountant would flip if I told you.”
Best
thing: The food
Worst thing: Walking out of a restaurant after
dinner and trying to find something nice to say
What
would you do if you weren’t doing this: Manage the
Regency Lido Theater in Newport Beach
RESTAURANT REVIEWER
Imagine getting paid to dine at fine restaurants.
Not only are you privy to the best entrees around,
but when the chef recognizes you, he goes out of his
way to make you something special. Such is the life
of Jim Woodin, restaurant reviewer and president of
the Southern California Restaurant Writers
Association.
“I
started my career as a movie reviewer on a radio
show,” Woodin says, “and it evolved into a dining
and entertaining column.” Woodin has also been
featured on television and radio, and is known as
the voice of Edwards Theaters. Today, when he’s not
reviewing restaurants, he manages the Regency Lido
Theater in Newport Beach.
Woodin, who writes for The Orange County Register,
OC The Place magazine and Event News, can tell
before he picks up his fork whether or not he will
have a good dining experience. “Whether someone says
‘hello’ when I walk in or keeps me waiting at the
door will set the mood for the entire night,” he
says. He began writing restaurant reviews about five
years ago and averages two restaurants a week. “The
food is wonderful, but it’s rich, so that’s a lot of
eating,” he says.
Woodin credits Doris Crandall, the founder of the
Academy of Culinary Professionals, as his mentor and
as someone he continues to learn from to this day.
In between dining on everything from Chinese food to
cactus-and-escargot salads, Woodin takes pride in
giving scholarships to students graduating from
culinary art colleges. “We have given away more than
$100,000 in scholarships through the Southern
California Restaurant Writer’s Association. It’s
rewarding to be able to help these kids on their
paths.”
Randy Regier
Age:
47
Job
title: President of TAYLOR, a Newport Beach-based
architectural, planning and design firm
specializing in healthcare facility design
Residence: Long Beach
Time
on the job: 26 years
Pay:
“Did I mention that you have to really enjoy what
you do?”
Best
thing: The interaction with people
Worst thing: Keeping up with the continuously
changing dynamics of the industry
What
would you do if you weren’t doing this: I
sometimes joke about quitting to sell hot dogs on
the beach
NEWPORT ARCHITECT
Can
a building help you feel better and, possibly, heal
faster? Randy Regier, president of TAYLOR, believes
so. “As architects of healthcare facilities, we work
with people who work with patients. Through the
architecture the use of natural light and minimal
transport distances for patients, for example we
help them do their job better and help the families
have a better experience. It can make a difference
in a patient’s recovery time.” Regier and the TAYLOR
staff designed the new 320,000 square foot Sue and
Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion, in Newport Beach Hoag
Hospital, a seven-year project.
“One particularly cool experience was the hoisting
of the topping-off beam for the Pavilion. It was
quite the feeling of accomplishment,” Regier says.
And quite a stretch from his original plan to major
in forestry. When his University of Oklahoma advisor
recommended he try a major with more career growth,
he “switched to architecture without so much as a
blink. It’s as if I was always meant to be an
architect.” Regier says he first had an inkling of
his talent when his seventh-grade art teacher
discovered he had a knack for visualizing 3D images.
Regier and his team of architects design buildings
such as the Women’s Pavilion and the Miller
Children’s Hospital in Long Beach with the aim to
alleviate the usual intimidating ambience of
healthcare facilities. Patients and their families
draw comfort from the natural light, attractive
lines and exposure to nature via large open spaces
and windows.
“The work changes every day,” Regier says. “There’s
always something new around the corner.” During an
immense undertaking like coordinating the Hoag
building, he enjoys the experience of the full-team
performance, including the owner, contractor,
consultants and architect. “I enjoy architecture
itself, but the passion is in knowing that the
architecture we do makes a difference in people’s
lives.”
Adam J. Maywhort
Age:
51
Job
title: Field operations manager, Irvine Ranch Land
Reserve Trust
Residence: San Juan Capistrano
Time
on the job: Nine months
Pay:
$60,000 to $80,000
Best
thing: Working outdoors and being able to take
care of one of the true gems of open space in
Orange County.
Worst thing: Nothing, so far
What
would you do if you weren’t doing this: Retire,
volunteer with local trail groups and travel
FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER
“They’re not dangerous unless they’re coiled up and
ready to strike,” says Adam Maywhort, explaining why
he wasn’t afraid to photograph a basking
rattlesnake. As the field operations manager for the
Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust, Maywhort often gets
up close and personal with the local wildlife, which
includes rattlesnakes (“a daily occurrence”), deer
and even tarantulas. “If you treat them with
respect, they won’t bother you,” he says.
An
avid outdoorsman his entire life, Maywhort expresses
amazement that he gets paid to take care of what he
calls, “one of the true gems of open space in Orange
County.” His 20 years of trail running and mountain
biking experience and his love of nature made him
the perfect fit for a job that lured him away from
his retirement plans. “I spent the first 30 years of
my professional career managing and coordinating
complex commercial, large-capital, multi-state site-
development projects. Now I’m doing what I really
enjoy.”
The
area he protects, which includes Irvine’s Shady
Canyon and Bommer Canyon, encompasses 4,100 acres
and 30 miles of trails. Leading mountain bike tours,
working with volunteer groups and having the
opportunity to help others experience and appreciate
the outdoors leaves him at a loss to find a negative
aspect to his new career.
“Where else can I wear a shirt and tie for a meeting
in the morning, change clothes and have lunch in my
truck with a view from Irvine to the Santa Ana
Mountains? Later that same day, I’m leading a group
of mountain bikers through a perfect night ride. I
feel very lucky.”
OCM
