What I Do For a Living

by Crazy Ivan

The longer i work for Myachi, the harder it gets to answer the question "What do you do for a living?"

This seemingly innocuous inquiry can usually be satisfied with a few words.  Some proffessions are lucky enough to dispatch it with a few syllables; doctor, lawyer, pastor, cab driver, waitress.  Others require a couple of words but remain relatively simple; I work IT for an employment service, for example.

But not so for Myachi Masters.  Even in my earliest days with the company the question was tough to answer.  When people asked I would tell them that I demonstrated a toy at Dollywood.  This was never the end of the conversation, of course, since I would then have to explain which toy, which would lead to me showing the person what a Myachi is and teaching them a few tricks.

I guess I have one of the few jobs that you have to start doing as soon as people ask you what you do.

Over the years my job description has expanded.  Instead of simply demonstrating at Dollywood, I started to demonstrate all over the country.  But in addition to demonstration I also started doing private events like birthday parties and Bar Mitzvahs.  I also started doing school assemblies and trade shows.  At that point, "I demonstrate a toy" was no longer sufficient to explain what I did.

By then I'd taken to simply saying "I play with toys" in response.  This would always lead to a long conversation where I'd get as in depth about Myachi as the inquisitor cared to go.  Turns out that it was usually pretty far.

I was reminded today how much tougher it keeps getting.  Over the last few years the company has expanded quite a bit and I've found a number of new responsibilities falling in my lap.  My job description has now swelled to include things like writing this blog, filming the trick of the day, maintaining the warehouse, human resources, R&D, artwork consultation, copy-writing (not copyrighting) and, of course, all the other stuff I used to do as well.

I love the job, but describing it has gotten so difficult that when people ask me what I do, I feel like I should start by saying "Chapter One: The Game"...