Living & Working in Great Places

Jason Kemple's Page

Jason Kemple: 2howxlwki4hq2; Share

Discussions (8)

Jason Kemple's Friends

View All

Jason Kemple's discussions

Latest Activity

Keith Larson left a comment for Jason Kemple Sep 3

Jason Kemple commented on the blog post On the road again Sep 3

Jason Kemple replied to the discussion Employee's pet (cat) friendly resort? Sep 3

Jason Kemple replied to the discussion To all of you Montana folks out there... Jul 24

Jason Kemple replied to the discussion To all of you Montana folks out there... Jul 23

Jason Kemple started a discussion called To all of you Montana folks out there... Jul 21

Aaron left a comment for Jason Kemple Jun 30

Cole and Jason Kemple are now friends

Jun 15

Profile

Hometown:: Milford, NJ

About Me:: I'm 26 years old and live in a tiny northwest town of New Jersey, where every thought most of you have about NJ will go right out the window. The area I live in is beautiful. I've left NJ in 2001 and went to school at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I graduated in 2004 with a degree in Geography, and moved to Savannah, Georgia where I stayed until 2006. I'm back in NJ now, working in the corporate world for an insurance company, sitting in a cube. I'm only doing this to pay off my debt and prepare myself to take on new adventures in life. I envy every single one of you.

Website:: http://www.myspace.com/weatherman16

Last Seasonal Job:: Unfortunately None

Favorite Seasonal Job:: One Day...

Dream Job:: My Dream Job is any job involving beautiful scenery, mountains, lakes, beaches... I love nature.

Jason Kemple's Blog

My "So-Called" Life

It is 10:35AM on a Sunny morning, temps will be about 70 degrees today... not a cloud in the sky. I'm sitting here in my "cubicle", in the office of a large insurance company, responding to people's "i need this.. can you set up this meeting... how do you do this...". And i think to myself, that if any of these people really knew what was so important in life, they probably wouldn't be here. But yet they are all blinded by big bucks. Sometimes I sit here and wonder and think about my life at 26… Continue

Posted on May 13th, 2008 at 8:54am — 5 Comments (Add)

Comment Wall (15 comments)

You need to be a member of My CoolWorks to add comments!

Join this network

At 3:58pm on September 3rd, 2008, Keith Larson said…: Hi Jason, first I have a memberships at Hostelling International, they have quite a few. Then I also look at Hostels.com. Many of them require a passport for ID. Most don't take local residents and the definition varies for 'local.' Sometimes they only take international travellers and sometimes they require to see a ticket or other verification that you are travelling. Most of the times these are listed at hostels.com but other times I try to check on their own webpages, if they have them since people have shown up without the right info and it's bye-bye. 'HI' just has the local-thing though...I think Chicago is just the metro area, but New York is like 200 miles possibly they all vary. I think all the HI's take various state IDs too. There website is: HI USA

Even if you see the info on hostels.com, I'd do a google for the individual hostel anyways, usually the price is the same, but sometimes there's a small difference.

I keep on forgetting that movie, or is it movies now? People always bring that up when they here I stay at them. But after you get in this line of work and you get used to being put with other roommates it's not a big deal. Also, I treat it just like a room at a job. If you're there and you care more about the room where you sleep and store your stuff than what's outside that room, don't bother going there.

New York has the most, LA has quite a few but many there only take international visitors. So far I liked Chicago's the best, it's right downtown near all the major museums and a couple blocks from the Buckingham Fountain and where the Bears play. New York's is near Central Park and a very short walk to a subway stop...but I have stayed in another one in the Chelsea neighborhood that I liked too.

At 11:17pm on June 29th, 2008, Aaron said…: Hi Jason, how are you doing? I haven't been online much recently due a less than stellar run of luck recently - house hit by lightning (fried cable modem/ac/furnace/tv etc....) The insurance companies have been taking a bath lately in central/southern Indiana due to copius amounts of rain, no pun intended. I'll take the lightning strike over a flooded house anyday, some people south of where I live lost everything in the recent floods. (Global Warming at work - no doubt in my mind - weather is becoming more unpredictable everywhere)

On the brighter side, I am excited to have almost everything fixed and am ready to begin sending out more applications in for positions out west. I haven't completely given up hope for a summer position, but am realistically shooting for winter '08 / summer '09. I would love to be somewhere near Vancouver for the winter olympics in '10.

Anyway hope you're doing well and look foward to hearing from you.

At 3:48pm on June 15th, 2008, Cole said…: Thanks Jason for the response. Ya know ya only live once, so I say go for whatever your heart desires. I am still pursing possbily going to Yellowstone this summer if I am not too late. I do think they need ppl for the latter part of the season, sometime in the mid of Aug. thru Oct. The world is too small not to see as much of it as possible.
Perhaps one summer I will make it back to Alaska and stay and work.
Hope all is well with you and look forward, networking with you .
Keep in touch, who knows our paths may cross one day.

At 3:10pm on June 15th, 2008, Keith Larson said…: Hi Jason, I just re-read your question..oh I think it was a month ago..about the J1/H2B visas.

One of the most interesting things I have found about my co-workers is that I get to work with many different people from not only the US, but in some cases the world. Currently, the guy across the hall from me is from Jamaica, I had lunch with a couple of the girls from Bulgaria, I worked this morning cooking breakfast with a guy from South Africa, and tomorrow I meet three new kitchen staffers...two sisters from Poland and another girl from Moldova.

When I was at a ski resort, I worked with quite a few students from Peru and a couple from Chile and Brazil.

At another place it was a few from the Czech Republic and one Russian.

I'm not sure what all the differences are...I know J1 is only for college students on their summer break, and I think the H2B the employer has to have some kind of proof that there isn't enough qualified Americans applying... but none of the technical details WE have to worry about... we just get the interesting experience of working with, and hanging out with, someone that might not have a similar background.

At 2:22pm on May 14th, 2008, Mark Prince said…: Jason; Yep on the pet thing. would never leave him behind. No regrets though Ive made some good friends and have enjoyed life so far. Just now going to enjoy it to its fullest more on my terms I think its about time. Anyway good luck to you.

At 2:13pm on May 13th, 2008, Mark Prince said…: Hey Ya Jason; Well I want to expand on what Aaron has had to say earlier on. Me 49 years young and going back to working seasonal again. I did it once 12 years ago and had the summer of a lifetime with the friends to match. The traditional life of 9-5 2.5 kids redtile roof and a overpriced Suv well just doesnt fit. So here I go again seasonal to the Tetons and cant wait. My best friend from highschool has only worked seasonal since we worked together as raft guides in highschool. Sitting here at 48 here are just a few differences. Hes been up Mckinley twice, hes rafted as a guide in Costa rica, Alaska, Colorado, Texas and back East. He generally takes off a fews months between summer and winter and vice versa. I ahvent and get my 3 weeks vaca a year.So with that I cant see becoming an oldman and having to say I wish I would have but i didnt. So sold off all my furniture and other stuff got a travel trailer so I can have my dog and I am off here in a week to start another adventure. I met an 83 year old man In skagway while hiking and visited with him and asked why he was hiking by himself. He replied while all those other old folks are on the ship waiting to die I am gettting out and seeing the world. That has stuck with me ever since. So while a lot of my friends think I am crazy I think they are just as crazy. I am hoping to do summers in the Tetons and winter well one year skiing one year on the beach, so Ill see. Life is just to darn short to sit and dream time to start living the dream. Good luck in your quest and I hope you have a great summer.
All who wander are not Lost.

At 9:31pm on May 8th, 2008, Aaron said…: Thank you, I just wish I had my camera when I was in Kauai, best island in Hawaii IMO. If I can find a good but inexpensive scanner I'll post some pics I took from the Caribbean to Alaska. I loved my old 35mm but you just can't beat the new digital camera's for convienence.

At 11:10pm on May 7th, 2008, Aaron said…: I am 37 years "young". I didn't work for a cruise line until I was 32. My father was in the Air Force for 22 years and I moved every 3-4 years until I was 22. Most of my family lives in Indiana, and that's where my parents moved A.M.(after military). It was a change for me to stay in one place for an extended period of time, and I enjoyed it. But after about 10 years I started gettin' that itch to travel again and with the internet it became so much easier to get info about various opportunities. I tried the cruise lines but the work schedule is brutal, just wasn't for me. I've just recently decided that a traditional life was not in the cards for me. I've tried to be like "everyone" else and hold a 9-5 corporate job but I hated it. Money has never been a major motivator for me. Life is short and I want to see as much of the world as I can before my number is called. My parents have a "normal" life but they seem miserable. They have good credit, a lot of "toys" but essentially they are trapped ie: they live to work. They think I'm nuts but I think the same about them. Capitalism is a zero-sum game, you're either top-dog or you get shit on. One of the best things I've ever heard is that no one wishes they had just spent ONE MORE DAY at the office on their death bed. Work is important but so is living, I just want to find a healthy balance between the two.

At 7:15pm on May 5th, 2008, Aaron said…: Working on a cruise ship was an amazing and exhausting experience. At one point I worked 100 days in a row 10-12 hrs a day, now I "like" to do dishes and fold laundry as much as the next person but I was ready to jump off the side of the ship at the end of my rotation lol!! We were always in these amazing places but never had much time to enjoy them. I'm glad I did it but unless I could turn back the clock 15 years I would not do it again. Working at a lodge sounds like a more manageable work experience, most people need a day off every now and then to unwind, enjoy the amazing scenery and keep from ending up in a padded room.

At 6:26pm on May 5th, 2008, Aaron said…: Hi Jason, thank you for the welcome. I'm hoping for something this year but afraid I've started looking too late and might have to wait 'til next summer. I've been to Alaska before and absolutely loved it. Princess contacted me about a reservations job in Seattle (where I hope to settle one day), but training starts 1st week in June and don't think I would be financially ready to make that move by then. My plan is to work summers in Alaska and winters in Seattle area if possible.

View All Comments

Welcome to
My CoolWorks

Sign Up
or Sign In