I work as a ride operator at a small theme park. While we're approaching the summer season, I still often have hours on end with no customers at all, and since I'm not allowed to leave the ride, I get very, very bored. I've been trying to think of aways to amuse myself, but I have very limited materials - there's no one within talking distance of my ride, I'm not allowed to sit down, and the only items I can have with me are a pen and a waterbottle. Can anyone think of anything? I've tried counting in my head and doing multiplication tables, but it's just too boring for me to concentrate on. Think of it as like a puzzle in an adventure game.

You could maniacally laugh while stabbing the water bottle with the pen and saying "die (insert your boss' name) die" while he is in earshot. Yes that will do quite nicely.

Try banging your head against the wall for hours on end while singing " i'm walking on sunshine " with your bottle balanced on your nose and see what happens.

I promise it will be absolutely safe.


And if that fails then think about Skyrim or something :shrug:

Ride your own ride! :dance:

My job involves sitting down doing repetitive tasks in a production line, or backbreaking labour in the heat. When it's the former, I amuse myself by planning the layout and process of mods I'm making, or recently, rockets I'm building in KSP.

This. I think this is an even better idea if there is a security camera that is recording you.

Smuggle a DS or puzzle book in with you.

Some friends of mine took their Magic: The Gathering cards to work with them and played behind the counter.

extreme pen twirling?

make up a character to act out in order to bring people in to your ride queue

Well I know one thing you can do, I myself work as a cashier so I'm in a very similar situation and what I do is teach myself things by repeating them over and over again in my head as I work. The other day for example I taught myself how to teach to 10 in Japanese by going quickly over it at home before showing up at work and then I just engraved it into my mind by going over it over and over and over and over and over... etc, again in my mind and now I couldn't forget it even if I tried to.

I've also taught myself the lyrics of a few songs including the chant in the Skyrim theme song (it′s quite a nice song to be able to sing from memory word by word since it's so unique).

So yeah, teach yourself things through repetition.

Put the ride on max speed and stop it in the middle of a loop.

Keep leveling up your ninja focus to where you can still do your job but mentally aren't there. Leaves room for excessive daydreaming,future planning, and your zombie contingency plan .respectfully.

Practice drawing tattoos on yourself

Get a cardboard cuttout of yourself and place it there. Then just sit in viewing distance of the ride with whatever devices you want. When you have a customer, just head on over.

Start a project at home that requires thought and planning. Put off most of the planning until you get to work, and just use all that standing-around-time to think and plan your project.

I like this idea.

I'm only trained on the Ferris Wheel and the Carousel, and none of the coasters have loops anyway :sadvaultboy:

I already do this to an extent with the level design I do in Source, but it's frustrating thinking of ideas and not being able to implement them until hours later after work, by which time I'm usually not in the mood.

This, and talk to yourself.

Revo, you didn't mention about bathroom breaks... Use the water bottle to relieve yourself behind the ride, and with the pen, compose poetry on your blue jeans.

Have you considered buying a tin-whistle? cheapest instrument in the world, sounds great, easy to carry and easy to learn as there are many tutorials on youtube, very addictive once you start

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-pLklK-GCc&feature=channel

Start writing a book .

Balance the pen on your chin, and the waterbottle on the pen.


get really good at this an you will get a raise

in the meantime, please post security footage of you practicing, since some of us are also having a boring time -and my son gets vacation next week... yay


err..., I mean yay! :celebration:




:ermm:

Amusing oneself is something I taught my son at an early age... whenever he came to me bored, I'd give him a chore to do.

Ask your boss if you can take an Ipod with you. If he lets you you could try to whistle songs when no one is nearby. I do this on my paper route and have gotten quite good at it.

Take your iPhone with you and play Angry Birds.

I assume you can take in some paper with you since you have a pen, unless the pen is for self defence or something...

If you are allowed some paper (dangerous and unpredictable substance that it is) then you can write or draw something. I think I'd start a short story and just go from there.


If not, just graffiti your booth, teach them for being so needlessly strict.

This. Surely you can smuggle in a phone? You can just hide it whenever customers/other staff come along.