Professional Anomalies

Welcome back to Professional Anomalies! I talk to Jaron whom I met because I volunteer at Sammamish Animal Sanctuary in Renton, WA, and a beloved cow named Amelia needed a new prosthetic/orthotic hybrid for her short leg. Jaron and his team created the newest iteration and she's still rocking it today!Find Jaron at Infinitely Able Pets on all social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. Find Sammamish Animal Sanctuary at their website here! They are open every day except Monday, and please make a reservation online beforehand. It's free to visit but they do accept donations for small buckets of veggies to feed the animals as well as have an assortment of themed merch. They take both cash and credit. They're on Instagram here, too!  Here, watch Amelia when she a little smaller be fitted for her first prosthetic on an episode of Wizard of Paws called Saving Amelia. She's fully grown now and is almost 1,000lbs!And here's the video of Amelia getting casted starring Jaron, John, Jason, Kathi, Amy, and more! Do you have an interesting career you think people should know about it? Email me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com!Follow me on all social media at @anomaliespod.Twitter/XInstagramFacebook (but cannot remember the Facebook password because I'm Erica)Find new and old episodes and don't forget to subscribe!Apple PodcastsSpotify(and on any other podcast platform you use!)

I was hungry when I thought to reach out to Hot Cakes and I was hungry when I recorded this episode, and I'm hungry now as I type these show notes as I'm about to list all of Brittany's recommendations. Hot Cakes originated in Seattle just a few years ago and has expanded to three locations in Seattle: Ballard, Capitol Hill, and now SoDo! (Brittany says the new SoDo location has the best parking situation, by the way.)Brittany shares why she became pastry chef, we talked about how she develops new menu items, and we talked about shirtless chefs and a little bit about The Bear and kitchen culture.HOT CAKES MENU!Brittany's favorite menu item that she didn't create: Gooey Brownie Cake (vegan/gluten free)Brittany's favorite menu item that she did create: Vegan Ice CreamBrittany's suggestion for the first-time Hot Cakes customer: Dark Decadence Cake with dry-burned caramel sauce and cocoa nib toffeeHere's the viral video of Tom Hardy eating their smoked chocolate chips!And here is a link to Hot Stove Radio that Brittany appears on every once in awhile:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAlso, here are the links to Cake Hulk and The Donut Daddy on Instagram. You're welcome.Have an interesting job? Email me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com!Find me on Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok all at @anomaliespod.

I had a chance to sit down with Lisa, a woman I knew when we were littles in Citrus Heights, California, where it was freakin' HOT! (I just returned from there; I'm still hot.) She's a forensic toxicologist.Lisa became inspired by forensics shows on TV to pursue the field. You're gonna learn about fruit DNA and some "information" about horses I will let you discover.She references this movie on Netflix, How to Fix a Drug Scandal. (In the episode, we refer to it as How to Solve a Drug Problem. Oops).If you want to read about the guy who robbed me working at Blockbuster Video in 1995, I couldn't find the link to The Sacramento Bee, but his name was Michael Lee Monfort. He served some of his time at Folsom Prison, where I would eventually work for a bit. He died awhile ago but had he still been at Folsom Prison when I was hired, he would have been transferred.The Golden State Killer was caught in 2018 using DNA technology thanks to genealogy websites. (I didn't think to ask Lisa to elaborate because I already knew what she was talking about!)Do you have an interesting career you think people should know about it? Email me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com!Follow me on all social media at @anomaliespod.Twitter/XInstagramFacebook (but cannot remember the Facebook password because I'm Erica)Find new and old episodes and don't forget to subscribe!Apple PodcastsSpotify(and on any other podcast platform you use!)

If there's one episode I think everyone should listen to, it's this one.We all die, but have we really thought of everything? Tacye is a celebrant. What she does is write and officiate memorial ceremonies for families and friends of the deceased. It definitely takes a special person to do something like this and so well.I've known Tacye for years and knowing her and interviewing her, I know if there comes a time you need someone to design the perfect memorial for your family, she's the one. And very fittingly, I met her in a MeetUp group for speakers years ago! I'd like to add that while I planned my father's memorial, in hindsight, it would have been great to have someone like Tacye developing something for my family. Trust that really learns the essence of your loved one and will compose and direct something truly memorable. We ended up talking about ashes a lot...? But honestly, it was a great conversation-- not sad at all! It's very informative and people from all walks and generations should listen to prepare themselves and their families for final wishes while the mental load is strong.Her business is called Life Tribute Celebrant and can be found here!She also began the Life Tribute Academy which offers a range of programs designed to meet the needs of those caring for people during the end of life or grieving process.She is located in Northern California but serves the entire state. She can be found on social media here:InstagramFacebook(Also, the incredible caterer I referenced is WeR2Creative.)Have an unusual or interesting job? Email me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com and find me on every social at @anomaliespod.

Brandon is my high school friend! We just both happen to live in Seattle now and now I'm a regular at his holiday functions and I hang out with his dad when Brando goes out of town (and his cat)!  He also just got married. He's a process server! And so much more.This is my longest episode yet-- there was just too much good stuff not to share. Brandon also opens about his sobriety a bit and we talk about our fathers.(Brandon briefly references a young woman from high school named Heidi towards the end who passed away tragically a few weeks before we graduated. For context, I wanted to mention that.)Contact me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com!Find me on all socials at @anomaliespod.

Roza is a geoscientist, a field I hadn't heard of until I met her working in politics many years ago.She shares the many ways in which geoscience applies to so many other fields of work, and I'm just so excited to introduce one of my best friends to my listeners. Some quick references to what Roza will reference in this episode:California Enacts World-Leading Plan to Achieve 100 Percent Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035, Cut Pollution | Governor of CaliforniaWildfire wiped Paradise off the map. 5 years on, it's still recovering : NPRDo you think you have an unusual job? Please contact me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com.Find me on every social media platform under @anomaliespod.

Hi, friends! This week, I'm sharing an interview I did with Kathy who hosts the podcast Another Empty Kitchen. (Kathy has been a pilot for 40 years, and I interviewed her for my show a few weeks back! You can find her episode here.)Kathy interviewed me about my career trajectory, starting with a robbery at age 18 that ultimately led me to switching schools and majors, and then the rest is Erica's history!Click here to listen to this interview on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-35-professional-anomalies-with-erica-lee/id1727484524?i=1000657716471Click here to listen to this interview on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6x30nmaDLdIPZW9Pvj2Bgk?si=b53fbfb562a74a36And you can find me on all other podcasting platforms, as well!Find Kathy on Instagram here: Another Empty Kitchen (@anotheremptykitchen) Find me on every social media platform at @anomaliespod!Contact me at ProfessionalAnomalies@gmail.com.

I interviewed longtime friend, April! We met touring with Cirque du Soleil 20 years(!) ago and then parted ways, working in box offices on different tours. April was recruited to become a backstage manager for Cirque then took those skills to VEGAS and then applied all of those skills to nursing!It was really great catching up. Can't wait for you to listen!Cirque du Soleil websiteVarekai, the show April and I worked on together, is no longer touring but here are clips from two of the acts she referenced as dangerous:Icarian GamesRussian Swing (finale)Le Reve: The Dream is the resident show she worked on in Vegas. LOTS of water in this show. 

I got to speak to BEN RICE! I've known Ben for years, and he was the first person I reached out to when I thought about starting this podcast a few years ago. He also hosts an acclaimed podcast called Barley and Me.Ben shares how he got into comedy (on a dare!) and what he's been doing with it since. It was just really nice to catch up. Ben's podcast: Barley and Me (on all platforms)Ben's Twitter/X:  @ComedianBenRiceBen's Instagram: @BarleyandMePodSacramento Comedy spot (saccomedyspot.com)VFW Post 67 (where you can often catch Ben hosting a show): FacebookThe caterer we used for my dad's memorial at VFW Post 67 who do other events there and around Sacramento-- they were amazing: WeR2CreativeEpisode Transcript

This week, you get ME! I decided to take you through a timeline of the eight different state jobs I've worked so you can one, get a sense of why I turned into a professional anomaly, and two, because you might learn there is a government job out there for you! I didn't even give you all the deets! But, I talk about working inside Folsom Prison (twice!), working for the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and so on. I'll be back next week with an all new episode interviewing others (in case you're tired of hearing from yours truly).Find me on all the of the socials at @anomaliespod.Email me at professionalanomalies@gmail.com! (Especially if you have any questions about working for the government!)

I had a blast interviewing Maya. Notice how great the sound on her end is! She's a professional! (I'll work on mine.)Here is a link to her website: Maya MurphyShe's currently working on a horror feature I cannot WAIT to see, and she recently appeared in an episode of Poker Face with Natasha Lyonne! (Gawd I love Natasha Lyonne-- and now I love Maya!)Damn You, Uncle Lewis! is the Patreon-only spinoff of queer horror podcast ScreamQueenz. Here is the episode about the movie Sissy she referenced! (I'm gonna find that tonight.)Remember, the name of the video game she stars in as Harley Leger is Rosewater and comes out this year! I will be sure to circle back with a release date for that and her new horror movie with the Russian name!Episode Transcript

Dr. Robin agreed to let my bird brain interview her about planets and helium and whether or not it's ethical to colonize Mars! I say "interesting" a lot this episode.Dr. Robin has her own YouTube channel! (If you just can't get enough!)Episode Transcript

I met San on Instagram well before I began producing this podcast-- she'd responded to someone's question about interesting jobs, and now, here we are!She's a dog clothing designer for Chewy, and she generously gave me some time to ask her questions about how she got into this very niche type of work!Episode Transcript

Kathy became a pilot 40 years ago when women just weren't pilots. Men she flew with would make snide comments about how there was "another empty kitchen" because a woman dared to pursue a career dominated by men.We cover a lot in this episode-- Kathy was also a parachuter, Erica talks about beauty school and joining the circus, and the rest is for you to find out!Kathy's podcast, Another Empty Kitchen-- Apple PodcastsSpotifyEpisode Transcript

Friends! This is Erica, and welcome to Professional Anomalies, my new show that explores the world of unique and fascinating jobs. I will be your host and in each episode, I will dive into the stories behind some of the most interesting professions out there.I've had a few myself, touring with a circus, working inside a famous prison, regulating the death care industry, and working inside Congress, to name just a few. I cannot wait to share these experiences with you!From underwater archaeologists to professional chocolatiers to beekeepers to space lawyers, we'll uncover the passion, dedication, and sometimes unexpected twists that make these jobs truly special. Whether you're looking for inspiration, are curious about different career paths, or just love a good story, this podcast is for you!So, join me as we embark on a journey to discover the extraordinary people and the extraordinary jobs that make our world so diverse and intriguing. This is Professional Anomalies!I apologize in advance for how many times I say "like."