Dream On

As you may or may not know, I'm currently looking for a job. Well, I have a job, but since I was filling in for someone while they were on mat leave and they are now back, it's sort of imperative that I get my butt out the door at least sometime soon. However, it's easier said than done. As you also may or may not know, I've been looking for a job for about 4 months now. This sucks. Especially for someone such as me who is not good at waiting.

Luckily my current boss is like, THE BEST BOSS EVER, so she's being very accommodating while I look for work. I'm basically allowed to stay until I find something else, which at the rate I'm going could be at least another month (ugh). So, thank goodness I'm not in the position I was last year in that I'm actually able to pay my rent (huzzah!). However it is taking longer than I would prefer.

So, as you might imagine, I kind of have jobs on the brain right now. Pretty anything job-related is on my mind. It's there right now, and probably will be another dozen or so times before I head home. My mind wandered the other day as it often does, and I started to think about "dream" jobs. Honestly I think "dream jobs" are not really realistic for most of us, and are frankly overrated. Ultimately I don't care where I work or what job I do as long as I enjoy it, have enough responsibility that I feel useful and productive, have freedom but also opportunities to collaborate with others, and have mobility. Obviously it's nice to make good money, too, though "good" in my case translates to being able to pay my bills in full and still have money left over to put some in savings, enjoy a trip here and there and being able to buy myself something if I really want it.

Still, it's fun to think about - what jobs would I love to do, if money and practicality were no object? With these factors eliminated, I would be doing a job purely out of a passion for it, and for the adventure and fun it brought me. Here's a few jobs that I think would be just awesome (in no particular order except in which they tumble from my brain, and thoughts rarely tumble from my brain in order so there you go):

1. Host of a travel tv show - ok, I'm guessing this would be at the top of the list for many people. And why wouldn't it?! How amazing would it be to stay in hotels, eat amazing food, get spa treatments, lounge by some of the best pools and beaches, and drink some of the best wine ALL FREAKING DAY! And all with VIP treatment...need I go on? (personally, I had me at "food"). Another job that would be very cool (and would fit in this category as well) would be a "hotel reviewer" - I'm pretty sure sites like Hotels.com and the like employ people to go stay in hotels around the world and then report back. I'd be quite happy to do this.

2. Pet-sitter - this might not be one that many others would choose, but I think it would be great. I love animals so getting to walk them and play and cuddle with them all day would be so much fun. I would even love to be a combination house-pet sitter professionally - I love houses, don't mind minor cleaning (and I'm good at it), plus there's the whole adventure and escapage of staying in someone else's home for a while and not having to worry about your own. Sure, it could be fairly thankless, taxing work at times (plus you could very easily be taken advantage of or be put in a hairy situation with some more 'exotic' pets) but you could certainly set boundaries for your work so it would only have to be as strenuous as you want it to be. Professional dog-walker could also be placed in this category (picking up poop is not fun, but let's be honest, pretty dogs are date magnets).

3. Butler - ok, I know you probably think I'm crazy for picking this one, but hear me out! I actually read an article recently in the Globe and Mail about a Canadian Butler "academy" and how real-life butlers are not so much considered "servants" as confidante's, companions and nurturers. As the article mentioned, at "butler school" nowadays you learn about "garment care and laundry, cigars and coffee, wine and mixology, event planning and first aid, even household mechanicals (that's fixing appliances) and private-aircraft management." Call me crazy but these are all skills I think would be interesting and handy to learn (minus the cigar thing)! I would feel a very smug about being able to install an airplane engine (can you install an engine? Is that the right word?) and put on a dinner party for 100 people, all in a day's work. Also, I'd feel ten times more intelligent and cultured than everyone else - I could speak in a hoity-toity English accent and say things like "quite" and people would think I'm quite charming. Plus, everyone knows butlers are privy to all of their employers nasty secrets and exploits, and who wouldn't want to (literally) be a fly on the wall in the home of rich people?

4. Taste-tester - I read a book recently that mentions a chocolate institute in the Caribbean that actually studies chocolate flavours, and they employ people to taste CHOCOLATE! Umm, so where do I sign up?! I'm sure they use similar testers at pretty much all food companies to make sure they are turning out a quality product. I love food and eating, so this would be the perfect job for me. Sure, I'd probably end up weighing about 300lbs, but I'd be happy. Call me, Cadbury!

I've always thought on some level that it would also be pretty cool to be a professional blogger or writer - to get up every day and not go into an office, but merely spend 10 minutes thinking up some mindless drivel and somehow forming it into a readable post (much like I do now), then go out the rest of the day and walk, eat, sit in Starbucks reading magazines, suntan, and shop. But I don't think either of us want that - I'd be forced to come up with constantly witty and engaging material, and you would be expected to...well, read it. What a nightmare.

If you had complete freedom of choice and money was no object, what job would YOU like to do?