My dream job is to work underpaid at a shitty bookstore

Well, everybody knows my absolute dream job is to teach poetry at college and write poetry. So I guess I'll give some more fanciful dream jobs, or maybe some evolutionary history of my dream jobs.

Like Linda, I too wanted (or want) to be a rock star. But I was never really very good at putting together a full band. When I was 8 or 9, me and some friends put together the fullest band I would ever have in my life, The Rockets. We had two guitar (tennis racquet) players, two drummers (ice cream buckets) and me, the lead singer. We gave a neighborhood concert and a lot of people came. I almost didn't sing because I was scared, but then we belted out our hits "You're Gonna Rock All Night" and "Holy Macaroni." Then we never played again. Kids are fickle.

In high school I sort of learned how to play a real instrument. Most of the time I was in a "band" called Visual Purple with one other person, my friend Art. But we could never convince anybody to join our band, because we weren't part of the cool or grunge crowd. So mainly we goofed around and recorded a lot of songs. Some were not absolutely terrible. At one point I did convince a fringe member of the grunge crowd to start a band, and we then convinced a drummer and second guitarist to join up. So there were four of us. But then they kicked me out of the band because I wasn't cool or something. And then they never played again. High school kids are fickle.

In college my friend Dimitri and I started a "band" called The Vendetta Smiths. I thought we were great because for once there were drums under my guitars. But it turns out I was wrong. We were terrible. So I moved away and learned how to become a better songwriter and graduate college. Then I moved back and I think we had some halfway decent songs. We changed our name to The Act Of Radio. Check out our myspace. We still couldn't ever convince anybody else to join up. Then I moved and we never played again. College graduates are fickle.

So anyway, I think I'd still like to be in a band. I'm thinking our name could be Je Voudrais Death or The Draculamen. I also like The Friends Of Science.

Once I wanted to be a filmmaker, too, but that didn't pan out and somehow I started writing poems. That story is long and boring, though. And there's only enough room on this post for one long and boring story.

In conclusion, the end. I would also like to be an actor. Or a fighter pilot.

Jobs I don't have

When I was little (ok, still now) I was really into Indiana Jones and I wanted to be an archeologist. I understood that most archeologists don't need to carry bull whips on their hips at all times to help them get out of life-threatening situations, that most likely no one would try to rip my still beating heart from my chest, and that archeologists don't always 'get the girl' in the end (even if she doesn't turn out to be a Nazi), but it still seemed cool. Researching, digging, discovering, writing... awesome.

I didn't end up taking very many anthropology courses in college, so this sort of faded by the way side. I also didn't take many (any) acting or singing courses so my other dream of starring in a Broadway musical has also fallen off. That's too bad.

Right now, my dream job would be to open a used bookstore, maybe with a cafe where people would feel comfortable talking and meeting each other and collaborating on artistic works or writing together. I could hang out there and chat all day, and feature new books from my friends in a big display. Not to mention my own books. I could set my own hours, paint the walls however I wanted, wear jeans to work, hire people with visable tattoos, whatever. Now... what could I call it?

really dreamin' here...

i want to be a rock star. seriously. i keep writing songs, and i love to sing them, but i don't have a band, and i don't play any instruments worth anything. so it's a dream that could happen if an alterna-band also flies out of Stephanie's butt (not that i'd wish that on you or anything).
i suppose the more realistic dream job i have involves combining the foster kid program with the animal rescue program. foster kids need love and need to learn empathy and responsibility: rescued animals have love to give and need to be taken care of. I have in mind a summer camp type set-up at a sort of ranch. the foster/troubled kids could come out for a couple of weeks and learn how to take care of the critters (with supervision of course). it would give foster parents a needed break, while the foster kids help out at the "shelter" (which would comprise of fairly tolerant/stable/adoptable animals from other shelters and rescue groups). i also have in mind a few special "resident" animals trained to stay with their respective kid (like a seeing eye dog) and be their "best friend" for a while. i'd have to do some serious fundraising, but i'm pretty sure we could get some vet and social services interns to do most of that kind of work (a cool offshoot would be to grant scholarships to the interns who do a great job, and possibly to some of the older kids, but that would require serious donations). people from the outside world could come in and adopt animals, and the kids could help with profiling ("rusty likes his belly rubbed" etc.). some of the foster kids might end up with a pet if their foster parents could handle it, but if not - all the more reason to come back next summer and mentor another foster kid at the program.
yeah, i have it all thought out. i've volunteered at a bunch of animal orgainzations and i'm working for a non-profit group right now, so in another dozen years or so i might know what i'm doing enough to get something off the ground. in the meantime, it's a pretty cool dream.
i also wouldn't mind winning the lottery and retiring early.

Let Me Put It This Way - I Have an Extensive Collection of Nametags and Hairnets

I hope everyone enjoyed the little vacation. I think last week was Jane's week for the topic, but as she was relocating across continents, I think we can forgive her. Frankly, I've been completely unmotivated to write on this blog - I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm soldiering on, and I've decided that this week's topic is dream jobs.

When I was a kid I wanted to be all sorts of things - veterinarian, marine biologist, ballet dancer, lawyer, Rogue from Xmen- everything under the sun. Things haven't changed much. I find myself constantly pondering the possibilities as I try to decide what I want to do when I leave the library. (I also decided at one time that I had Wolverine's mutant ability to heal quickly, but that's another post) Most of the options involve going back to school for any number of topics - law, interior design, library science, cosmetology - even being a mortician (is that mortuary science?) - but nothing seems to stick. (Side note : for awhile there my choices seemed influenced by what I watched on TV - I was really into Miami Ink, and then wanted to go into tattooing. The mortician? Totally Six Feet Under - thankfully I seemed to get over that phase before I started watching Dexter or Weeds) However, everyone has their dream jobs that they would love, but maybe never really considered doing.

My two dream jobs are storm chaser, or to study sharks (on offshoot of that marine biologist thing I guess). No, I did not get the idea to be a storm chaser from the movie Twister. I actually remember watching movies about storm chasers at the science museum when I was a kid. And well, I've had a love affair with Shark Week for as long as I can remember. Both jobs kinda have that element of danger. Unfortunately, both involve science, which I was never good at. Don't get me wrong - I loved my science classes, I just was never really disciplined enough to do my experiments properly. Part of that is laziness, part of it was natural curiosity - to see what would happen if I didn't follow the directions.

If I'm being honest though, my dream job would be getting to jet set around and take pics for a travel magazine or something. What? It could happen - shyeah - and monkeys might fly out of my butt.