Thursday, August 17, 2006

Vocation Vacation

I was reading an article in the paper last week about these new services popping up that give people the opportunity to take vacation from their real jobs and try out a new one. The article highlighted some young international banker hot-shot who took early retirement at (get this) 42 to become a dog trainer. Next week is a show week, meaning a big trade show occurs next week - this one in Florida. And its times like these that I begin to ponder other careers. At first the idea of PAYING someone to work seemed crazy and in some ways it seems sort of like a let-them-eat-cake pastime for the upper class. But the more I think about it, the more I think what other jobs might I like to try. [wavy dream sequence and harp string music]

  • Nurse: lots of access to doctors, drugs and of course, help people
  • Journalist: go back to the J-School and split my time between advertising and news ed
  • Chef: I don't have that much natural talent or patience, I do like to eat good things tho
  • Restaurant reviewer: see above
  • President: hey, even I could do a better job
  • Inventor: I am forever thinking of cool things that would make me billions of dollars
  • Attorney: enough said I think.
  • Event promoter
  • Horse rider (pro)
  • College professor
  • Forest ranger / guide
Things I would never want to do:
  • Day care provider
  • Winter car wash operator
  • Gardener
  • In-house IT staff person
  • Personal stylist (everyone would end up in jeans and a t-shirt)
  • Butcher (again)
  • Highway construction person
  • Kill mechanic at a processing plant
  • Anything with heavy machinery
How about you?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I concur with everything on your 1st list with the exception of president & horse rider (would'nt do my castagnettes any good) & I would add taxi driver & pub owner in Paris (they're making a packet because young french kids flock to these overpriced fake pubs under the illusion that they're old skool) "Une pint s'il vous plait!"/ All the best with your diet by the way, I admire you for such dicipline especially while finding your feet in a new job.I'm gradually phasing out the cigarettes myself- it's all in the mind it's all in the mind it's..
AfP

Anonymous said...

Yes Jobs:
• writer/ photographer

• animal groomer/stylist (ie: something that would let me put bows and clothes on
animals)

• movie reviewer - something that would pay me to rant about all the mindless crap that is produced by the entertainment industry

• Prize fighter/ spy




No Jobs:
• anything involving customer service
• any of the jobs that I have had in the past, including but not limited to:
- working outdoors (in July) at fireworks stand
- working as a cashier/ customer service rep at a grocery store
- working at a greenhouse owned by a very questionable man
- working as a cashier (all summer) at a dry cleaning plant with no AC

-L

Anonymous said...

Yes Jobs:

- Writer for The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.
- Run a snorkeling equipment shack on Maui.
- Any non-customer service job in Europe where I hear they get shitloads of vacation time. Lazy bastards. I'm jealous.
- Zoey Deschanel's bff or anything else that would allow me to hang out with her.

No Jobs:
- slaughterhouse, meat packing, fish gutting, etc.
- DMV, airport security or any other job that required me to interact with people that are pissed off.
- Anal probe test subject.