Your dream job

I was just curious; if you could have ANY job, without restrictions such as education, location, etc. etc., what would your job be?

Mine has changed quite a bit over the years (as most people's do!) From the time I was about 4 until I was 16, I wanted to be a teacher, who wrote novels in her spare time. Then it switched to Biblical Archaeologist, to Forensic Anthropologist, to Therapist, to Social Worker (all of which I studied to an extent in university, when I continually changed my major).

But now, I'm back to the whole novel thing. If I could have ANY job, I'd want to work at The Office of Letters and Lights (they run various programs to encourage people to write, such as National Novel Writing Month). That way, I could still have plenty of time to write my own things and try to get them published, and I could have a steady job to inspires others to do what I love, all at the same time! But of course, that's my dream if there were no restrictions. OLL is in California, and they only have 15 staff members. I'm not holding my breath on moving to California at the exact moment that they happen to need to hire someone else.

But oh how I wish I could work there... I'm even creepy enough to know the names and randoms bits of info about all their employees, as well as the layout of the office... just in case I ever get the chance

I would be a para-paramedic. In other words, a parachuting paramedic. Jump from airplanes into remote locations to rescue people.

It combines the thrill of skydiving with the thrill of saving a life. I've never done either. As a lifeguard I've had some minor saves. If no one else had intervened, sure the child would have died, but parents are always watching their kids (most of the time). I want to go skydiving sometime too but I haven't found the right time, place, and people to go with.

I've wanted to be many things over my few short years, and parts of me still want to. My dreams have included, but are not limited to:

Plumber (Thanks, Mario)
Meteorologist
Chemist
Astronaut/Cosmologist/Astrophysicist
Biologist
Neurosurgeon
Veterinarian
Actor
Nature Show Host (Thanks, Steve)
Music Teacher
Chef
Horticulturist
Herpetologist
Comic Artist
Phlebotomist
Subsitence Farmer


I have come to a sort of conclusion about all of this success-chasing over the years; I never want to be any these things for the rest of my life, but I am glad to know about them. Instead of choosing one tool, why not the whole toolbox, you know?

Survivor Host.

derBmoose wrote:

Herpetologist

My first instinct was someone who studies herpes. Wikipedia proved me wrong.

ha! Isn't it fun to know now?

It would be more fun if you truly did once aspire to study herpes...

Phlebotomist. I actually did a short stint as one in a lab at a doctor's office.

Sticking people with needles...fun.

Learning how to do so on the job with no prior experience...stressful.

Wearing scrubs...also fun. Pajamas to work ftw.

I enjoy bieng a housewife, but lets pretend I had to go get a job and could have any job I want...

First thing that comes to mind is a meteorologist (weather fascinates me) or a storm chaser (id love to go chase tornado's somewhere, the adrenaline rush from something like that must be wild I'd think).

Other things that might be cool..... well, I dunno, I think thats about it for me hahaha

I never wanted to be anything when I was growing up. Well, when i was little I thought it might be cool to be a dance teacher..... but as I got older I realized I would have to deal with children HAHA... (no thanks).

having worked in soooooo many places it'd take at least 20 minutes for me to compose a list..... There just isnt much I'd like to do. Most things involve other people, dealing with customers, etc. I dont want to be responsible for anything important.

It'd be cool if someone paid me to travel the world..... But only the places I want to go when i want to go there. I dont like being rushed or on any kind of schedule.

I thought it would be cool to be a food critic but then I might have to eat some crap I dont want to eat.

i guess the perfect job for me would be for someone to give me lots of funding, so I could travel and live on beautiful beaches - they could document it. lol

I should add i used to think it might be cool to have a show called: Amanda's Rock n Roll show... where id interview cool rock stars...., like Dave Navarrooo...

but then I realized, that wouldnt be much fun, id rather just go hang out with cool rockstars .... lol

Agreed ^ the best parts of being a rock star are likely the parts where you aren't actually being a rock star!

When i was a child the first thing i wanted to be when i grew up was the stay puffed marshmallow man from ghostbusters...but i dont think ill be able to reach that goal. lol, but ill settle for a computer programmer/technition with A+ and microsoft certified. 60+ bucks an hour to work with computers....cant go wrong with that eh

When I was little I always wanted to be a vet.. I love animals.. but realistically.. that requires a lot of brain power lol! But ultimately I would love that. That or being a dolphin trainer.. that be so much fun! I love dolphins.. why not work with something you love right and get paid for it hehe.

Right. I have been trying to figure out a way to work with food for a living that won't drive me completely insane, restaurants are a bitch to run, and they require a lot of overheard. So far, though, I think I am gonna just sell prepared foodstuffs, like canned sauces and marinades and the like, but at the same time I really want to educate people about food and what they eat. Not so much "nutritionism", which I think is one of the main reasons people are so confused about when it comes to linking food to health (bombarded with new, contradictory "information" every day), but how to get back in the kitchen and cook for themselves. I am truly passionate about this, and could go on and on..... Such a hot-button issue for me!

But people need to rekindle the fires in their kitchens; and their stomachs, minds, and hearts!

Here is my problem with cooking:


When i want to try out a recipe, there are always ingredients that I dont have around my kitchen. I dont have a lot of money to buy a bunch of ingredients for just one meal that I dont even know will come out right. I am very cheap and I can't cook. I dont have a kitchen stocked full of herbs and spices. This is why I dont cook, I can't afford to buy all the crap you would need to make nice healthy dishes.

I guess you can say, cooking is an investment. Just like a good pair of pants or a nice shirt. Once you splurg a bit, you have room to explore with different tastes.

Although a box of kraft dinner is really tastey though LOL I must admit.

Tonight Im making Pasta, (i usually make it once a week)

Box of Pasta noodles 1dollar
Can of Pasta sauce 1dollar
Block of mozarella cheese 2 dollars
Hamburger meat 2 dollars

This is exactly the myth I try to combat: Fast-food and convenience-food purveyors spend millions of dollars every year advertising that ''cooking is too hard for you and it is too expensive, compared to our $1 hamburger, of which we will not speak of the quality.''

Yes, it would be very hard to make a $1 hamburger, but this is because the quality of ingredients available to you are higher, and you don't control the delivery systems of your food. (Processed food conglomerates will always choose the cheapest products they can find, their concern is their bottom line, not your health, This is why they use words like "choices" and "options", to relieve a great deal of legal liability.) This can be combated by buying a lot of your foods at farmers markets instead of grocery stores, cutting out the delivery and packaging fees.

Also, cooking is not difficult and should not be viewed as a scary prospect at failure. There are infinite dishes you can make that do not require you to wait for the dish to be finished before you even taste it. Taste and taste often while you will cook, and I guarantee you will shoot 99% with all of your endeavors. (Nobody is perfect!)

Then the is the prospect of not having the right stuff to do it right. If you have salt and pepper, you can do just fine. The rest is just fine tuning. Seasoning food is simply a matter of taste.

Consider stocking your kitchen with ingredients to be an investment. Sure, you spend so much money on it, but keep in mind a jar of spice can be used many, many times. I keep this in mind while I shop all the time. For an example, my latest pizza stint:

Dough:
5 lb bag of flour - $2.50
yeast, 3-tbsp packets - $1.50
Salt, one box - $2
Honey, 8 oz jar - $2.50 (farmers market)

Sauce:
Crushed tomatoes, 28 oz can - $2.50
tomato paste, 6 oz can - $0.50
oregano, 1 jar - $1.00
chopped garlic, 1 jar - $2.50
salt (already purchased)
pepper, 1 jar, - $1.00

Cheese & toppings:
mozzerella cheese, 1.5 lb block - $4 (you can get shredded for about the same price)
Pepperoni, 1 "log" - $2.50

Total price for all ingredients - about $22.00

I used half the bag of flour and two packets of yeast for the dough, and 2 tbsp of honey and a small amount of the salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic, and all of the remaining ingredients, and was able to produce 8 12" pizzas, two of them deep dish. And I also now have flour, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, honey and yeast to work with in my next dishes if I need them. Try to order 8 12" pizzas from anywhere for $22! Some of the ingredients (oregano, garlic, pepper, pepperoni) are optional too, so you can make them even cheaper if you wish, by buying a seasoned can of tomatoes!


I realize I sound preachy, but this subject is close to my heart, watching my fellows fall ill to poor food choices that they are convinced are their only reasonable options. Perhaps I will get some videos up on youtube and I can teach y'all step by step how to cook things without worrying about things like poor taste or not being able to afford it. There are so many reasons more than your health at stake here, I barely skimmed the surface of this issue as far as all is concerned. I hope I can help anyone who cares to try cooking for themselves, please come to me if you want to try it and feel like you need a pointer or two!

My budget is 7 dollars a day, minus Friday and Saturday. We go out to eat on weekends.

*hands the soap box to Rich and a bible*

OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE HERETIC!!!! MCDONALDS TASTES GOOD!

*chuckles* im just kidding rich (hearts dah man behind the zombie)

if I spent 22 dollars on ingredients for one meal , Boyd would have my head! ALL of those ingredients would have to make more than one meal. I dont think I could eat pasta every night for dinner. Our grocery budget is 50 dollars a week. So, basically, I have 50 bucks to spend (each week) to make 5 meals (also that 50 includes things like laundry detergent, catfood etc).

But that $22 made 8 pizzas! That's way less than $3 per fresh, delicious pizza, considering the extra ingredients to spare for later use. Pizza is a relatively expensive example, as well (what with the cheese and pepperoni, accounting for almost $7, another thing to consider, our dependence on animal products vs. vegetables and fruits. I can give a vegetarian recipe later tonight if anybody wants it for rice and bean burritos at 50 cents a burrito that will knock your socks off). The main point I was trying to make was, although the total for groceries appears higher compared to eating out or buying prepared foods, in fact you save money over a period of time by building a nice pantry of ingredients that you control, instead of being at the mercy of the menu.

I do agree with you Rich, I do. I just don't know how to buy a bunch of ingredients that will make 5 meals for under 50 a week! Maybe sometime we can get together on AIM and you can help me make a grocery list

OH MY, can I be apart of this AIM convo too? We can do groceries together!