Monday, August 30, 2010

Confession & secret dreams

Carson the chatterbox still has a few speech impediments and quirks. One of them is that he cannot seem to pronounce the word "secret." He says "swee-krit." This is a post of dreams, confessions and sweekrits. Confession: sometimes I watch Oprah. THERE. I said it. It's usually when Sydney takes a late nap and Carson is occupied. If it's an appropriate topic, I may even leave it on when Carson comes in the room. It's not very often, but often enough that once we saw the O magazine on the newsstand and he said, "Look, Mom! It's your friend!" Hehe. [sheepish laughter] Don't judge.
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ANYway, a few weeks ago I caught a part of an episode about people who are extremely successful in super fun careers. One was the Cake Boss (never seen the show, but heard it's fun), one was a genius florist who designs amazing, over-the-top creations for places like the Plaza Hotel. One was a stunt woman. I didn't see the other interviews, but the gist of it was: they all followed their dreams, and because they pursued something they LOVED to do as a career, they became successful. (Which, if I may tangent, is a big pet-peeve of mine with Oprah--her catch-all theology/philosophy/spirituality. She interviews all these famous people who say they just envisioned success, told the universe their desires and it came to pass. Huh? Now there's a bunch of lovely people doing these very things and still working for minimum wage in a dead-end job. When is she going to interview them? Hey, I said I watched. I didn't say I loved.) But for these few lucky ones on this particular episode, they managed to have their dream jobs and seemed giddily happy in life.
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I happen to be casually job hunting right now. Subbing is OK, but the sporadic nature of it is hard on me, my kids, and our childcare providers (aka: grandmas). I would love to have a consistent one-day-a-week job, or even 2 half-days. Combing through search engines and job web sites is a DRAG. I have acceptable skills in many areas, but exceptional skills in precious few. And no one is hiring for smart-aleck blogger--there's a gazillion of those. The process, along with Oprah, got me imagining my secret dream jobs. My dream jobs are based on the ratio of enjoyment of the activity to amount of labor involved.
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Dream job #1: Be a singing cartoon voice.
My biggest dream job would include singing, because it is the activity that I enjoy the most that involves the least amount of hard work. I've been blessed to have a few occasions in my life where I got paid to sing, like weddings and such, and I'm not going to lie: it is great. Now, if I take the best part of that--the singing part--and take away the worst part of it--being in front of lots of people--then I imagine being the voice of a cartoon would be perfect! No one would be thinking about me, Brazenlilly, and what I was wearing, how my hair looked, or how pitchy I was, because I'd be in a studio able to do retakes and wear my sweatpants. DREAM. JOB!
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Dream job #2: Party planner for rich people.
It might not translate on the blog, but I actually really love planning my kids' birthday parties. I love looking online at different party spreads and trying to mimic what I can. I love deciding on cupcakes and decorations. But there's always one large problem that keeps me from creating the world's most fabulous party--money. Parties that pull out all the stops cost a LOT of money. Even little po-dunk, backyard parties for siblings and cousins cost a lot of money. If I had the connections, I would offer my services to wealthy patrons who were willing to pay for the convenience of having a creative, hard-working mommy-type to throw a kickin' party. Favors, special drinks, center pieces--the whole shebang. Baby shower? SO many ideas. Kid's birthday party? HUNDREDS of theme options. Seriously, my mind is whirling just day-dreaming about this. So, if you know of anyone who fits the category, send them my way.
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Dream job #3: a writer. That gets paid.
In case you couldn't tell, I love writing. Blahblahblah...I could do this all DAY! I process everything by writing. I can write for hours and be happy, other than tired wrists and shoulders. The reason I'm *ahem* one of the only one of my friends who still blogs on a regular basis is that I really, truly love expressing my thoughts and emotions about my crazy/boring life--especially my life as a mommy. I make time for it. My dream would be to be able to have these thoughts published--and actually get some money for them! Not those "publish your own book" deals that costs the writer $5K. Now, this dream I've actually semi-looked into. But to be honest? I have no idea how to go about it. If you want to drown in overwhelming internet blahblah, just google "how to get a book published" and spend 20 minutes. You'll want to cry. I know I did. So, if anyone has any leads or suggestions on how to go about pursuing this dream, I'm all ears! But for now, I will continue to write my little brains out on this here blog, and you, all three of my readers, can read for free. It'll just be my dream hobby.
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So, what is YOUR dream job?

10 comments:

Steph said...

It's funny, because we've never discussed this before, but I've always said my dream jobs would be cartoon voices/voiceovers or doing jingles. I started pursuing the jingles bit when we lived in Seattle, and actually met and sang for someone who was interested...but then we moved back to this area and it never happened. :)

Also, I believe you are aware that more than 3 people read your blog, missy.

woosterweester said...

Jen you would be great at any of those dream jobs and probably a dozen more!

Unknown said...
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sarah said...

I love it! I was just telling Eric a week ago that If I could have my dream job it would be party planning. I too love looking online at all the different ideas.

Carrie said...

Well, I am not rich, but I wanna pick your brain about a party idea. My friend is turning 40 and she's a school librarian. I thought a literary themed party would be fun. GO!

Carrie said...

Well, I am not rich, but I wanna pick your brain about a party idea. My friend is turning 40 and she's a school librarian. I thought a literary themed party would be fun. GO!

The Paudlers said...

I hope your dreams come true, Jen!! :) I married someone who is living his dream. He knew he wanted to be a pilot at a young age. I love being with someone who is living their dream job. For a long time I dreamt about being a foster parent. I was a CPS caseworker for about 7/8 years before starting our family. I think foster parents have such a tough but amazing job. Now, there are days where I just dream about being a mom of kids who aren't in diapers anymore, who can get their own snacks and fill their own sippy cups. :) Fun post!!

Unknown said...

Jen! I love this post. Thanks for sharing your heart and putting what so many of us think, into words. You're great and I adore you!
*And yes, if I could be a vocalist in a studio...my life would feel complete.

Unknown said...

Hi -
between me and you I really do like to watch OPRAH too. Not the cheesy, molestation/sex addiction/ my mother beat me episodes - but rather the one like today with Nate Berkus remaking people's homes.

Which brings me to my dream job - being a fashion designer or producing fashion shows (probably that one more) and designing new spaces for people's homes. Right now I don't even have two cents to rub together to design my own home - but if you knew what was going on in my head!!! I was all set to go to design school in my early 20's, but I was on my own to pay the tuition and I just couldn't stomach the idea of taking on $45,000 worth of debt. So I chose childhood pshycology and education and started teaching - what a change from what I wanted.

Nina said...

My dream at the age of 59 is to do something with the art of entertaining. I love setting the table, centerpiece arranging, and all the beautiful dishes that entails .When my girls were young I would have dress up nights and take out all the fancy dishes. I had a friend tell me my own family would be the best guest I would ever have. I dream of having a room of beautiful dishes and flowers to arrange and making those I do it for feel extra special. About the food part I would need to take some classes of course(: Thank you Jen for asking!