if i could do it all over again

I usually catch myself saying that once every couple weeks. Not really in a serious sense, but I think of things that I really enjoy as hobbies and wonder if they would have been good as careers. The list, of those I can recall at this point:

Astronomer – This is of course due to my love of astronomy and stars and the like. I think what I enjoy about it is how unfathomable it all is, as far as distances and sizes go. We talk about light-years like they’re nothing, but one light year equals six trillion miles. If I calculated correctly, and I might not have, it would take over a million years to travel that far in one of our modern airplanes. I guess space shuttles are faster, and that’s what would be used, but you catch my drift. Anyway, astronomy is cool.

Pharmacist – I’m fascinated by pills and that side of medicine. I own a copy of the Pill Book. It’s a handy reference. It’s just cool that scientists came up with all these different chemicals to treat thousands of different illnesses and disorders. I also like organizing stuff, and pharmacies seem very neat and organized. And pharmacists seem like they have less required schooling and also less responsibility than a doctor. And the pay is doctor-like, though I don’t think it’s exactly equivalent.

Geographer – Or perhaps I’d enjoy being a cartographer. Not sure what exactly each job entails, but I do know I love maps. And atlases. I could spend a good hour just sitting and reading through a U.S. atlas. Call me odd; I know I am. But it’s fascinating to me. I figure, therefore, that an interest in maps and atlases would mean I would enjoy geography. I know it deals with statistics and things of that nature too. That’d be fine. I could crunch numbers.

Professional Baseball Player – It’s a bit more fantastic and unbelievable that the other ideas, but of all the pro sports to play in, I think I’d do baseball. It’s a pretty long season from spring training to optimally the World Series (February through October), but if it’s doing what you love, you dig? The travel would be hard at times, especially if you had a wife or family, but having millions of dollars is nice too. The simple fact is that there is no way anyone on earth deserves to make as much money as baseball players (or any sports figures) do, doing what they do. They are batting a ball around and catching it with gloves, for other people’s entertainment. Get off your high horses, assholes. Here’s your salary cap. I say the best player in the league gets $1,500,000 at the end of the year, based on performance. All 900 or so players that will appear in the majors that year are ranked accordingly. #2 player that year gets $1,000 less. And on down the line. So, for roundness’ sake, say there are 1,000 players who play in a year. The “worst” guy who plays, or performs the least, let’s say, gets $500,000. That would be the minimum salary in the league. So, in the end, the league minimum is raised, but the exorbitant salaries of these haughty bastards would be controlled too. I’m sure there are several flaws in my plan, and it would probably never work, but a basic scheme is there. It just needs tweaking.

I think in the end, we can all discover what our dream jobs would be by pretending we won the lottery. A big lottery. You would never have to work again, but say you end up working just to “keep busy.” What job would you take at that point? It would have to be based solely on enjoyment. There’s everyone’s answer. I’m still think about my answer. I would think it would be one of the above. But maybe it wouldn’t.

Have a happy 2006.