My Ultimately Perfect Job Ever

Well, since a few of my posts on the subject of working have been less than positive sounding (okay, yes, perhaps they even sound downright angry), I figured I would lighten the mood a little and talk about my UPJE.  My Ultimately Perfect Job Ever.

When I found myself laid off and on Unemployment, I decided it would be a good time to really explore what it was that I wanted for my career and the rest of my working life.  It was like a golden opportunity, because my son had graduated from school, and this meant that my job and life search could extend beyond our current school district.

I started to make a list of the things I enjoyed, the things I didn't enjoy, and whether I could sort something into a career of joy and satisfaction.  In an instant, it was plain to see that my hatred for working in an office was pretty evident.  It was also pretty plain to see that liking dogs and books was going to be difficult to translate into an actual job.

I started to do random internet searches, like, "how do I find a job that involves dogs and books?" and went from there.  I remember when the Internet was first starting out, people would complain that, regardless of what you entered in the "search" box, you would get 2,237 page results which were usually entirely unrelated to your search, and generally pr0n.  Today, thanks to filters and such, the 2,237 pages are now actually somewhat related, and there is so much "out there" that you may actually find an article written 22 years ago on "how to remove peanut butter and jelly from a cashmere sweater made in 1922 by my Aunt Tilda."  Of course, no one wants to read through 2,237 pages, regardless of the fascinating content.

As I started to narrow my list of interests and potential career choices, it stopped becoming adventurous and world-as-oyster feeling, and started to become a little distressing.  Sure, I could learn how to train rescue dogs in the mountains of Colorado,  but how would I achieve that?  I would need a place to live, a source of income (or a large savings account... hahaha!), a way to move my 44 years of accumulated junk.  It's nice to think that you would be willing to accept little pay for something you truly enjoyed, but to actually find a place to live and means to survive until you start living your idyllic poor (or rich) but happy life seems a little too risky.  I am not a 19 year old farm girl looking to make it on Broadway who can live with 6 other people eating ramen all week.

So, I slowly moved away from the dog angle and started thinking more about the books angle.  I watched a movie recently, in which the main character owned a small bookstore in Italy (it was an Italian film).  It wasn't big and fancy and ultra computerized, but, she had customers and one employee, and made a living of it.  When I was discussing this dream job with a friend of mine, he mentioned, "well, that's going to be tough since books are pretty much becoming non-existent..."  Hmm.  He's right, isn't he?

After a year or more of hemming and hawing and guilty feelings,  I am now the owner of a Kindle.  I was originally very against the idea of these things; I didn't like that we were turning into a society which would no longer require bookcases, and the concept that one of the seemingly last bastions against the computer age had fallen prey, as well.  I love the smell of a book, the portability, the feeling of "mine" that comes with it.  There's nothing warm about some computerized thing which you carry around in some protective case.  An imaginary bookmark is not the same as turning down the page corner to mark your place.

Since my guilt prevented me from actually purchasing one of these electric phenomena, and my home was becoming a serious fire hazard due to my startlingly large collection of paperbacks (I'm cheap), I decided to ask for an e-reader as a birthday present.  And, voila.  My Kindle doesn't leave my side.  And, I've just proven my friend's point.

I eventually realized that one of my favorite jobs, ever, was working in our local branch of the public library, as a page.  Which is really quite funny, a "page" in a library.  Ha.  Anyway, it was a fairly lowly type of job, mainly consisting of book returns, organizing book sections which had been brutalized by uncaring library patrons, updating the card catalog (remember those?), and designing the displays for the front window.

Now, apart from the fact that librarians actually have university degrees, there is also the fact that "little" libraries barely exist.  I doubt they even have card catalogs.  Everything is computerized, and I'm pretty sure we'll be getting to the point soon where human interaction will be unnecessary, as all we'll have to do is click a screen and the fake book will be delivered to us wirelessly on a hermetically sealed desktop.

So, it seems that my old fashioned ways have once again foiled my dreamy outlook on career and life perfection.  I might as well try to start a career in Wheel Making for Buggies.  In the meantime, I will continue my search for the elusive UPJE, and pray that someone in Colorado reads this and sends me information on a local small town library with a job opening which is located next door to the rescue dog training facility, complete with a small farmhouse (with 2 fireplaces and large country kitchen) available rent free for the first two months to librarians who don't yet have a degree.