Thursday Thirteen: Alternate Careers

I've always known I would be a writer. When I was a little girl, I used to lie awake at night making up stories in my head. I still do that. In the second grade, I won an award from the Young Authors contest. The book was called The Lost Angel. I don't remember how the angel came to be lost or if she ever got found, but I do remember that I enjoyed making up the story. Books and stories have always fascinated me. They are right of there with Michael and chocolate in terms of the things that make life good. Still, as much as I love writing, there are other careers that I think would be fun. Here are thirteen of them:

1. Racecar driver-- Obviously this is pure fantasy, but I do think it would be cool. Probably because I never got to drive-- well, not legally-- the idea fascinates me. However, I'm pretty sure they don't let blind women drive racecars. Or stationwagons. Or go-karts. Or pretty much anything with a motor. I did hear about a blind woman who was a Monster Truck driver. You know, the ones that get to drive over rows of cars and stuff? That would be cool too. I guess you don't need eyesight to drive a great big truck over a bunch of much smaller cars.
2. Speechwriter for the President of the United States-- This was actually my goal during college. But Clinton was President then, and I admit to having a teensy bit of Monica envy. Once Bush was elected, the dream died.
3. Bartender-- Really, who wouldn't want to be a bartender? You get to talk to all kinds of people, and by the end of your shift, you'd probably feel a lot better about your own life after listening to the problems of a bunch of drunks. Plus, there's the tequila.
4. Chef-- I like to cook, but more than that, I like the idea of cooking. And even more than that, I like eating.
5. Crofter in the Scottish Highlands-- I think it would be such a quaint existence. Naturally, I'm romanticizing what is probably a tough life, but that's what alternate realities are for.
6. Organic farmer-- This is a dream that Michael and I have, to live on a big expanse of land and raise sheep and goats and grow organic vegetables and spin our own wool and get our electricity from a windmill. It's a wonderful dream, but it'll never happen because as it turns out, we aren't real into hard work. Maybe I'll write about an organic farmer instead.
7. Fashion designer-- So I could make clothes for real-sized women and get to fondle expensive fabrics.
8. Veterinarian-- I love animals. I am a sucker for a sad-eyed puppy dog, and my black Lab knows this and uses it against me.
9. Herbalist-- I'd like to see a return to some of the old ways of doing things and a trend away from a modern pharmacological fix for everything.
10. Minister-- Essentially, you get to tell people how to live and how to be happy. Way cool. The only problem is that I'm not real on board with Christian dogma or practices. Probably, that's a deal breaker.
11. Taster for Hershey's-- because as referenced above, I like to eat, and mostly what I like to eat is chocolate.
12. Archaeologist-- Traveling all over the world and uncovering the mysteries of the past has to be exciting and rewarding. I love history. Michael and I watch the History Channel and History International religiously-- right up until that Egyptologist guy shows up. What's his name? If you've ever watched a show about Egypt or tombs, you've seen him. What a camera whore.
13. Published author-- Not there yet, but I'm working hard and I'm confident.