Friday, September 7, 2007

A little something different for Friday

I actually thought up a good "Friday fun client story" yesterday . . . but then, a thing on television made me decide to table it.

And, I'm hoping to get some input from folks - or at least get a conversation started.

What would your DREAM JOB be? Now think - not just some fanciful "beer taster" -- consider the good and bad aspects of any job before you say it. My husband says that his dream job would be to arrange educational seminars for the national Holocaust museum. He wants to work in an environment that respects and appreciates his intellectual abilities, with other people who are interesting and intellectually stimulating, and within a subject/area he finds particularly interesting.

I thought about it pretty much all evening - and I really and honestly could not think of a job I'd honestly rather have than the one I do now. I'd like to have a bit more respect from my community. Perhaps a bit more pay. But, by and large, I wouldn't swap jobs.

There is a second part to the question - and this is left over from about a year ago. For the past year or so, my agency has struggled financially. Although all the "blame" doesn't rest in one place, it has been easier for me to direct all my angst towards a particular group. I feel that this group doesn't respect my agency (or me) the way we deserve to be respected. It's been a long year of bitterness and growing as a person.

So, in the midst of all this angst, I read about a foundation that gives non-profit leaders the money to take a sabbatical for themselves. It's something like, oh say, $50,000.00 plus money to pay for your replacement, and the requirement is that you must do something different from your job for 4-6 months to develop yourself and renew yourself. Just as I was reading this online, my husband happened into my office and found me in tears. Just the thought that someone would pay me to take time to renew myself was just too overwhelming at the moment. Heck, I'm misting up now just thinking about it.

I knew immediately what I'd do with a sabbatical like this . . . I'd take cooking classes in exotic places -- like Italy and Mexico and Paris.

So, today, discuss amongst yourselves . . . What would your dream job be and why? And, if someone were to give you $50,000 to spend 4-6 months doing something other than your job to renew your own spirit, what would it be?

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