# If I could work as a \[blank\] for the rest of my days I would be happy. Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974 "2008-09-17T12:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/21 "2008-09-17T17:25:23Z")
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist. Somewhere along the way, that idea got trashed, and I still have days where I’d love to be doing it. However! Being a horse trainer for the rest of my days would be nice too. You don’t make money but it’s so fulfilling when you train a youngster up right. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/22 "2008-09-17T17:34:56Z")
I would love to be a Forest Ranger or Naturalist and spend my days outdoors in the woods. I’m 50 years old and kind of out of shape, and I can’t afford the time or money to go back to college. So instead I spend a lot of weekends going on day hikes and I volunteer to do trail maintenance. I also wouldn’t mind making pottery for a living, but I’d have to price anything I made outrageously high and I doubt anyone would pay anything for the stuff I make. I take the occasional pottery class at the Adult School. I would go to a book store like Lurkmeister mentioned if there was one in my town, but there isn’t and it’s easier to go to [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/23 "2008-09-17T17:36:29Z")
Aaaaahhhh, to be an etymologist! Noting to do with my days other than sit and study the origin of words. Where they come from. Why do they _do_ that? Just to sit and ponder wonderful, marvelous _words_ all day long! Someday, I’ll get to do it, too. My middle daughter fully intends to rule the world one day. When she does, she’s promised to make me her Minister of Good Words. My first law would be that people really must find at least two occasions daily to work the word “serendipity” into their conversations. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/24 "2008-09-17T17:54:04Z")
I don’t know yet. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/25 "2008-09-17T17:58:25Z")
I’d strongly prefer to not have to hit a lick at a snake for the rest of my days. That or command a Battlestar/Other heavily armed spaceship. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/26 "2008-09-17T18:01:00Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Part of my inspiration for my dream bookstore was from a used bookstore I once visited in Evanston. I forget the name, but the entrance was literally off an alley and the owner sat in a stuffed chair by the door reading and smoking a pipe. I can’t recall if there was a cat around or not, but I’ve been to several used bookstores that had at least one resident cat. [Bookman’s Alley](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/100/295075574_368ae9bb2b_s.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.russellbassman.com/photos/album/72157594384389100/Evanston-Illinois.html&h=75&w=75&sz=6&hl=en&start=18&um=1&usg=__DRNREdJ6ltyGnPDsPnRd2FgrrpQ=&tbnid=_HHMGW5OEYxOqM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=71&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbookman%2527s%2Balley%2Bevanston%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3Dh8L%26sa%3DN) is still going strong, I love wandering through the meandering rooms and finding off the wall old books. It’s the Ur- Bookstore imho. ---
**Author:** ![Typo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Typo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/27 "2008-09-17T18:03:15Z")
I would love to be working in programming or application development. I built a half-baked application in Access for our small business and I can spend endless (and largely happy) hours just fiddling with SQL and VB. ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/28 "2008-09-17T18:04:21Z")
Researcher. I love writing, and I’m good at it, but even more than the writing I love the research, digging into things, spending my days poring over old books and papers and things. Anybody need a research assistant? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/29 "2008-09-17T18:07:29Z")
> [@N.Sane](#): > > Researcher. > > I love writing, and I’m good at it, but even more than the writing I love the research, digging into things, spending my days poring over old books and papers and things. > > Anybody need a research assistant? I bet you want to get paid, don’t you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/30 "2008-09-17T18:09:35Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I bet you want to get paid, don’t you? 😉 Well, yeah, but I’m worth it! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/31 "2008-09-17T18:10:14Z")
I think being a park ranger at Yosemite would be pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/32 "2008-09-17T19:23:48Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > I’m not talking in terms of absolutes. I’m talking in terms of something that sits in the back of your mind, something that maybe you have always wanted to do. I love when people are so supremely happy with their work that they wouldn’t want to do anything else. I am about 88% happy with my work, the other 12% of happiness in terms of work comes from \*\*pet projects \*\*around the house. 🙂 > > But no I’m not talking about being defined by what you do. Is that when you staple them to the walls and call them art? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/33 "2008-09-17T19:24:55Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > [Bookman’s Alley](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/100/295075574_368ae9bb2b_s.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.russellbassman.com/photos/album/72157594384389100/Evanston-Illinois.html&h=75&w=75&sz=6&hl=en&start=18&um=1&usg=__DRNREdJ6ltyGnPDsPnRd2FgrrpQ=&tbnid=_HHMGW5OEYxOqM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=71&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbookman%2527s%2Balley%2Bevanston%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3Dh8L%26sa%3DN) is still going strong, I love wandering through the meandering rooms and finding off the wall old books. It’s the Ur- Bookstore imho. I’m happy to know that. I could have sworn I’d heard that it had closed. Maybe next time I’m in Chicago I’ll drop in. ---
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/34 "2008-09-17T19:58:13Z")
I’d love to run a hobby gaming store with plenty of open table space for frequent Magic: the Gathering tournaments and open board game nights. It’s a good way to go broke, though. Honestly, I still love the actual work that I do (computer programming), it’s just the whole corporate atmosphere and office politics that drain my soul away. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/35 "2008-09-17T20:18:48Z")
For a few glorious years I was a Google Answers Researcher. I’d have been happy to continue doing this for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, Google canceled the project. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/36 "2008-09-17T21:17:14Z")
Hosting a children’s television show would be bliss. I really need to go and finish the pilot script for The Laboratory of Professor Von Fun. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/37 "2008-09-18T12:03:17Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Is that when you staple them to the walls and call them art? Oh Mrs.P would have a conniption fit if I stapled our cats to the wall. It wouldn’t be pretty…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/38 "2008-09-18T12:40:36Z")
Professional croquet/poker player. Alas, the former is impossible, and the latter requires far more skill and capital than I have at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/39 "2008-09-18T13:02:03Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Oh Mrs.P would have a conniption fit if I stapled our cats to the wall. It wouldn’t be pretty…😃 Yeah, but just think what a great LOLCAT it would make: iz on ur wallz, gardin’ ur shrwinn willyamz. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974/40 "2008-09-18T13:26:39Z")
I’m not sure what the job title was, but I remember seeing a documentary about these guys in Morocco who lived up in the mountains and drank tea, smoked hashish and dispensed wisdom. I think they might have been priests of some sort. As long as they don’t have to be celibate, I think that would be a dream job. Either that or driving around in a truck checking on things or being a Penthouse photographer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-could-work-as-a-blank-for-the-rest-of-my-days-i-would-be-happy-poll/463974.md?page=3)