Forgot to add, I think it would be neat to be President of the United States - as a Republican - but as an undercover progressive. There are many things that R’s, evangelicals, conservatives need to hear, but they’d instantly reject if it came from the mouth of a Democrat. Having lived my entire life surrounded by evangelical Christians, I think I am pretty good at pushing buttons without blowing my cover. Such a Republican president could call out hypocrisy in the church, conservative obstruction, and actually be heeded.
And of course, flying in Air Force One would be magnificent, and it would be fun to see my policy decisions affecting the globe for the better in a hundred different ways. But I would intensely loathe public speaking, and cut down my speaking engagements to near zero.
I want to be a fan-fictional character I created in my twenties. I would be a seventeen-year-old homeless street musician who plays the banjo and is a companion to the Fourth Doctor. I’d travel through time and space, always on the edge of danger but visiting different civilizations off-planet or periods in Earth’s history, and having a blast and being as selfish as I want.
If I were to be someone my own age, I would want money enough to live comfortably well, travel a lot, and have someone to do all my household chores.
Me too. Plus which said 25 year old body wouldn’t have a congenital heart condition for me to find out about forty years later, or a susceptibility to any other ailments. And I wouldn’t be faceblind, and would have excellent eyesight, no need for glasses; and would have a very good singing voice and a good ear. My other weirdnesses could stay, I’m used to them and would want to still be me.
I’d still be living in more or less the same place, and still be farming, but I wouldn’t have to worry about making money, and would be able to hire help if I wanted and pay them well. Or to not deal with any help, if I didn’t want to. I’d have enough money to hire housesitters and travel sometimes; not to worry about vet. bills; and to donate to local and some wider causes. The amount of money would be inflation proof.
My house would be very similar to this one, a little larger but not much, but would have in it only things I actually want, and no leftover boxes of other people’s stuff that I need to sort and discard most of the contents of. Also it would have a two-story porch with a screened sleeping porch on the top half, out of sight of the road and overlooking the lake; and a couple thousand feet of lakefront; and a better water supply – that is, more water; the water I do have is fine. And a better attic and basement; and be mouse and squirrelproof. (The occasional spider can stay.) And a somewhat, but not massively, larger greenhouse and barns. All the buildings are in excellent condition, and built to last. I would still have all my good neighbors; and a guarantee that I wouldn’t get any bad ones.
Hey, I’ve already got that one!
At least, if a living room overfilled with books counts. The dream house does have more room for more bookshelves. And the books magically stay sorted when I’m not leaving them around the house on purpose, so I can nearly always find whichever books I’m looking for.
And, oh, this is a fantasy, right? The house cleans itself; but not in any annoying fashion. Even the cats aren’t annoyed by the cleaning function.
And there is no paperwork that I don’t feel like doing. Field plans and seed orders and such are kind of fun; those can stay.
You know the house Professor Slughorn was squatting in in that Harry Potter movie (where he was disguised as a chair)? I’d want a house about that size with a walled garden so my dogs could be free range without worrying about them. I want unlimited decorating funds. Enough rooms that I can have guests comfortably. A completely separate library with a library ladder (maybe two levels with a spiral staircase connecting them?). I want a small staff, so that if I don’t feel like making myself something to eat, they could fix me something yummy. I will do NO house cleaning.
Also, I’d want to be about 30, have the metabolism of my mom and older sister, and be able to carry a tune. Not so I’d be a professional singer or anything like that, but just so I could belt out my favorite songs without cringing.
Location could be either the Santa Barbara area or the SF Bay area. I could be in a more outlying area, but I want easy access to a city.
The time to do some writing when the mood strikes.
Enough money that I could throw money at causes that appeal to me.
Every day the same. Nothing but a bedroll and my monk clothes for a pillow. Meditate daily. Eat what people offer. Perform service. Chant. Walk through nature.
A simple, peaceful life full of awareness and gratitude.
I’d like my 25 tear old body, sure, and a wife who’s a writer as well. We’d get a grant that let us live in a well-supplied, spacious, warm structure wrh excellent internet in Antarctica.
I’m a member of a comedy troupe, composed of about a dozen male and female friends of mine (from RL). We started out doing a Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style show on a local TV station that springboarded us to careers in the emerging cable medium in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The show was basically sketch comedy a la SNL or Kids In The Hall, but we also did some original music, parodying other music tropes (e.g. one of our minor hits was something very much like “Judy In Disguise, With Glasses,” a parody of psychedelic rock). We enjoyed our few years of notoriety before wisely quitting while we were ahead (and having made piles of money in the process.)
In the present time, I’m the acquaintance and mentor of a group of young Youtubers, who look up to me as a “celebrity” (to my equal parts embarrassment and pride) and have been persuaded to come out of my retirement to experiment with this new medium.
I love this topic and probably spend more time than I should contemplating this. I have to have some limitations, or I lose control of the process, so I will say I have access to $50,000,000 a year. I would hire a think tank to explore my own thoughts at a level I could never hope to achieve. Social issues, politics, natural resources, the environment, pollution. I would like to see all that explored, and solutions created.
I’d be part of an intentional community of perhaps 300-500 people. The community would be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible, including producing as much of its own food as possible. There would be electricity and access to the internet, and we would trade with similar communities and groups to get stuff we can’t produce, such as really good coffee beans. Everyone would get, at an early age, significant training in music and art, science, first aid, self-defence, and conflict resolution. We would probably have something other than sewer systems dependent on water, and would have several people with advanced medical training, perhaps equivalent to nurse-practitioners. Only those who found it interesting as a sort of hobby would care about history, because we would be having too much fun and work creating the present and the future. Also, we’d have a lot of really cool Amish hats.
First class travel with first class accommodations, any where in the world.
My Wife and I did first class all the way for three weeks in Hawaii last spring. Ummm. It’s a bit pricy.
My Wife is now planning a first class trip to Iceland, Norway, and a cruise to British Isles and London.
I’m the one that insists on stretch seating since I’m so tall. Sometimes it’s not available. So…
Got to do it while we are still healthy and mobile. I do not want to know the cost, but I have a pretty good guess.
Otherwise we are totally minimalist travelers. Everything goes in a carry on. Wash it out in the sink when you are spending a few days at a hotel. We learned that when we spent 3 weeks in
Germany. Uh. 21 days of my socks alone would take up pretty much an entire case. I don’t even own 3 weeks worth of socks.
