On the first Friday of every month, the US labor board posts the job index for the previous month. These stats posts the so-called official unemployment rate, the number of reported hires, and the general filing on how people that are able to work are working. These notes gives a notion on how the domestic economy is doing.
According to the latest report, the unemployment rate is around 4.3%. This generally means that less that five percent of the working able population is holding down some form of paid employment. And when the rate is less than five percent as a whole, it’s a sign of a rather robust economy.
A few elements are to be added to these stats. Although the reported number of people are in this rate of employment, it doesn’t state if these folks are working at the jobs they really want to do, rather that being employed at something just for the sake of earning a living. These forms of employed folks tend to have a “job” rather than a “career”. And many of these careers tend to be of a paid performance on something that holds many factors, ranging from advancement to actually enjoying what one does for that paycheck. This article will concentrate on that latter idea. This is a state of working on one’s “dream job”.
Now what exactly is a dream job? A dream job is a notion of employment of doing something that one actually likes to do. It’s a job where one can toil upon for long periods of time, yet never sees the job as something that is dull, tiring, mundane, or annoying. In fact, the job doesn’t seem like a job, but something that is really fun to do!
To place the sense of the definition of a dream job, an organization that performs job training to larger corporations on an outsourced basis wrote a workshop piece asking those participants to what a dream job means to the applicants. Within a few statements, the definitions that participants in this workshop of what a dream job is were spelled out within these realms:
1. My dream job is a career centered on my favorite hobby or greatest passion.
2. My dream job is one that fulfills me and truly helps others as well.
3. My dream job is the job that pays the most money possible, period.
4. My dream job must pay enough to live comfortably while doing work I am passionate about.
5. My dream job is the job that pays the most money for the easiest and least amount of work required.
6. My dream job is to work from home with flexible hours, full benefits and a salary that more than meets my needs.
7. My dream job is to work for a company that provides true lifetime job security and room for growth.
What can one do as a dream job? That of course depends on the person that wants to do the work. Let’s say for instance, one enjoys working with animals. Perhaps the most obvious choice is working in some placement at a zoo. That could be anything from feeding the animals to herding and/or showing them off. If one wants to stick to animals as domestic pets, then there are the animal shelters that exist where one can maintain the critters that are found in such a shelter, mostly in the form of dogs and cats. If one has a passion in art, there could be gigs found in art galleries to genuine museums. If gardening in one’s thing, there are nurseries, garden centers, or even being involved as a horticulturist. The list of what one can do as a dream job goes on. Again, depending on one’s personal passion!
Of course, the two dollar question remains. Can anyone who wants to become involved in their dream job actually find such a job? It all depends on what one wants to do and if the dream job applicant holds the necessary skills and abilities to perform such a task. If anyone enjoys being along a beach and wants to do something that requires the person to be on a beach, then one can be a lifeguard. But lifeguards require various intense expertise; Everything from basic first aid skills to knowing how to swim. If a lifeguard wannabe doesn’t have those abilities on hand, then the chances to being a lifeguard falls flat.
But that above example is a bit extreme. Let’s use another example, say working with domestic animals. One can work in an animal shelter where many of the for noted dogs and cats are found. Using a more “pet friendly” shelter as this example such as a “no-kill” outlet to a shelter that only keeps their animals for a limited time, regardless of if one adapts the dogs and/or cats in question. Many of these places tend to run on limited budgets plans or operate as non-profit organizations. These places tend to have some paid staff, but many of them use a pool of volunteers that can come in to assist in the ins and out of keeping the shelter running at its potential capacity. Granted, the pay in this case is small to nonexistent, but does fulfill points number one and two to the above list. As far as points numbers three and up? That’s a whole other matter as that stands.
Is it actually possible to obtain a dream job that will actually pay a decent wage, if not paying anything at all? That answer can be noted as a basic yes and no. Sure, one can find a job dealing in one’s personal passion, but that all depends upon what the passion is and the skills required to work in one’s dream.
In the next issue, this writer will continue this dream job aspect in an essay that is based upon true facts–if one wants to believe it all! Stay tuned to this station for further developments! See you then!
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NEWS AND REVIEWS
Theatre Palisades presents VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, Christopher Durang’s comedy about a seasoned dysfunctional family and those that become part of their household.
Taking place in a well aged semi-rural homestead located not too far away from Philadelphia finds Vanya (Scott Gardner) and his adapted sister Sonia (Wendy Taubin). Both of these siblings were named by their now deceased parents who were once connected to the theatre, holding on to a fondness to the works of Anton Chekhov. Both Sonia and Vanya are in their middle fifties and realize that they are slowly approaching their sunset years and have little to prove they accomplished anything in their lives. All they have is the housekeeper Cassandra (Bri Giger), who not only cleans house, but practices the art of voodoo, keeping bad and evil away by conjuring hexes and through the telling of fortunes with a 50 per cent accuracy. The home itself was taken over by a third sibling Masha (Mia Christou), who pops in for a rare visit. Masha is an actress by trade, appearing and performing in a number of feature films and stage shows. She’s not an “A” list star but more of the “B+” variety. Tagging along is Spike (Kyle Jordan), a fellow actor who’s some twenty years younger and serves as her companion and “F” buddy. Masha plans to attend a costume party at a nearby home once owned by Dorothy Parker, and although only the “famous” are invited, Masha has her siblings come along in addition to Spike as well as a young woman Nina (Natalie Hovee) who’s visiting a nearby home for the weekend and desires to meet the famous Masha. This family reunion of sorts turns into something totally unexpected and gives another look at ever classic sibling rivalries.
This stage piece, winner of the 2013 Tony for best play, takes a post-modern turn of the fore-noted dysfunctional family angle that’s been the butt of many plot points of TV sitcoms of late. The six cast members that appear in this Theatre Palisades production ranges from being sweet and charming to borderline arrogant–all presented in a pleasant and very comical method. Out of the half dozen cast members, Mia Christou as big name actress Masha is the most appealing, presenting her character as an “A” star that has past her prime since most actresses hitting the half century plus mark can’t get the choice roles as those twenty-five years younger can easily snag! (A sad yet true fact. But this is a stage play, not a report from Hollywood!) Jonathan Fahn directs this rather long play that clocks in at two and a half hours–including the intermission, through a pacing that isn’t as frantic as one would expect, but never drags! There is enough to keep the theatre audience amused with all the antics depicted on stage.
Sherman Wayne, Theatre Palisades’ resident set and lighting designer, once again presents a stage set of the Chekhov-esque home, complete with outdoor terrance and spread that would be the ideal location for one to “age in place”.
With such a title as VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, it suggests that this play either celebrates the classic works of Chekhov, or it congers the notion of a four-way orgy! Whatever it may advocate, it’s still a very witty play where the characters ring true to its comical pretense. That’s family for you!
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, presented by Theater Palisades, performs at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Road (off Sunset Blvd.), Pacific Palisades, until July 9th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. For more information, call (310) 454-1970, or visit online at http://www.TheatrePalisades.com
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