Boyhood dreams, adult realities

When I switched jobs and companies earlier this year, one of the biggest perks of the new job was moving from one side of the office to the other. From the side surrounded by walls, to the one with a window.

Now I’m not saying my view is like this:

Or this:
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But at least I can see the sky (which is a beautiful blue today) and, on occasion, let the mind wander a bit.

That was not the case yesterday. I was concentrating pretty hard on a task when I saw this out my window:

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Either someone had put the finishing touches on their escape plan (personally, I’m going to try to get out like Edmond Dantès) …or the window washers were here for their six-month visit. The next sight I saw confirmed this hunch.

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And a little later on while they were working on the other side of the courtyard my window looks out on:

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This all got me to thinking, yanno, being a window washer wouldn’t be a bad job. In fact, it could be pretty interesting. You get to see new people all day long. It’s generally nice outside when you’re working since no one cleans their windows in the rain. And, most important, there’s a bit of adventure involved swinging from a rope off the side of a building.

I think this gets added to my list of jobs (kind of like Mike Rowe, but he actually does them) that I’d like to try out. The jobs I may have dreamed about having as a kid, but pushed into the background when reality intruded as an adult.

Like this one:

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I have always wanted to drive the back of the fire engine. That would be so freaking cool! That, my friends, is a 100-foot-long truck. Can you imagine how much fun it is to be the guy steering the back as you’re flying down the streets of D.C.? Or wherever?

Other jobs on the list include: iron worker on a new high-rise building or suspension bridge; condom field tester is another (for obvious reasons); the First Gentleman; a Naval aviator (Top Gun was a huge influence on my formative years); and a carpenter (full disclosure: I already do this as a hobby).

So what jobs do you sometimes daydream about as you sit in your cube doing this and that? What job would you take if, just for a day, you could answer the question “What do you do?” with “I’m a ________.”