No $1 billion for you Mr. Smarty Pants.

I was so close, too!

Except for myself instead of someone else.

You could become the Rick Steves of some other continent besides Europe.

But my job takes me from 3 to 5 different European countries every week (coming to you live and in color from Barcelona, Spain as of this moment). I guess I'd park the billion somewhere until I decided what would be the most productive way to get rid of it. I've been with my outfit for 38 years, figure I'll retire in another 30 unless Mother Nature retires me first, but I have had a good time so far, and don't see why I'd want to do anything else now.

....When the century plant blooms! Hey, no one said anything about working hard!

at giving most of that money away.

I'd be a mattress tester who works nights.

I used to tutor math and I now volunteer at the Master Gardener hotline where I get to tutor people about gardening. I enjoy sharing what I enjoy with others.

One of the most fulfilling jobs that I ever had. I tutored algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, calculus I-III, statistics, chemistry and physics during my college years. It was a lot of fun and several of my students excelled in their careers afterwards.

I even had to opportunity long after I graduated from college to help a few of my friends while they were college students in trigonometry, statistics, English composition and literature.

Surely there's SOME kind of work you'd all want to do.

I like my job already, but I think it'd be great to be a full-time gardener.

There would be a lot of traveling involved. You'd have to go to really awful bars with really awful people, and you have to write about them.

Or the $1 billion would be taken away.

I get the point, "do what you love", "getting paid should be secondary", &c. But what you may love to do the most may not be the most marketable skill you have and unfortunately there's bills to be paid.

Example, see my reply #94...it's true, if I never had to worry about money again, I would ride motorcycles on a track all day. Doing it for a living would be downright lethally dangerous to myself and every other racer out there because I lack the immense skill that the "professionals" have. Ditto the people on here who want to be photographers or musicians...I'm sure they realize, and hope nobody takes it as a slight, that they don't have the talent to pay the bills doing it. It's a fun thought experiment, and it can be a good starting place, but practically speaking...I'll leave you with this quote:

-Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you'd do if you had a million dollars and you didn't have to work. And invariably what you'd say was supposed to be your career. So, if you wanted to fix old cars then you're supposed to be an auto mechanic.
-So what did you say?
-I never had an answer. I guess that's why I'm working at Initech.
-No, you're working at Initech because that question is bullshit to begin with. If everyone listened to her, there'd be no janitors, because no one would clean shit up if they had a million dollars.

I love travelling, I love awful bars and love to write about awful people.

That's the job you want?

I would get to determine which research gets funded. And, the funding would come with one caveat: I have the option of participating in the project. I would want something to do when I wasn't operating my microbrewery.

Or use that money just to set up the foundation and bring in grant money to fund the research, like most scientists do.

Please tell me you are being sarcastic. A billion dollars is plenty of money to fund the sorts of work in which I am interested. I am not looking to fund outer space research or anything like that.

I guess it depends how much research you plan to fund and what kind of equipment you have to buy.

and spend the other half on a driver's license, a car, food, music, a new suit, new shoes, and new jeans.

I would invest the money into walled and gated appartment communities for women and children trying to get away from abusive relationships. In my mind I am seeing no adult males allowed other than staff, including visitors. Armed guard at the gate and maybe another on patrol. Plus 24 hour a day councillors available.

I am thinking something like a SANCTUARY. A safe place where a woman or a runaway kid could stay as long as necessary, get the help she needs, and not have to worry about paying the rent or utilities or food or anything like that. It's been a dream of mine for a while.

I bet you could build a LOT of these with a billion dollars, particularly if you hit up everyone you could to contribute. Get the local building contractors to kick in supplies, builders to kick in labor, and use the savings to build another complex in another city.

I'm not sure about the no men rule, but the sanctuary for people who need a hand up is just beautiful, kind, and well, magnificent.

NOTE: no adult men rule is not intended to be sexist!

My thoughts were these:

* SECURITY. If someone's ex tracks them down and climbs the wall I want them to stand out
* I have a feeling that women and kids who have escaped from a bad or dangerous environment need a place away from everything, including MEN.


I have been told that one of the biggest reasons women do not leave is that men systematically cut off their ability to do so. They cut them off from money, contact with friends and family, everything. They try to tie them down so that they have nowhere they can go except the streets.

I am envisioning a place they can go with their kids, where they don't need to worry about ANYTHING. If they don't have any money no problem, if they don't have clothes no problem, they will have all the time they need plus access to therapists, in a community in which EVERYONE there knows exactly what they are going through because they are going through it themselves. In my imagination I can see these people forming a support network even after they move on.

I was just thinking that too much cloistering might leave the women incapable of dealing with anyone of the opposite sex. But, yeah, the security of knowing that a male would stand out so that everyone could stop that person from hunting down their prey, would be good.

Abusive partners of either sex do exactly what you just described! I've had one abusive relationship (well, physically abusive. I specialize in emotionally abusive relationships) and that is exactly what he did. And my estranged spouse's new girlfriend is doing the identically same thing to him. And yeah, it serves to either actually cut off the avenues to leaving or at least, to do it psychologically.

I must reiterate that this is such a magnificently beautiful idea you have, it takes my breath away.

Make their lives a living hell

landscape and design my dream house.

plus be a professional baseball game attendee

But I did that for thirty years and my body won't let do it anymore.

These days, I'd probably open a needlework shop. I've thought about doing it, but having to run it every day would make it a pain and the overhead would not allow hiring an employee. If I didn't have to worry so much about overhead (having a billion dollars in the back), I'd hire someone full time to open the store every day and work when I felt like it.

Right now, I am effectively retired since my health has not let me work on the farm.

When you are sick the last thing you want to do is have to look for a place to live, try to find out what assistance programs you qualify for, where is the money going to come from to get you in a place of your own, pay past due bills from when you were sick, etc.

The organization I would like to start would allow you to come in and sit down with a counselor. After providing the information as to your needs the counselor would simply say this is a list of apartments which one would you like? This fund is going to pay for your outstanding medical bills that your insurance didn't cover, what else do you need?

All the patient would have to do is go home and relax and concentrate on getting better.

A pipe dream I know, but someday.

With CREAMSICLES!

Well, and eclairs, ice cream sandwiches, cones, and all the other goodies.

Edit: At 1969 prices.

?rev=1

His prices were typical of other trucks, but it was just really cool to see a the kind of truck I remember as a kid. They're all delivery truck style now.

You mean, like 10 cents for an ice cream bar? I'd be your best customer

I suppose I could just make the ice cream free, but the throwback to dime treats would be fitting. Besides, it would be fun.

Or be a DJ and have an obscure music show.

I would have to have a billion, cuz bookstores can't stay in business anymore and florals, well that can be a money loser too.

where I am currently living to make both places nicer for the residence and more attractive for tourists and businesses.

E Main St & S Center St, Corry, PA 16407

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=google+maps+corner+of+main+and+center+-+Corry+PA&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8832bb51f556efb3:0x87cbeea73aa2e8c2,W+Main+St+%26+S+Center+St,+Corry,+PA+16407&ei=4dc3UfHDMIrq2wWu6oCYCA&ved=0CDIQ8gEwAA

E Main St & S Center St, Corry, PA - in 1914



I think if I had a billion dollars I could keep myself occupied with such a project and also do some other diverse project where I am currently living.

making quests/story boxes, and magic the gathering card creation. I can't wait...tap one red, fuck you, I win!

for abused and abandoned animals...dogs, cats, horses...whatever needed rescuing. I'd also build secure facilities for battered women and children. And supervise the staff needed to care for the animals and counsel the women and children. Interacting with the animals could be great therapy for any who were willing. At least, that's the general idea.

of the sports world.

Seriously, I would probably work as a CAD operator for an AMEP firm. I'm an old AutoCAD guy.

You'd fall in love with the Yankees and start spending like Steinbrenner.

Just remember that I would be taking the money from the Roid Sox!!

Commercial multi-engine pilot with an ATR rating and my own Dassault Falcon

Buy, renovate, and rent homes in Omaha

Then I would create a foundation for scholarships for promising arts students. The arts are always underfunded.

...specs and play with discovering what metals they'd extract.

I'm something of a dullard I guess.

Like training service dogs. It is something I've been meaning to look into, but I have a feeling there isn't much money in it. Maybe it's something I could do in my spare time.

I don't want to do anything except travel and carouse if I have unlimited funds. There are no jobs for that, I checked.

I don't particularly love my job, but it pays the bills and I'm comfortable. There's nothing that I would love to do that has a comparable compensation. At least nothing I've discovered yet. I find happiness in my time away from work and that's good enough for me.

No one is going to pay me to drink, smoke weed, ride rollercoasters and bang strippers. At least no one that I've found yet.

and attend the EAT (Earth Activist Trainings) put on by Reclaiming.

Then I would build raised beds and solar powered greenhouses, so I could raise most of my food and herbs for medicine and cooking.

I would then teach classes and workshops on all the above to whomever wanted to attend, and would give scholarships to people who were low-income.

I have also read about a new way of growing food called Food Forests. I would love to plant trees and shrubs, both native and cultivated to create a source of organic and sustainable, bio-dynamic food and herbs.

I could give away any extra food to family and friends, neighbors, and donate to our local food bank if there was enough extra.

Ah...that would be paradise.

I could also attend classes and workshops with City Repair, in my hometown, and teach or share whatever I learned there to others. Let Peace and Prosperity grow, in ways that are ecologically responsible and sustainable.

Another dream, would be to start a mobile grooming and massage business for pets, using only organic products and remedies. I love critters and love to help their bodies feel comfortable and healthy.

That's about the least stressful job I can imagine. You don't even have to pretend to care about the quality of your work.

in the equivalent jobs I have had that has been the case. Certainly a higher stress level than my current job.

since i would be wealthy i take more risk. i would invest in small businesses. things like people who want to open a cafe, sell eco friendly products etc.

but, I would do exactly what I'm doing now, take care of babies in a NICU. I think that might just make me exceptionally blessed. I'm doing what I love and they pay me for it.

So many of the posts were about people giving to those less fortunate.

Sorry I was the only one that wanted to eviscerate Republican operatives.

And take their bags of money.

Right?

With breaks and intermissions, of course. And sometimes we'd record it to share with the rest of the world. Sometimes we wouldn't

I'd form a corporation, have it buy a mansion and employ me as a house sitter.

Find someone who'd design me an airship that can seat fifty, and order thirty of them. Then choose twelve really scenic, tourist-type routes of...oh, 100 miles in length, and fly people along those routes in scheduled service. (Thirty blimps would give me one for each direction, and a few running spares.) Dressing to the nines would be required of the passengers - this would recall the days when flying was a glamorous way to travel, and glamorous people don't travel in sweats. A hundred miles would put the passengers in the air for about two and a half to three hours, so they wouldn't get bored.

Probably about something to do with animal rescue.

and make it cheap or free for great musicians on a tight budget.

providing housing and living assistance for the mentally ill.

to live on for the rest of my life, I would use the rest to set up a foundation to support groups and causes that I believed in. Imagine the freedom to be able take stands on issues without any threat of losing a job. Imagine being able to find ways to help woman to totally circumvent the ridiculous laws that state legislatures are passing. Imagine owning a plane and being able to plan freedom flights to help women who want to get an abortion travel to places where they are safe and legal. Helping out organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center. Providing legal assistance to poor people who are being railroaded by an unjust legal system. Animal rights activism - I would be there. I would work on developing programs to help the poor like low cost, subsidized health clinics, safe day care facilities (it is hard to get a decent job and you can't make sure that your kids are safe and well taken care of), etc.

Money talks. If I had money on the level of the Koch Brothers, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates I would live for moving money, jobs and companies out of red states and into blue states. I would like to take those ultra-conservative, right wing, fascist state governments and shrink them down and drown them in a bathtub (to paraphrase Grover Norquist). I would finance any group that wants to go toe to toe with these idiots.

take care of my grandsons. Except with that much money, we could have a farm and have fields of gardens and not just the little one in the back yard. And in addition to the dogs and cats we hang out with now, we could have chickens and goats and horses and cows.
And I guess since they are growing up fast, we could have established a place where we could help other working mothers who could bring their kids to the farm to learn and grow.

Plants and Trees.....not babies.

I would invest in a really huge large format digital printer and really high end cameras and travel and take pictures and make wall sized prints of them and then rent billboard space and display them Just because. On off days I would sleep in.

And annoint myself permanent lead rider.

I would love to finally get my master's degree in forensic science and work in a crime lab. I also want to work as a script supervisor on films. I would take some of my money and get my pilot's license so I could do volunteer work.

only with a better grade of stuff (fencing, vehicles, livestock)

I would take friends on a trip that lasted a lifetime.

the money made to charity. The Make A Fish Foundation. Would be fun and would be doing something important.

It would be nice to know that I had the option to tell my supervisor to f*ck off when she micromanages me. I trained her, for G*d's sake.

I love what I do, and I'm very good at it, but I'm not extroverted or attractive enough to ever get ahead.

I would be a full time student. For a dose of the real world I would work in the Pastry Shop at Wegman's. Which is what I actually plan to do when I retire.

let about 15 kids in, and teach without the deformers telling me what to do.

Watch some free movies, write a few paragraphs, give it 1 to 4 stars.

I'd buy up 1,000+ acres of contiguous land and build something on the lines of Best Friends east. There would be a bed and breakfast, campgrounds, etc. for visitors. Everybody would have to volunteer for a couple hours/day and then be free to vacation. I would also link up with seed savers and have walking paths lined and fields and woods filled with endangered plants. Children from the cities could come in the summer to learn gardening and animal care.

Then I would set up regional centers that would pull all the critters from the kill shelters and kill-buyers, and re-hab and re-home them. Equine Lifeline would rescue horses, while its On-TRACC (T-bred Rehabilitation And Career Center) division would specialize in ex-race horses. Canine and Feline Lifeline would pull the dogs and cats.

Would love to have the freedom to work full time on IEC TC's 77 and 66. As well as several North American (Bi-Nat and Tri-National) standards. However it's not something even industry wants to pay for. Seen as too much expense for little return. Partly why the EU dominates those IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) committees.