I would build affordable rental housing, townhouses and apartments. People of any income could live there, but some homes would be heavily subsidized so that someone living on welfare could afford a good home easily. There would be a mixture of housing types – suitable for folks with disabilities, family, singles, seniors, pets etc. Some with yards, some not. In the center of the complex would be a big courtyard with fruit trees, park, veggie gardens, floor gardens, playground, chickens, etc. Below the apartments would be shops and services, cafes, and so on. There would be on site daycare, a community kitchen, library, toy library, gym, game room, medical and counseling services. Jobs and volunteer opportunities in these businesses would be opened up to the people who lived in the building before being offered more widely (although of course appropriate skills and education would apply – an untrained person is not going to become a nurse practitioner without getting the education, but we could easily offer opportunities to train for home support or peer counseling positions).

For those people in the subsidized housing, a portion of their rent would be put aside as savings for them (as some microloan groups do) for investment in themselves, such as education, retirement, setting up a business, family, whatever.

This is why I’d need to win the lottery first. And, no doubt, get municipal, federal, and provincial grants.

Sure it would be hard and no doubt frustrating, but I dream about doing something like this.

I’m half-way through library school my own self. Come play!

I have two ideal jobs. First one would be a writer for a comedy news show a la Colbert Report. Melding my love of journalism with my often-inappropriate and morbid sense of humor would be a dream come true.

Second: Owner of a kickass knitting/coffee shop plus bar. Where I could hang out all day drinking delicious beverages and knitting and helping other people knit and drink. It would have a witty punny name and a happy hour and wide range of yummy alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and be feministy DIY in slant and it would be HEAVEN!

I guess I have a third dream job, which is “librarian,” but that’s less of a dream job and more of a motivation to finish my final library school application!

Alternately, running a boutique animal supplies store that lets people bring their pet owners in; book store/coffee shop that lets people bring their pets; lottery winner

I used to be really, really ambitious. Then I fell in love with someone who has two amazing cats, and I got a dog and moved into a nice, cheap apartment with a backyard for a garden. And now I don’t care about anything anymore. I’m getting my degree so I can hopefully someday have a job in academia that will allow me to feed my dog organic dog food laced with pumpkin, and ideally be enough money for my partner to stay home with our animals and cook us an elaborate dinner every night. And, if we decide to do the foster kid thing, stay home with them.

B). Go back to teaching little kiddies.

C). Get paid for writing fanfic. Marry Obi-Wan Kenobi. The young version.