The Shadow Knows

Happy Groundhog Day! Today we celebrate the fact that TV meteorologists are so bad at making extended weather forecasts that we prefer to rely on the prognostications of a small woodland creature, Punxsutawney Phil. But today we also celebrate Job Shadow Day, a day when high school and middle school students venture into corporate America's workplaces to shadow hard-working professionals at their workstations. These youngsters get the unique opportunity to observe the species robotus corporatus in its natural habitat -- sitting for hours in front of computers, talking on the telephone, bickering over who's going to win the Super Bowl, gossiping about celebrities and the big boss, flinging poo and, occasionally, engaging in stimulating conversations about the future of their company. Yes, for one day out of the year, the office is turned upside down to allow worker bees to spread their seeds of knowledge to unsuspecting, optimistic youths who one day dream of graduating from college and working in a 3-by-5 cubicle with padded walls. For one day, these kids' dreams come true. Then they go back into their groundhog hole of ignorance and wait for a job forecast that calls for a warm and friendly career climate for them for the next 50 years. As for the workers, they get their small moment out of the groundhog hole to share their own forecast, only to bury their heads for the next 364 routine days. Days where they wake at 6 a.m. daily knowing the man has got them, babe. [Job Shadow Day]

What's Your Dream Job?

Is there such a thing as a dream job? When we were kids we dreamed about playing centerfield for a Major League Baseball team, skating to Olympic gold, flying to the moon, being a supermodel, quarterbacking the winning drive in the Super Bowl, rockin' in the free world, winning an Oscar, saving the rainforests or instilling world peace. Delusions of grandeur aside, some have discovered their dream job. Maybe not as a pro athlete, an astronaut, an entertainer or a world leader, but in a role that many do dream about, in a role some are jealous of and others place on a pedestal of perfection. No, we're not talking about online magazine editor positions (but we know some of you are salivating to be in our shoes). How about a restaurant critic (free food, fine dining, power); a winery owner (free drinks, grape stomping, prestige); or fashion merchandiser (free clothes, trendsetting, status). CeeBee chats with three folks in these roles to offer an awaking dose of reality about these mcdreamy jobs. [CeeBee]