I'm an Astronaut. What do you do?

When I was younger, my family spent our summers up north camping on Gull Lake, in Bemidji, MN.  One of my favorite things to do was take a walk down to the dock at night time and study the stars.  Being that we were in the country, the night sky would be so vibrant and brightly lit by all the stars in the sky.  My father would bring his binoculars so we could take a close look at the constellations.  I loved laying on the dock and getting lost in the stars.  The sky was so massive and the stars so abundant.  To this day, the thought that everything has been there for thousands of years makes my problems seem so minuscule, so irrelevant.  I always like to envision the moon as God's peephole where he looks down and watches over us.

As I grow older, my passion for Astronomy continues to grow.  I find myself wanting to learn more about our universe, the stars, the planets, the black hole...  It is all so fascinating to me.  Just last week, I was at a party and I was introduced to a guy.  As we were making small talk, he asked me what I did for a living and I told him.  I then asked him what his profession was. I was expecting to hear the usual, "Marketing Manager" or "Financial Analyst" or "Account Executive."  However, he answered by saying he works for NASA.  I started laughing. It wasn't because I was making fun of his profession.  I was just not expecting to hear that. I mean, how often do you meet someone who works for NASA?  He is an Engineer and recently created a piece of equipment currently being used by the space shuttle Discovery.  "Umm...yeah, and I write country songs..."

It started to make me think... What other interesting careers are out there that would be fun to have...

SCENARIO: You are at a dinner party and someone engages in friendly conversation with you. How often do you run into the following:

-"Pleased to meet you. I am an Astronaut." 

-"Ahoy!  I'm a ship-master. Where's the spinach?"

-"Nice to meet you. I'm an underwater Archeologist. I study shipwrecks and other submerged archaeological sites such as water-buried cities."
-"Fancy meeting you. I'm a circus acrobat."
- "Why yes! Yes, I am a bike rider-photographer for Google Maps."

In 2011,  I should add Cape Canaveral to my list of places to visit...oh, and I suppose expanding my social circle just a bit wouldn't hurt either :)