Sick and tired of your current life? Dream of somewhere nice and tropical and far from the Bay Area, because sometimes you just need to get away? Vacations to exotic locales are not really on many people's list of things to do this year--at least until the rapidly declining unemployment rate reverses itself. However, you're in luck. The Queensland tourism board in Australia is going to bring one lucky gal or guy to Hamilton Island (the central hub for the Great Barrier Reef) for an entire six months, to serve as the “island caretaker" as part of its "Best Job in the World" campaign. What does an island caretaker do, you may want to know? Well, for one, you get to live in a sweet, three-bedroom pad perched atop the Great Barrier Reef (it's truly spectacular, I saw it firsthand!) with a swimming-pool-sized hot tub and all fancy appliances (like Real World but for the sophisticated set), and you’ll be responsible for island-hopping and trying various activities, like snorkeling, diving, bushwalking and the like. Rough life, huh?

What do you have to do in return? Blog. That's it, pure and simple. And the board isn't even asking for a complex daily blog, just one post each a week summing up your activities Down Under.  And it gets even better…on top of having the world’s most desirable job and all your travel expenses covered, you can bring along your partner or family and will receive a “salary,” as well, (for food and other incidentals) of $150,000 AUS (about $112,500).  It’s all part of an inventive marketing scheme to boost Queensland exposure on a global scale. So get thy creative juices a flowin’ and make your 60-second application video before it’s too late. You can upload it directly to the website, islandreefjob.com, and 11 finalists will be flown out to interview (and see the sights!) in May. Feb. 22 is the deadline, but my mole informs me they’re capping entries at 30,000ish, so get a move on it before you miss out on the chance of a lifetime.