Me, a ChaCha Guide?

For a footnote of this post...please see the bottom!

Well, now that I'm home, I'm giving a lot of thought to finding ways to enrich myself, and earn some money in the process. Last week, I thought I found one little solution to my little puzzle.

I was listening to National Public Radio (doesn't that make me sound "high-brow"), and heard a story about "ChaCha", and information service that applies the human touch to our insatiable quest for information. Perhaps you are in a situation where you cannot access the internet, but you have a burning question. How long is an elephant pregnant? Who won the 1991 World Series? What does the word "Blog" mean?

The answer is ChaCha. You simply text your question to: 242242 and within minutes, a human being reviews your question and supplies you with an accurate, and sometimes cheeky answer.

Cool, right?

The service is free. Super cool.

Wait, it gets better. They always need ChaCha "Guides". This is the human being that will obtain your answer for you. Natural curiosity, good writing skills, and an ability to troll the internet seem to be the main job qualifications. THIS is the job for me!!!

So, I filled out a simple application, and within 24 hours, I received a welcome e-mail, with directions to take a simple three part test that will cement my newfound ChaCha Information Gatherer status.

Yippee!
Part one: Answer 15 mulitple choice questions about the history of ChaCha. I was perfect! I'm pretty sure.

Part two: Typing. Okay, not my strongest, but I feel I was certainly adequate. I proofread my work, and not a single error.

Part three: General Knowledge. I was doing okay. There were fifteen questions. A couple of questions were challenging, such as:

If a customer asked this question: How do I get from EWR to Philly, how would you answer?
A. Give directions for Newark to Philadelphia
B. Ask for more specific information
C. Give street by street directions
D. I don't remember what the other one was.

Okay, I don't remember how I answered this for sure, but I think I said "A", but honestly, I wasn't sure what company policy was regarding more specific information.

So I click "NEXT" to go to the next page of questions. And it didn't load. I waited. And waited. and waited. So. Hmmm. I clicked NEXT again.

OOOPS.

The next thing I know, I'm directed to a page that says, your application has been rejected. And, "don't call us, we'll call you".Dang, I didn't get to answer a whole page of questions.

So...I figured, I'll just start from the beginning. I log in once more, and this message comes up:
"Your account has been suspended".

Ouch.

So I'm a Cha Cha reject. I wrote them a quick e-mail, but I guess they are really not interested. Can you believe that? Don't they know who they've turned down?

Oh well. Maybe the twenty cents per answer salary was beneath me anyhow.

Back to the ol' drawing board!


GUESS WHAT! I JUST GOT ANOTHER CHACHA E-MAIL! THEY WANT ME TO APPLY TO BE AN "EXPEDITER". I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS BETTER THAN A GUIDE OR BELOW A GUIDE, BUT THEY WANT ME TO TRY SOMETHING ELSE. HOW ABOUT THAT???

I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED!

Happy Birthday Daddy

I hope Daddy doesn't mind that I'm posting this, but it really touched me. My dad turned 80 on Thursday, and on the eve of his birthday, he sent this e-mail to his family.

He is an extraordinary man, loving, loyal, kind. Heart on his sleeve. Generous. Artistic. Sensitive. A little prickly on the outside, but mushy on the inside.

He is teaching me to savor every moment.

Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you!

I am sitting here unable to sleep It's 2:am and Thinking August 14th 1928 my birthday eighty years old, eighty years old and saying what most eighty year olds say "where the hell did all the years go" Thinking back I could still remember when Roosevelt got elected president Before that remember the day our family moved out of 2443 north Napa street in Philadelphia( parents lost our home during the Great Depression) and sitting in on the floor in the living room as the movers were taking out the furniture and our carpet were rolled up waiting to be put on the moving truck. I think I even remember lying in a little bassinet in our kitchen The woodwork in the kitchen was a pale green I might have been a year or a year and half old That is really looking back almost eighty years ago

I am sitting in front of the computer(it is now 2:30am) and in a little way feeling regretful about some of the things I could have done different But the best thing that happened to me is Joyce My wife My Poor suffering

wife Her family All My girls,Gregg & Joe

To my family to all of my family I love all of you

To my wife My poor suffering wife You are my life and my love, I Love you

Thank you for giving me a wonderful loving family

Aaron

What I did THIS summer. 2008 Edition

I'm home! I'm home! I'm home! How I love to cook, and do laundry, and pick up after people. Wow, how great it is not to have to work. Tee hee.

Any-whooooo....I quickly wanted to share our 2008 Video production that I worked on with my friend and supervisor, Jason (aka My Camp Husband)...we worked very hard, he is genius, and I'm so proud of the final product.

Enjoy! (It had to be broken down in two parts, so please scroll down after seeing part 1 to see the conclusion)

R and R and Counting

I'm home for my second set of "off" days. It has been an extraordinarily busy yet extremely exhilarating summer. We are currently working on our end of season Banquet, and this is my biggest project of the summer. I get to choose a theme, and then work that theme into every element of the banquet. Last year, we produced a movie short, based on Grease, and presented it to our campers. This year, with The Wizard of Oz as the theme, we are once again producing a little movie. To narrow a 2 hour movie into a 8 minute presentation, is a challenge, to say the least, but I'm confident that it will be a successful and memorable endeavor. The best part is the challenge. I love dipping into a project that I'm not exactly sure how to do. Eventually we figure it out, and then, I've learned something new.

I am learning something about myself as well. I NEED opportunities to learn and grow. And sometimes, at home, with the day to day STUFF, I just get caught up in a tangle of errands and chores. Of course, the number one priority is the well being of my children, and of course the health of my marriage. But after 15 years of this, I need to add these opportunities to my "to-do" list.

Every year, at the conclusion of camp, I come home, newly rejuvenated. This year, I'm pretty sure looking for a little job (one that I can do 10 months a year) is part of my plan. Eeeeek. I'm so scared. I'm mean I'M REALLY scared. Am I good enough, smart enough, experienced enough, valuable enough? I know the answer, but jumping in is TERRIFYING.

Any-whooooo...the girls are great. The hubby's great. The weather's hot. The days go quickly. I'll be home soooooo soon.

Hope your summer has been great!

xoxo