Odd Jobs

I’ve picked up a few odd jobs lately.

The first was after I read an article in the Globe about Spare 5, an app that pays you for completing short tasks on your iPhone. The tasks involve tagging photos, and they pay you weekly to your Paypal account as long as you have earned at least $1. My first assigned task was to tag pop culture photos. My initial thought was “Uh oh.” I only know Beyoncé and Jay Z. But basically all I had to do was identify if the model was wearing a bikini or a formal dress. I can handle that. I earned $.80.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been assigned a task since then. (Either I did a horrible job, or lots of other people saw the article and have taken all the tasks.)

The second odd job was editing some material that my brother-in-law was putting together. Now, a few years ago, I had him review my résumé, and I remember him commenting that he could’t understand a word of it. (Information security for a federally funded research and development center in support of DoD customers – How much more straightforward can  you get?) Well, I understood where he was coming from when I started reading the jargon in his material. There is no way a disruptive business model can possibly be a selling point. Of course, not knowing what he was talking about didn’t stop me from flying through that document with my red pen.

The third odd job was coming up with a web site for my brother. Now, it’s a hunting web site, so don’t go there if you are squeamish about hunting. Particularly the “Successful Hunts” page. If you do take a look, you will notice that I’m having a little trouble getting a few remaining bits of information from him.

My current odd job is helping the same brother get his condo ready to sell. I want to paint the walls and woodwork, install new flooring and tile, remodel the laundry closet, and rip out the kitchen and bathrooms. He wants to have the carpets cleaned. I have a feeling I will push him to the point where he yells at me, and then I will yell back at him. But we will get over it. We have in the past.

My brother’s realtor will be serving as arbiter, and he has suggested that I can help by staging the property.

This is an example of the decor I have to work with:

So far, I have earned $.80. Pending.