Each Day Already is a Challenge

Quite a morning

Did I ever share this? I am a member of quite a few online survey sites. Some pay in points. With one of those sites, I get a Target or K-Mart gift card every few months. Some pay real money - anywhere between $2 and $40, depending on how much time is involved. Usually interactive online surveys pay more - the $20-40 range. I'm also a member of an investment panel. They pay a $25 Amazon gift card each month that I participate "enough." (That's just logging on 3-4 times a month and doing a survey or participating in a brief discussion.)

I also am signed up with a bunch of local marketing research companies. I participate in the in-person panels any time I qualify and have the time (which is almost every time they ask ).

What's fun about the local panels is that they always recruit more people than they need for a panel, knowing that life happens. Some who have committed to attending just won't show up. But if everyone that they recruited DOES show up, they have too many for the panels and someone has to go home. What's so great about that? You still get paid as if you had participated.

I have had that happen a few times. Once, I was contacted about doing a 90 minute panel discussion for $75. It was raining and nasty that day and I really figured I'd have to participate that day, since some folks just wouldn't show up. Nope. Everyone they called showed up and three of us got to leave with $75 in our pockets for doing nothing.

Being part of a panel discussion or a one-on-one interview is fun. Our voices are heard. The newer cereals you see on the shelf with both kids' favorite goo (marshmallows) and parents' desires (whole grains) are the result of panel discussions and market research.

In one instance, I got to test out a brand new blender. What fun that was, and I have to admit I was impressed with its capabilities. You could just dump your entire recipe in the blender and press the button (as opposed to putting in one item and blending, then adding the next, etc.). Another time, I got to taste a new coffee being developed that has a smoother taste and less acid. It's on the grocery store shelves now.

Today was supposed to be a three-hour discussion about sleep habits for $150. We had "homework" to do beforehand. (Usually that means clipping magazine pictures about how you feel about something.)

If I have a choice of times, I usually prefer going at 10 or 11 a.m. or at 2 or 3 p.m. so I avoid rush hour traffic. (The panels and interviews are usually about 20+ miles away.) Today, the only time available was at 9:15 and they asked us to be at the hotel (nice hotel!) at 9 a.m.

I left my house at 8 a.m., figuring that would give me plenty of time to arrive on time. Normally it would have, but there was something happening on the Interstate. I figured there was an accident. While I was sitting in that Interstate parking lot , I called to let them know that I might be late. Perhaps others would be too. Fortunately, the day's coordinator was also stuck in traffic.

When I did arrive, I wasn't really late. I think I squeaked in at about 8:59 and 30 seconds. The coordinator was still putting her sign-in sheets on the table, so she must have arrived right before me.

In the meeting room where we gathered, there was quite a spread. Coffee, of course. Hot or cold tea. Bottled water. Orange or pineapple juice. There were huge bagels and cream cheese, big banana or blueberry muffins, and a yummy assortment of pastries.
A heaping plate of fresh fruits also greeted us: pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, orange and apple slices. Mmmmmm.

At exactly 9:15, the coordinator called out three names. Mine was among them. We met Judy in the hallway, and I said, "So, we've been rejected, huh?"

She smiled and explained that they always recruited more people than they needed. In this case, they had recruited five more than needed and only two didn't show up. But that meant they had three too many people. They had already assigned us to tables, so they randomly selected one name from each of the three tables with too many people. I was one of the lucky ones.

So today I earned $150 for driving across town, having a cup of coffee and a delicious banana muffin, talking with other women who have sleeping problems for 15 minutes while we waited, and holding an adorable six-month old baby.

Oh? You want to know about the baby?

Well... One of the women arrived with an adorable baby. The woman was probably about 36 years of age, white, and a personal trainer. Talk about toned. The baby was the most beautiful black baby I have ever seen. She was tiny. Her name was Aramani (is that how you spell the clothing?) and she loved her new Grandma Kenzie. Seriously. When she saw me, she made the cutest giggle sound and reached out her arms to me. Of course I had to hold her, even without a burp pad.

Teresa (that was the woman) and her partner (no, not husband - partner) are foster parents. Armani is the 8th child they have had in their home. (They also have three of their own adopted kids.) Since Armani just arrived in their home about three days ago - an emergency foster care situation - and she didn't have a sitter lined up, she brought her along. And I was blessed by that adorable child today.

It turns out that Teresa actually lives just down the road from me. She and her partner have not lived here long, but she was quite pleased with how accepting the neighborhood has been about their living arrangements. In fact, when the neighbors heard that they were getting a six month old baby, they donated a car seat, diapers and clothes.

Teresa was also one who was "rejected" so she and I stayed to chat for a few minutes after the selected folks had gone off to do their panel discussion, and the other reject had left. The foster mommy had to use the restroom, so Armani and I got to visit a bit more. She loved the hotel's huge waterfall.

When we started to part so we could each head on home, Armani made a the cutest little pouty-lipped face. Awww.

Will I ever see them again? Well, I might. I know where and what time they shop. Like the rest of our township, they end up at the Kroger store on Friday nights.