Olivia celebrates again, in Tibet
Thursday 21st August, 2008 - £8,078.83 in debt…
If you’re a reader of my blog (and, let’s face it, you are), I know that you’ll have followed my progress studiously and will remember every single post with dewy-eyed fondness. So you’ll recall that, at the end of June, I featured a text service that I’d applied for a home-based job with. No - not that one. This one.
My focus was on Texperts - a service that promises to answer any question, using home-based researchers who search a dedicated database and the internet to find the answers. It seemed like a great way to make extra money in the evenings and weekends when I’m not busy with other stuff.
The application process was online - I completed it, passed it (eventually) and now I await my call-up. What I didn’t tell you, my esteemed reader, was that I also applied for a job with AQA a few days later.
AQA (Any Question Answered) is the same kind of service, run by IssueBits. The application consists of an emailed set of ten questions you must answer within a given timeframe. Some are fairly easy, some are a bit more creative, and some are rock hard (my worst was a quandary of probability and logic that took me 22 hours to answer. Don’t tell AQA).
Four days after I sent the application form back, I received a rejection email telling me to try again in six months’ time. “Ah well - better luck next time” I thought, while choking back bitter tears of disappointment and grief.
But what should ping into my inbox yesterday? An email from AQA: “I hope that you received the AQA offer email, FAQ document and contract. As I have not heard back from you yet, I can only assume that you are no longer interested in the position. However, if this is not the case then please get in touch.”
Quick as a gazelle, I emailed back to say that I thought I’d been rejected. I’ve had no explanation of what happened, but AQA has sent me a new acceptance email and a contract! I’ve signed and posted it back, and should receive a welcome pack and some training over the next couple of weeks!
So, I’ve started planning a holiday, got a £25 refund I didn’t know I was entitled to, and lined up a third job. I think this is what they call a good week.
”What am i doing in the desert?”
Thursday 26th June, 2008 - £8,920.19 in debt…
What was the first CD ever pressed in the US?
What is the national sport of Japan?
How do oscillators work?
Why iz tht cow ignorin me is it coz I waz chattin to her boyf coz thats rly paffetik like!?!!11 Lolz.
Just a few of the questions you’re likely to be asked if you sign up to be a Texpert.
Texperts is a service that offers an answer to any question. As the name suggests, it’s a text-based service: the customer texts their question, and an operator at the other end researches an answer and sends it back.
It’s a simple enough idea (also exercised by AQA - Any Question Answered), so I thought I’d apply.
The job is home-based: you can log into the system whenever you like, answer some questions on your computer (you don’t have to text from your phone), and hey presto – a bit of extra cash comes rolling in. It will take a while to build up some speed and get used to researching quickly, but some people do this as a full-time job so I guess it’s what you make of it.
The application process is on the website, in the form of a deceptively idiotic-looking “quiz” called The Tex-Factor. In truth, it was harder than my Maths A-level and took twice as long.
You can go back to the beginning and re-take the test as many times as you like, so there’s a good chance you’ll get through eventually even if you’re Wayne Rooney and all four members of Westlife are trying to “help”.
Unfortunately, after I passed the test, I was told via email that Texperts don’t currently have vacancies. I might have to wait months for my chance - which, I can only assume, will happen when a current Texpert suffers a heart attack and dies after receiving a particularly explicit text. Or when demand soars unexpectedly.
Never mind though – I now await my dramatic call-up notification, perched firmly on the edge of my seat. Now, how can I make demand for Texperts soar? £1 per text, you say…?
And the answers are:
1) Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA
2) Sumo wrestling
3) Look here
4) If I understand your question correctly, the answer is Angela Rippon.
