Extra ways to fund the fun

research studies 
i'm being careful not to be enrolled in more than 1 study at a time and have been honest with the researchers about other studies i'm doing. this is important and may have impacts on the quality of their research if you're not up front with them. while i do enjoy the extra cash i'm earning while using vacation time for (sadly) non-vacations, i'm a public health person and see the value in clinical research.

June/July2010

1. gave some blood and mailed my poo to the lab --$100
2. brain stimulation and MRI including a free picture of my brain -- $100
3. transvaginal ultrasound including images -- $100

Sept 2010 -- turning out to be a good month for studies!

1. just signed up for a study on soft drinks --2 6-hour visits where i think i'll be drinking some tasty beverage full of the preservatives used in soda, give some blood, and make $250 for the 2 visits. who's excited now?! 10/28/10 update: i went in for the appointment and it turns out i was just under the weight/height cut off. this is actually a good thing i suppose, but i was still hoping for the cash. at least i did score $10 in cafeteria food!! liana pointed out that i'm now excited to get free food from craigslist gigs -- i do realize that this is in fact a little sad and depressing
2. giving blood for a study and get $25 cash
3. thinking about doing a study where i get one dose of a hormone and hang out in the hospital all day --$400, so i may do it. how bad can 1 dose be? 
4. doing a nerve study soon where they stimulate a nerve in your leg - $100
5. really cool study where i get a bone density scan, and full body MRI - not much more interesting than that. - $100  they already met the quota and i'm now on the wait list for this one.
6. going to take an antidepressant (i think a low dose. or maybe i hope a low dose, need to read more about it) for 2 weeks - $150
7. hoping to get into an alcohol study - no details yet, but they are posted on craigslist all the time and i'm interested.. update 9/23/10 -- i'm in!! i will be testing out some new breathalyzer tests after 4 screw drivers for $200

Oct 2010 -- i've gone crazy and can't keep up...

1. i completed #4 above and am awaiting the $100 for the nerve study. they couldn't actually find the nerve, but i still finished the study and they did other measurements which are useful to their research
2. i passed the screening study for #7 above after a long interview about my mental health! ready to schedule the drinking part of the study soon
3. 10/16/10 -going in for the anti-depressant study (#6 above) to get my pills this week!

 Nov 2010 --

1. completed the alcohol study and it was a good time --  got to spend the day watching season 1 of cougar town and watching my blood alcohol level go up and down after 4 vodka drinks at 9am.
2. completed the anti-depressant study without any issues
3. waiting to hear back on a 2nd nerve study (similar to the #4 from the sept list)
4. 11/18/2010 - bummed out. the hormone study needed to be postponed due to scheduling issues. i guess that $400 won't come until Dec or Jan, oh well, at least i know it'll still happen 
 

Dec 2010 --

1. 12/6/2010 - heard back from the hormone study and it will happen after the holidays! 

focus groups

great ways to spend 1-2 hrs discussing a product, eating snacks, and walking away with cash!

           

1.  9/14/10 - denied for a focus group on cereal. damn!
2.  spoke too soon - just got a call from focus on boston and going to waltham next week for a focus group on eye care-  $150 for 2hrs - whoo hoo!
3. going to sit on a mock jury for $275 with bernett research
4. 11/9/10 - ok - things are moving forward--$100 for a 2 hr focus group at new england opinion (somewhere in rhode island i think...) on cold meds and where i buy them
5. 11/9/10 - signed up for another group somewhere downtown on rental cars --$100 for 2 hrs
6.  11/18/10 - last minute call for a 1 hr usability study for the fidelity website. expect to receive $100 within a few weeks for this
7. 12/3/10 - just got into another usability study for next Thurs! $100 for 1.5 hrs of testing a website!

other gigs & random jobs
 

9/10/10 - i've emailed a few catering companies for shifts, nothing yet.

9/14/10 update --emailed about and hope to serve at a private party in a few weeks, they are paying $140 per person and they need 2 people. hopefully i can convince liana to be my server buddy. we did have a blast the last time i dragged her with me to a craigslist even when we dressed up as the phantom gourmet at the food phest a few yrs ago. --DENIED

9/21/10 - going to the museum of science tomorrow to interview for an on-call catering position. this would be extra cool since I'm in wedding-mode and i'll to 'go to' several receptions and see the do's and don'ts. i created a for-real server resume tonight, so i should be good. (also trying to talk liana into doing this with me) -- they liked me, they really liked me. not sure when i get to start, but i think it's a go.

10/15/10 - still waiting to hear back. they did a background check and called a few references.....

10/29/10 -- i heard back and the next training date is actually the same day as the alcohol study (#7 above) and i need to wait for the next training date. ugh - too many things going on right now.

11/12/10 - found a posting on craigslist for a 'GIS location analyst' position and i'm meeting with someone from locately next week to see if this part time job (6 month contract) doing some map data validations is a good fit or not...10-15 hrs / week at $10/hr doesn't seem too bad. besides, all of the work is done remotely and i can work in my pjs from the couch!
12/6/10 - the location analyst position worked out and i've been busy evenings and weekends looking at lots of maps!