Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Evaluator Times Two

One of the hardest things about my independent contractor job is the lack of day-to-day interaction with other people that do the same thing.  Several months ago I joined an online forum devoted to the field.  It's nice to be able to 'discuss' things with other people, and I've learned valuable information from the posters, but typing on a keyboard isn't the same as talking with someone in person.  Shortly after I joined the forum I found out that there's another member who lives not too far from my house.  In the past few months we've exchanged private messages several times, and finally we set a time to meet for coffee.

Yesterday afternoon I entered a local Starbucks for our meeting.  As I waited at the counter to pick up my coffee, I realized I had no idea what the woman looked like.  Fortunately, I saw someone who looked just as lost as me.  I said her name, she said mine, and just like that we were connected.

The woman is about my age, and has been doing the job on a full time basis for almost eight years.  She's a real professional.  Compared to me, she's taken things to a whole new level. However, I was surprised to learn that I've done a couple of jobs that she's never tried.   At the end of our chat I realized I'd had a lot of fun and got some good tips that I can use going forward.  Now when I see her screen name on the forum I'll be able to put a face to it.

13 comments:

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    1. Yep. One of the things I've learned is that some companies try to play the system and discover shopper identities by searching the internet with that key word; I decided to refer to what I do by alternate means :-)

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    2. I see. I thought you were into construction now. haha.

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  2. This reminds me of the pleasure I've gotten out of meeting blog pals in real life. It is wonderful to put a face to a name and share tips!

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    1. I'd have to agree (although I haven't been lucky enough to meet many of my blogging friends yet).

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  3. I wondered what job you were talking about! Great to meet someone else in the field.

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    1. I guess maybe I was a little TOO vague?!? However,I knew I had smart readers that could figure it out.

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  4. It's an interesting job, and good to meet a fellow "evaluator."

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  5. I did that for awhile when we lived in Tampa and again in Minnesota. I liked it, especially restaurants. Free food, some really good food.

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    1. Yes, the food shops are nice (especially the upscale ones), but I also like the ones which reimburse me for something I would have bought for myself anyway.

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  6. Remember when meeting friends from online was so risky? Glad it isn't that way so much anymore. And I too thought you were in construction!

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    1. Eli, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

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