.... WHAT?!
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1) Please read this if you want to take care of my child (Chicago)
I am writing in regards to the few posts I have created regarding childcare for my daughter. I have gotten four general types of replies, and I would really like to say something to each of you. Please choose which of the following groups you belong to, and read my message.
The Very Unintelligent:
I can only assume that you are stupid because you have horrific grammar and punctuation. I can understand a typo from time to time, and even make them myself. However, those of you who respond with “i rally like kidz n u can feel cumfterble leeving ur child wit me,” PLEASE don’t contact me. You are applying to take care of my child. Would you apply for a 9 to 5 job like that? Ha ve the common sense to act professionally and do not write like you are writing a text message to your buddy. Also, please spell check. Do you really think I want my child to learn to talk and write like you?
The Scammers:
I know you probably will not read this, and instead you will reply to my post with another scam. However, nobody is falling for it. I am sure everyone but the above mentioned people would see right through your scam to have me take care of your child from oversees. (Did you notice I was the one seeking childcare?) I am sure you would definitely reimburse me for the money I wire you while you are on “holiday” in another country. (Did you realize we do not use that term in the United States, even though you swear you are from Chicago?) On the other hand, I would really prefer you lend me money.
Creepy Men:
I am sorry, but I will not trust you alone with my 5 year old. No offense, but I do not see why you would even consider child care as a career option. After all, you are a single man with no family and your education is in computers/marketing/finance. Now if you were a stay-at-home dad or a retired teacher I might consider it. But I do not see why a single man with no experience with children would want to take care of my young child. It makes the mind wander to places you don’t want me to think about. I understand that the economy is bad and times are hard, but you will probably have more luck in a different field. (You would probably make more money too.)
The Great People:
Thank you so much for wanting to take care of my child. I know childcare is not easy. I know you must have patience and a great heart. That’s why I will email or call you back if you are close by and reasonably priced. After I shop around and check out many different options, I may even choose you. After all, I will be leaving my favorite person in the world with you, and I want nothing but the best.
Sincerely, A Working Mom
Original URL: http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/kid/1314478619.html
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34 comments:
My heart breaks for the one begging for friends.... :(. I know it is totally weird, but if it was legit, I hope SOMEBODY showed up!
The "fool" time teacher one--- HILLARIOUS! I have some ocean front property in AZ.. anyone intersted? Perhaps a son or doter? LOL
#1 is awesome and hilarious
#8 I can totally understand. it really sucks when you've planned out this great party for your kid, and for whatever reason, you can't seem to get any kids to come. I'm not sure I would go on CL to find kids, but I wouldn't be opposed to inviting people I barely knew if it would make my child happy.
#11 was a little weird, but maybe it's a service that is needed so whatever, but sometimes married couples/ single women need that same service so why target single men only?
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1 Wow I so love it, though did she deliberately misspell have?
2 I think she is glad she was late now.
3 Uh, huh, graduate high school?
4 Experienced at finding druggies though I do understand about the no single mean thing with 4 daughters and one of them 14.
5 This is a teacher?? Her edjumatcation needs some rewerking. Misspellings deliberate.
6 Meh, cheap better hire the druggie sniffing lady to make sure no one you get is a druggie.
7 I! I! I! Does anyone know it is ALWAYS a capital I! when you are saying I! Not just when it is the first word in a sentence.
Well nothing besides your kid(s) to steal that’s a plus.
8 Wow, good luck mom and hope it works out for you.
9 Look use “I” not “I”. So if I am a really good lover you will pay me 160/monthly?
10 This one at least can use the “I” properly.
11 WOW! I like her.
12 “We sounds” like good company and cheap indeed. Good luck and no tanks needed, they tend to ruin the roads you know.
13 Wow
14 A well written advertisement obviously by people who either hired a writer or know their stuff. Though I am very much “curious” about why their most recent Nanny can no longer work in NYC.
15 Ohh! $2.00 an hour job I want that. Not! The Masters will give me laundry privileges.
16 Nope, I can earn more at McDonalds for less work.
17 Guess the number I am thinking: Minimum wage, is ……..
18 Does someone want and Au-pair without going through the Au Pair agencies?
19 Again nothing to steal. Ok, Cynical and possibly not necessarily true: BTW can you buy me furniture with your social security?
20 Good luck.
21 Good luck. Possibly negotiate for later payment if you cannot afford to pay then? I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a burger today.
22 Good luck, with this economy who knows.
23 Well, written she knows how to use the “I” word. A little light on the compensation though.
24 Good luck, with this economy who knows.
25 Run! Forest Gump! RUN!
26 You had me at hello. Then I saw the price, goodbye. Maybe a college student?
27 Good luck!
28 “I” “I” It is “I”! Good luck!
29 Clap! Clap! Clap! Oops, did I just give someone the clap?
Joy,
Maybe she feels she will get a better paying deal from single men then single women. We do tend to have a higher earnings average. From what I have seen browsing job sites not many Nannies want to work for single men. Possibly because of the whole alone with a man problem. Though enough of us have given ourselves a reputation as dogs. Maybe she feels that if she can get past the request for "favors" bit, she will not get nit picked by men as much as by female bosses. We can tend to be laid back. Yes there are always exceptions to every rule.
Yeah, I loved #1 myself. And #3 has got to be the longest run-on sentence I have ever seen!
And to Curious Dad:
#11- I know you like her, honey... but she clearly states she ain't gonna give you none! ;)
Oh, and for those that might not catch it, the reason for #14:
"If you’re interested, please send detailed note about why this position appeals to you, any similar positions you’ve held, and why you’re an ideal candidate for these needs. Also include any details about how you’d be spending your mornings/early afternoons before arriving for work at our apartment."
What business is it of hers what I do before and after work? She's got a lot of nerve!
I personally did not see the humor in number one. The person who wrote it sounds like someone trying to be funny but they are just not.
I think number one has too much time on her hands.
I personally don't think there is anything wrong with #14. In fact, if I lived in NYC, I'd apply for it. MPP, I teach 7th grade and they pick stuff up left and right (mainly all the things they SHOULDN'T know). If it were me, I'd want to generally know what my sitter did when she wasn't with my children and I don't/ wouldn't have a problem answering the question when/if asked. I don't think it's inappropriate to want to know what my child could be exposed to. Now, you may be very good at keeping your two lives very seperate, but it seems (from their ad, at least) that they keep their sitter/ nanny for a long time (avg. of 4 years) and I think that it would become increasingly difficult to keep your two lives seperate over that period of time. I'm not doing a very good job of explaining it, but overall, I don't think it's inappropriate. Curious Dad- I read the "can no longer work in NYC" as "she moved away," not "got deported" or something similar.
I'm also upset that I didn't see the ad for the toddler's birthday. I live in New Haven County and my kids would have loved to have gone and I would have been more than happy to spend an afternoon making a child's birthday a little brighter.
I did feel bad for the "How Much" who only made $9.25/ hour, but there are state funds to help pay for childcare (Around here it's Care4Kids). It's usually not much, but it's enough to put them in a decent daycare center. It can be a tedious amount of paperwork, which is why I think we see so many people looking for a "nanny" for $2 an hour.
A parent may ask all they want what I am doing before/after work. It's none of their business, but if it will get me the job, then I will lie and tell them I was doing something cultural, or perhaps some charity work. Jeez.
Question from a Reader:
[03:41] meeboguest575099: Do you think being paid $11 cash per hour is enough to take care of two year old twin boys?
Major city-Babysitter
I have the feeling #1 was a rant due too her receiving many e-mails that were just a waste of her time.
#14; I think they are trying to sniff out those with extra curricular activities that they may not approve of. Like going too acting classes, or second jobs, or maybe someone dumb enough to hang out at Bars or maybe someone who is going to be hooking. Got to watch those hookers, you turn around and next thing you know there is an afghan on your couch and a sweater on your kid.
Teacher in a Combat zone; I thought of just moving away as one of the reasons, but how the sentence read just left so much opened to interpretation it made me curious as to why they would choose just those words.
“[03:41] meeboguest575099: Do you think being paid $11 cash per hour is enough to take care of two year old twin boys?
Major city-Babysitter”
If this question is from an employer:
Absolutely, sure. But remember the adage, you get what you pay for.
If this question is from an sitter:
How long are you sitting them? Will you have to do anything more then just watch the kids? Are you expected to clean up after them? Not asking whether you will have to change diapers, but they will make a mess of wherever you are sitting them and will you be responsible for cleaning the mess? I think there is a difference between watching the kids for 4-6 hours while Mommy and Daddy have a date night and having to watch the kids, cook meals, clean up, do light laundry. Etc..
lol @ "just my opinion."
good one! :) "Oh, I help homeless kids in a shelter and I also write poetry." lmao! :)
Minute Muggle
Now your talkin'! You got me beat. I'm just a no-gooder compared to you, darlin'!
For the meeboguest question:
Is this a nanny or a babysitter? For an occasional babysitter, sure, $11 would be fine, for a nanny, I don't think so unless there are other perks that make it worth it. Like curiousdad said, depends if it's a nanny or a parent asking, but in the end you get what you pay for.
CuriousDad, you seem like a nice guy, and your comments are often amusing. However, I don't think you should be criticizing other people's spelling and grammar. Methinks the pot is calling the kettle black...
Emily said...
I apologize if my post rubbed you wrong. You are correct my spelling and grammar are far from perfect. I am sure any English Teacher worth their salt can rip apart my postings with ease. However, it is one thing to have a few gaffs and typo’s, I expect that of myself and others. It is another to constantly make the same simple 2nd grade mistake. Capitalization is learned at the 2nd grade level, I was only complaining about the use of “I”. A few seconds of care in writing and the use of spell check would fix the problem I complained about. In my case when I was writing about the capitalization of “I” I had a gaff and used “I” instead of “i”, saw it right after I clicked publish. Of course once you hit publish you cannot go back and edit. But a mistake of using “i” once or even twice, I can understand, but to use it constantly when writing a business related posting that shows a lack of caring about how you look to others. I seriously doubt anyone who can type full sentences on a computer and post on Craig’s list, has not at least passed 2nd and 3rd grade. If anything to me it shows laziness and a serious lack of care on the part of the poster. If it was a resume or a professional e-mail or memo I was reading I would NOT give that person any real consideration. They obviously do not care about the subject and/or me to check their grammar and spelling to at least a small degree.
When I was working retail I saw managers taking resumes looking at the first page and immediately circular filing them, not even putting them in their filing cabinets for perusal later. As far as they were concerned if you were not diligent enough to write a decent resume with a minimum of spelling mistakes. They really did not want you working for them. As explained to me by one manger, if they cannot write a decent resume, how am I suppose to expect them to read, understand and follow written instructions. Now that I find myself in the same position, the people who work under me have to have a certain level of qualifications, someone who writes as those I complained about will NOT get an interview. Why should I hire a perfectly good person for a particular job when it makes my job that much harder to read what when they write to me, either physical reports or E-mails? I am sure I can find another perfectly good candidate for the job who will be able to read and write adequately.
Now as far as the other misspellings I talked about. I was not complaining of them, though I did make fun of one or two.
On why I wrote what I wrote:
#1 I was wondering if her use of “ha ve” was deliberate. It was a very well written post and she was complaining about those who she considered unintelligent by the way they write their e-mails in the section she used "ha ve". Obviously I am not the only one who would wish others would proof read and write a bit better.
#3 I did not rant about the lack of I capitalization, as this was the first post I ran into this series with the “i”s not capitalizaed that I saw. I thought my poor joke was enough.
#4 Hey a typo for me. Mea Culpa, I thought she had a good posting.
#5 My misspellings were deliberate in this comment. Hence, why I wrote “misspellings deliberate. Please, a Teacher who did not proofread what they wrote prior to posting? And the second person I read who used “i” instead of “I”, though they at least used “I” some of the time. Which made it worse in my mind since they obviously knew better.
#7,9 (with a piss poor joke by me added in and I did not use “i” where I should have, my gaff) and #28. After I ran into the first no capitalization of “i” #3 and then started reading through and ran into all of them. Then I wrote my post as a semi rant on the usage of the word I.
Curious Dad
Did you honestly think you owed Emily that detailed of an explanation? I thought what you wrote was hilarious.
Emily
You are too uptight, you should get laid. It will help to relax you, trust me.
CuriousDad,
Don't worry about Emily. I really enjoyed your analysis of the WTF's this week. Keep it up!
i my nt ow any 1 anytin bt i thot showin wer i waz comin frm nd one why i writ wht i writ wud shad som lit on wher i waz comin frm.
Now how painful was that to read?
Grrrr! VERY painful! lmao
That was excruciating!
#5 And what pray tell is "fool time?" The time you leave your children with a fool?
#7 You can watch TV, but you'll probably have to sit on the floor.
#8 Some parents now days are horrible about responding to an RSVP. Every time we have a party, we have to call the ones who haven't responded, and they are coming but either they forgot to call, or they think you only have to respond if you aren't coming. I hope some of her classmates do show up, but why didn't she follow up with calls!
Curious Dad,
I'm SO with you on the resume thing. It's apalling what some people think is acceptable. I noticed that at least one of the posts you commented on had no capitalization at all. I first noticed this lovely phenomenon when IMing with people - there seemed to be some sort of push back against capitalization, like it was cool or something. Thing is, in my work as the assistant to a high-level executive, I spend all day communicating through writing; I can't afford to change my typing style, or risk looking like one of those dumb job applicants. Instead, I look like I'm a very uncool employed person.
I also find that nearly anytime I criticize someone's spelling or grammar, instant carma steps back and slaps me in the face just like it did to you. I guess I'm just note ever really allowed to be critical...
"note ever allowed to be critical.
SEE WHAT I MEAN?? ;-)
Jacksmom,
I consider it nothing, to have a few mistakes in any writing. That can be brushed off, especially since spell check will not catch a word you spelled right, but used incorrectly. But when it is an entire post worth of constant mistakes, where every sentence is an abortion upon English. That just grates on the nerves and to me shows a lack of care, for those who have to read what you write. I may joke about a gaff someone has written or even one I have pulled. I try and reserve my criticism for those who obviously have no desire or care, for those who must read what they write.
I spend allot of time in chat rooms and get into bad habits myself spelling "the" as "hte", "now" as "nwo" etc.. Do to the quickness of typing and the very short sentences you need in chat rooms. I do not find it appalling then, or even on quick notes to selves or friends. But when it is a business post either soliciting work or posting a job opportunity. Then I think you need to step up your writing to a more professional level.
If some think I am bad, you should see my wife cringe over sentences, especially mine. :) She has an Bachelors in English Literature.
Curious Dad and JacksMom-
Sadly, what adults see as "acceptable writing" is nothing compared to what today's "technology-driven" youth think is acceptable. I once got an entire "essay," that, sadly, answered all three questions using no more than ten actual words (and no "y" is not an acceptable substitute for "why"). I cringe for the Language Arts teachers in my building (I teach math) that have to read this day after day.
It is also pure TORTURE for them to actually have to write anything by hand, no matter what it is. IT is also becoming a rampant problem in schools because the problem is so wide-spread. Few of them know anything about grammar and even less of them care. If anyone has any ideas on how to help cure this problem, I'm open to suggestions. :)
Bring typewriters back and make typing a required course. You can even use the computer for this instead of a typewriter. I learned more from that class on writing a proper paper, then any English class I was EVER in, past sixth grade. Especially since you have to type with little to no spelling mistakes and as much as possible in as short of a time as possible. You also were constantly practicing how to write a proper paper in a classroom instead of at home. Where the teacher had direct and immediate input on how well you were doing and could correct you immediately.
karma. it's karma.
Re: TeacherinaCombatZone
"(If anyone has any ideas on how to help cure this problem, I'm open to suggestions.)"
PARENTS WHO CARE...Find a parent who cares about their child's education and most of the time you will find a child who cares.
When I was a senior in high school, my counselor forced me to use one of my free periods as a "keyboarding" class, in exchange for my wanting two music classes at once. I was so pissed off at the time, but hey, it was an easy A. Ten years later, I'm really happy I made that deal. I'm a pretty decent typist, and yeah, you have to learn proper spelling, since you're marked off for any mistake. The 17-year-old me would be angry at what I'm saying, but I totally agree with Curious Dad. Make it a requirement!
Also, I remember ALL my classes taking away one percentage point for every typo. Harsh, yes, but because of it, I became extremely careful.
I was just discussing the writing problems of today's kids with my DadBoss... his triplets are only 6 months, but he was asking me what I thought of "text-speak" andif I thought it affected kids spelling and writing skills. Well, of course it does! If I see one more teeny-bopper spell enough "enuff", I think I might scream...
# 1 also spelled overseas wrong!
and to the Mom who sent out invitations at her daughter's preschool and no one has RSVP'd- that is just plain rude!
http://newhaven.craigslist.org/bab/1325157566.html
Awww... the no-RSVPs birthday party mom posted an update:
"Wow! I didn't have time to go online today (busy with that birthday partyt!)... Anyway, I am in AWE over the kindness of strangers! MANY of you emailed me very kind notes and I appreciate it - it confirms my faith in humankind! I missed many more offers to come this morning - and I really thank you all. Here's what happened. 2 single dads RSVP between 9 and 930 last night to confirm. One sent his nanny and included her kids too. So that was like 5 kids. Another 2 called this morning and showed up. And yes, a CL mom came with her 2 kids! How cool and trusting is that! Another called me at 930 this morning to say she was coming and broinging a nephew to boot! Then didn't come! lol! It was perfect after all! I guess people don't realize how hard for moms to plan (if it's out of the home) or how sad for the child if nobody shows. My big take-away from all this is how kind you all are out there in CL land! Thank you and if I can ever reciprocate.....Branford Mom
"FOOL" time! Ha. Love it. And she's a teacher? Yeah, right.
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