Zap those Jedi Clones or whatever they are!

I have a fun story to tell... but I can't reveal too much since it could give away Christmas secrets! Today I used a "personal shopper" for the first time in my life. And the hilarious thing is my shopper turned out to be an 18 yr. old boy. Now before you blanch and wonder if I've lost my mind, hear the whole tale.

It began on Sunday with a call from Kate, asking me to be on the lookout for a particular toy for a particular grandson. Apparently, this toy has been unavailable in Michigan and Kate asked me to look for it here. I agreed to keep my eye out for it... no problem. Well, a small problem, I haven't done too much shopping myself yet, and I was not sure how soon I'd get to looking for the much sought item. From the title of the blog entry you can guess what movie it's associated with... and I'll only need to add one more word... Legos

8am today - So today as I greeted my students, it suddenly dawned on my that I had daily access to 105 kids who LIVE to shop! They love it and do it constantly. So I put out an "all points bulletin" - I said there was a $10 "finders fee" for the person who found this toy, called me to confirm I still needed it, and grabbed it before it got away. Several kids wrote down the item, and I went on with my day thinking I had a slightly better shot at locating the item than before.

3 pm: the day ended and in walked my personal shopper...an 18 yr. old guy from one of my early a.m. classes. And he HAD THE GOODS! Turns out, this guy has "early dismissal" so he gets out of school before I do each day. He hopped in his car, scooted over to Toys R. Us near our local mall, and was back with the much sought toy before my day ended! I happily wrote him a check for the purchase plus his fee and felt pretty proud of myself! Mission accomplished!

So here's the idea... teenagers out there, tune in! You could become "personal shoppers" too! Find out what people need and go get it for a fee! What a gig! Combine your love of shopping with my lack of time to do it - it's a win-win situation all the way around!

Hmmmmm.... now I wonder if I could find a "personal Wrapper"?