Worth Their Weight In Gold: Personal Assistants, Errand-Fairies and Tech Wizards

Taken to Task
917-318-8455
Being a commoner can be rough. Being forced to face the ignominy of standing in line at the post office, schlepping to the dry cleaners, waiting for the ConEd guy to show, programming TiVo or getting all of your Bluetooth gadgets synched. Really, it's amazing you ever find time to work. How about renting a personal assistant for a few hours? For a not-entirely-insane fee, the helpful folks at Taken to Task will see to it that your time does not go wasted taking you-know-who to the groomer or fetching ice cream from Gristedes. They'll assess your personal needs and do just about whatever it takes to make your life run that much smoother. Two-hour minimum, $35-$45 per hour. Gift certificates available.
From Daily Candy and Vanity Fair

MaxDelivery.com marks the return of one-hour delivery in Manhattan. MaxDelivery's one-hour delivery service is designed to help you with everyday shopping errands and give you back your precious time. Order groceries, drugstore items, household cleaning supplies with no delivery fee for deliveries over $50. MaxDelivery services most of lower Manhattan, below 23rd St. Order Minimum - only $10.
Exclusive MUG Offer: Get $20 FREE at MaxDelivery on any order of $40 or more.* Use code: MUG when signing up. Limited Time Offer. Good until July 15, 2005
juli b subscribers get $15 off first orders of $30 or more by entering "julib" at checkout.

Mitchell's Home Delivery Service is a family-run company that's been in business for over 50 years. They'll deliver any of over 22,000 local, national, and international publications. Along with your paper, you can get milk, water, soda, breads, bagels, and pet foods.
Call for pricing: 212.594.6397 (newspapers), 212.279.6455 (food).

Transferring VHS to DVD
Pac Lab
37 E. 1st between 1st/2nd Ave.
212.505.7797
For transferring Super 8 and 16mm to VHS or DVD (or VHS to DVD). They’ve been doing photo lab work for over 15 years, their prices are reasonable (and detailed on their site), and they’re nice, to boot.

If you want to work strictly by mail, Home Movie Depot in Missouri is the place and their website has good background information.


ripdigital
If you want to jump on the iPod bandwagon, but don't want to make converting your vast CD collection into a part-time job, outsource it. Ripdigital will convert your cd collection into a digital music library at about $1 per CD. Just place your order on-line at their site, box up your CDs and kiss those dusty (and space-grabbing) jewel cases goodbye forever.
GQ calls ripdigital "the greatest thing since paying someone to do your laundry" and we all know how I feel about that!
enter code julib for 10% off.


ECAD Consulting
917-517-8381
She kept trying to esc, but it was no use. She had lost all ctrl and needed alt assistance.
Who can help her shift into a different mode?
The wickedly smart, charming, and energetic techie boys at ECAD Consulting. Late night, early morning, and all day long, they're on call and ready to fix every glitch, problem, and blue screen of death. They restore lost data, revive dead hard drives, and perform computer miracles on a daily basis. Switching from PC to Mac? They'll even purchase and set it up. Ask for it; they'll do it.
In fact, once the fire is out, ECAD can optimize your digital devices and automate your pad in incredible ways. They can rig a system that will let you dim your bedroom lighting from your cell phone, control your thermostat by e-mail, or lock the front door from your laptop.


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Wrap Artists
Professional Gift Wrapping & Event Assistance. Lavish wraps, lush ribbons, creative goody bags. Services performed on-site or at their workshop.
To schedule a session with Wrap Artists, call 917-435-3052 or contact wrapartists2003@yahoo.com
Jenny (718-894-3877) or Angie (718-416-0704)
Wrap Artists may very well be the season's sanity savers. This fairy-like service comes to your house with a selection of high-end materials and does all the work for you. They wrap just about anything ... and for a reasonable price, too, if you calculate the value of the time you save by not doing it yourself.
When the job is done, Wrap Artists disappears without a trace, leaving stacks of elegant-looking gifts in their wake. Just like Santa.

Zen Home Cleaning
646-391-5708
You appreciate your piece of NY real estate for its charm, history, and landmark status.
However, prewar grime between your bathroom tiles is another story.
Time to meet the hardworking souls at Zen Home Cleaning Service, enlightened housekeepers who use ecofriendly and organic products to scrub, scour, vacuum, polish, and transform your sprawling loft (okay, minuscule studio) into an aromatherapeutic Zen den.
Imagine: spotless windows, shining countertops, sparkly hardwood, and squeaky-clean ovens. Zen Home stops at nothing to get the job done. (Our 700-square-foot tenement took five hours, which is more than we clean in a month.)
Zen Home Cleaning Service also does laundry, changes sheets, fluffs pillows, and turns down beds. In their wake, they leave a small bowl of potpourri and organic chocolates. You had a hard day — so take a moment to breathe deeply, relax, and enjoy your space.
It may be the closest you come to enlightenment.