craigslist kills me

Craigslist has been on my mind a lot lately. Mainly because it's been in the news with such frequency lately thanks to the med student craigslist killer. I'm a frequent user of the site and have always taken its convenience for granted. I admit my naivete--the thought of the dark possibilities the site may be prone to have never crossed my mind Maybe that's because I don't utilize the site's "erotic services" pages. But, the recent craigslist-related crimes (hotel room murder, hotel room assault, man stabbed in Brooklyn) have made me re-think my decision to invite people into my home and pick up the couch I've decided to give away from free.

All that aside, I still have to be dissuaded from creating posts offering my personal assistant services, a) because I'm desperate for work, and b) to ensure that I keep getting harassed by prospective scammers like this guy here who just sent me an e-mail:

(read this in your best motivational speaker/infomercial voiceover/Frank T.J. Mackey voice)

Hey, If you could rake in the dough when families dined at
the Italian restaurant down the road.. wouldnt you want to know how?
Find out how average.. everyday.. real people are spending only a few
hours a week to make an extra $2359.28 a month. If youre at least
18.. looking for something more than just a J.O.B. .. and you know it
takes money to make money do yourself a favor and let us know what
number to reach you at and when to call. We're ready for you.

Thanks craigslist! You always provide me with the easiest answers and best opportunities. This sounds like the best job opportunity--I mean, J. O. B. opportunity I've never stumbled on before.

Sidenote: Read this short nymag article on the craigslist killer's fiance. I really liked the closing paragraph. Made me want to read Lolita again.

The husband you share a bed with each night, the colleague you wave to each day, the neighbor you watch mow his lawn— who are they, really? And how do we carry on normally in life once we start to wonder? It’s a premise that writers love to entertain—that there are Humbert Humberts and Dexters in our midst—and the average citizen finds fascinating and horrifying at once. We like our unreliable narrators to remain in works of fiction, not to exist in real life.