Recession sparks boom in personal-assistant business

Imagine if you could hire someone to do all those pesky chores that you always hate to do -- pick up the dry cleaning, make the kids' lunches, finally set up your online bill payments.

The good news for those of us who aren't Brad or Angelina is that the recession -- the one that has basically eliminated the middle class -- has created an ever-more eager pool of personal assistants, many of whom were recently laid off from a corporation near you and who have already swallowed a big old chunk of humble pie. What better use of an ex-middle manager's skills than to allow them to manage the project you call your life?