Okay, So I Didn't Win

Friday night after work I bought five Mega Million lottery tickets. Yes, I know my chances of winning $640 million with only five tickets was a long shot (I think it was a long shot for pretty much everybody who played), but you can't win if you don't play, right?

So if you've seen the news you know that I didn't win but I admit that for two days I fantasized about all the things I could do with $640 million. I can't even grasp the concept of that much money. I know I wouldn't live extravagantly (only two houses - one on the beach and one in England - and just one or maybe two cars) but it would be nice to never have to worry about paying your bills ever again.

First, I'd pay off mine and my family's debts. I would set us all up so that we would be comfortable for the rest of our lives. And then I'd start giving all that money away, because really, what is the point of saving all that money? You can't take it with you when you die so why not spend it?

And it would be so much fun. I'd give the money to churches, charities, non-profit organizations, schools. I'd go into a restaurant and pay every one's bill. I'd go to a gas station and pay for everyone to fill their tanks with gas. I'd give away college scholarships, help the homeless, make sure food banks were always fully stocked. I'd fund scientists to find a cure for Meniere's.

It looks like three people have won the $640 million. Even after the government gets it's share, that's a lot of money someone could do a lot of good with. I hope they do.

Book List - March 2012

10. The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesley - This is a modern telling of Jane Eyre, set in the 1950s and 1960s Scotland. It follows the original Charlotte Bronte story pretty closely (so if you've read Jane Eyre you'll know what happends) but was an easy and enjoyable read.

11. The Litigators by John Grishom - If you like John Grishom books you'll like this one. Although it is similar to all his other books and the end is rather predictable it's still an okay read.

12 I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella - This is the same author that wrote the Shopaholic series. The main character decided she likes footnotes so this book is full of them (112 to be exact) and after #7 I was over them. The plot kind of came and went, wasn't oneof Kinsella's best books.

13. Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green. Jane was at the forfront of chick lit back in the day of Bridget Jones but what I really like about her is the her characters/books changed as she changed. She no longer writes about twentysomething single women because that's not who she is anymore. She has grown as an author and I really like that about her. This story about a woman in her forties who marries and man with two daughters too a little bit of time to get going but was good in the end.

The Cookie Search

Earlier this month was the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie. On that day I brought into work a package of Oreo cookies to share with my co-workers. It was yummy, it had been a really, really long time since I had an Oreo cookie (I tend to eat them more in the form of a DQ Blizzard).

Earlier this week the co-worker who sits next to me said they have a birthday cake Oreo for sale. Now if you are an Oreo connoisseur you know there are many different variations on the Oreo: double stuff, mint, vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate covered to name a few). When I was in the grocery store this week I went to the cookie aisle to find these birthday cake Oreos but couldn't see them anywhere.

Friday afternoon when I asked my co-worker if he wanted on of the last three Oreos he said no, he'd had some birthday cake ones at lunch. What?!?! And he didn't bring me any. I told him I looked for them and couldn't find them. And he said (as men often do) that I must not have looked very hard. My response was, well, I probably shouldn't mention it here. Instead I told him I expected some birthday cake Oreos on my desk when I came in Monday morning. Let's see if he comes through.

Update: 8:38 a.m. Monday, March 26 - No Birthday Cake Oreos on my desk.

Update: 1:24 p.m. Thursday, March 29 - Came back from lunch and there were three Birthday Cake Oreos on my desk. Way to go Adam!

Kitchen Flee Market

My office, like I suspect many offices do, has a kitchen. It’s a typical office kitchen: lazy people leave their dirty dishes in the sink even though the dishwasher is right next to it; the refrigeration is probably half full of long forgetting (and expired) food; and it’s not really the place you want to sit and actually eat lunch because of the various smells coming from the two microwave between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Our kitchen also has two round tables and a couple of chairs, even though nobody ever really uses them. But the tables have become a place to put items that you are willing to give away. Often times it’s old office supplies or swag (shirts with an old company logo or used 3-ring binders). But in the past few weeks I’ve learned that you can pretty much put anything on those tables and someone will take it.

Just last week I went into the kitchen and saw two big cans of pumpkin sitting on the table for anyone who needed pumpkin and wanted to get a head start on this year’s Thanksgiving pies. Three hours later I went back in and they were gone. Yes, canned pumpkin. Any food items, it seems, will go fast. I have also contributed to this kitchen flee market. I bought some granola bars that, unbeknownst to me, had coconut in them. Since I don’t like coconut I put them on the kitchen table and proceeded to get myself a some water from the watercooler. Before I had even left the kitchen three of them were gone.

I have a small lamp on my desk and bought the wrong type of light bulbs for it. I had mistakenly bought chandelier bulbs. I had already opened the package and since they were only $5 I decided not to return them but put them on the kitchen table. They were gone later that day. Apparently someone in my office has a chandelier and needed light bulbs for it. Go figure.

So now I think I’m going to do some spring cleaning. I don’t have a lot of crap in my apartment (there isn’t a lot of storage room) but I do have some things (think White Elephant-type gifts) that I am going to put on the table and see how long they take to disappear. I’ll keep you updated.