New Purpose in Life

Fall brings a change of seasons, and even in retirement a certain change in attitude.  Some residual, long buried instinct that summer vacation is over reasserts itself and I decide that Things Need to Be Accomplished.

The middle school robotics program starts up in a couple of weeks.  This year I have the kids for a few extra weeks, so after the three pound robot combat portion of the class is done I've rounded up a couple of Barbie Jeeps.  It's always fun to trick them up, put them under RC control and have a hallway race.....

I'm also back in college.  A strange place to find myself at this stage in life.  Expect periodic dispatches from the Halls of Academe.

But that's not enough.  So I have declared a new goal for this fall.

I'm gonna win a bunch of stuff.

One of the big home improvement chains just opened a branch not far off my commute to school.  And every week they are having a drawing, giving away all manner of swell guy oriented stuff.  I'm going to stop in each and every week and toss a bunch of entry forms in the box. I'll keep y'all posted on what I am expecting to win.  And what I actually do end up with. Hey, its not entirely implausible.  Earlier this year I put a single entry into the box at our local grocery store and won a grill.  True, it advertises a brand of Lite Beer that I consider a puny and insipid imitation of real beer, but free is free.

The Gigantic Guy Store on the day of their Grand Opening.

It was a bit hokey but they had a store wide scavenger hunt.  By tracking down certain items and finding stickers there you could fill out this "bingo" style card.  We each did one.  Score: two free car washes. 

I looked high and low for a box where you could enter the drawing for the Big Stuff.  Among other things there was a pallet full of power tools.  But atypically, there was no box.  There was an ipad on a pole.

I suppose it makes sense to do things this way.  The entries are logged in automatically, no doubt passing along address and email info straight to their marketing department.  And the tedious process of trying to decipher bad handwriting is eliminated.

But I think this may work to my advantage.  The sort of folks who actually have time and interest in store openings and prize drawings tend to be retirees.

And I'm more computer savvy than most such!

Glorious Winnings Updates - if applicable - in the weeks to come.