Words On Wednesday

I recently signed up for a weight loss competition between my coworkers and it occurred to me that I never told the tale of my participation in last year’s competition. It is a story of close calls and my own susceptibility to money as a motivator. This is The Biggest Loser 2019. The lady who hosts the contest sent out an email around the end of the year for the following month, announcing the contest details as she has some years previously. “Hey guys, it's that time of year again. What better motivation to drop 10 pounds than to enter a contest & have peer pressure to help you along the way. Here's how it works. Starting January 7th thru Jan 9th you can weigh in & pay 20.00. On March 20th weigh inagain & if you lose the 10 pounds then you get your $20.00 back. Plus the money from everyone that did not reach the goal of 10lbs will go back into the pot and will be split between the ones that did achieve the goal of 10lbs. I will be downstairs at the scale...

I almost won a car from a contest recently. Almost. This story begins back on 29 June. It had been 8 weeks since I last donated blood, and I was once again eligible to donate. Because the donation centers are more spacious and typically less crowded than the mobile drives, I usually just go to the center on the day that I become eligible. Sure, I miss out on promotions, but I still get points and the occasional t-shirt. Besides, it’s not about getting rewarded; it’s about saving lives </sarcasm>. I pull up at the donation center and see a  Hot 98.1 van and tent set up in the parking lot. Huh, what do we have here? Curiosity got the better of me, and I step up to the table under the tent and inquire about what’s going on. It turns out they’re entering people to  win a brand new 2018 Honda Civic . That’s neat, but I’d never win it. They were also giving out free swag to anyone who entered, so I figured it was an easy way to get a free coffee mug. Per the detai...