PICTURES OF THE WEEK
It was late. I was tired and hungry. And I was curious! So, yeah, I did try Burger King’s Mac and Cheetos Flamin’ Hot whatevers. Luckily I had a friend there to eat a couple/few of the 5 sticks that we got. And they tasted like Cheetos! But, wow, not something I would recommend. That said, the guy who works at the Burger King in Japantown was the nicest cashier I ever met working at a fast food counter!
I Buy Lottery Tickets, Knowing I’ll Never Win
or how to get a good meditation class for a dollar or two.
It was late on New Years Day, and I was on my way way to an all day brunch that was happening well past dinner time. I was working my way through the long-tail of a flu I had over the holiday, and thought stopping at 7-eleven to get a hot green tea before I stopped in at the party seemed like the right thing to do.
But, where were my manners? Was I really going to walk into a party empty handed? I try to bring things I’ll actually eat/drink if I go to a party, which means that bringing booze or sugary sweets is out, and the store’s selection of cut fruit (my go to for most parties) wasn’t really up to it. No hot french fries in that establishment (another crowd pleaser), and a bag of ice didn’t really appropriate.
As I approached the counter, I realized the perfect thing was to bring scratch-off lottery tickets. I had a feeling the people I was going to visit had never bought them, having advance degrees, a good understanding of statistics and pretty realistic expectations of outcomes on things like this. And they are right. You are REALLY not likely hit the big prize. But for me, winning isn’t the reason buy lottery tickets. I got three scratchers for the party (and a mega-million or powerball for myself), and off I went.
One went to a friend I ran into when I got to the party (SHE DID WIN $2 ON A $1 TICKET!) and the other two went to the host. He was tickled to be doing something novel and ludicrous, and I’m still not sure what the outcomes of his tickets were. (And there is something delicious about feeling irresponsible for not following up on lottery tickets…)
And really, that is why I think lottery tickets are worth a dollar every now and again: they change your mind, let adults pretend in a safe way, provide a dash of excitement, and come with an assumed question, which is basically a koan: if money no longer became a limiting factor for some period of time, and you likely had “enough”, what would you do? I find myself doing this when I hold my tickets in my hand, and in a way, bring surprising clarity.
Maybe this perspective comes from my family bringing them home and putting them on the fridge, and treating them like they were important, similar but different to the way we handled the little cards with religious pictures on them that we got from church. I think the iconagraphic nature were similar, perhaps?
In a way what I “win” is insight on what’s important, what “the prize” in life looks like, and who the important people are to me.
If you see the lottery signs with figures over $500 million, smile, think of me, wish me luck and maybe send me a message? Because chances are, I’m holding a ticket, and those kind thoughts of yours will be worth the ticket cost.
It rained this week! Which was the PERFECT time to test out the rain pants I got for biking to work in! These are bib overalls from Frogg Toggs, which were designed to let people fish in bad weather. A few times around the block proved that they keep you dry by being good at breathing and blocking the rain. I’m looking forward to more rain!
Thanks Albany Bulb! I think I found my favorite view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges! There is some combo of perfect day on: Albany Bulb, Westbrae Biergarten, Race Track, Albany Spa, Pub and Zachary’s or Little Star Pizza. I’m looking forward to trying to get it down pat!
