Winning Part II

Well, in previous postings I mentioned that I had won a contest for a cream and gift card, but that it turned out to be a mistake.  I went on to their Facebook page to see what other crazy comments people writing on there.  

Wow.  Some were seriously going to sue the company.  Some were completely upset and had no problems in writing those comments down.   Some were downright nasty.

Fast forward to a couple of days after the mishap.  The company sent a small sample with a $1 coupon.   I was happy to just get a sample as it's a product that seemed good but I wasn't ready to fork out a ton of money for something I didn't know was good or not. 

Fast forward another couple of days, I get an e-mail and a letter stating that the company is giving me a full sized sample.  SWEET.   Going to the store to get my full sized sample!

I have to admit that I'm actually quite impressed by the company.  They took the bad press seriously and then corrected their mistakes on their technological side.   And the gave out full sized samples to thousands of people because of this mistake.   Maybe it doesn't cost them much to give out full sized samples, but it's got to be a dent in their budget.  

Like I said, I was thrilled at just getting a sample so I could test it out.  Getting a full sized sample, way more awesome.  

And because I'm nosy, I went back to the Facebook page to see what comments people were saying about getting a full sized sample.  Let's just say that I shake my head at some people.  While they continue to moan about not winning and sharing their misery, I will happily take my sample home and enjoy it.  

Music

Well, my one kid has come home with her school instrument. I am so thankful that it's not the recorder. I remember the squeals and the hell I put my parents through. Instead, she's come home with a ukulele. AWESOME. I love that instrument. And it sure does remind me of Hawaii. Her playing...well, not so much yet. But it's moments like this where I hope that she will get awesome at the instrument, my youngest one picks up something and then I pick up my guitar and we jam. I'd love to get some recording software like Propellerhead Reason to record our musical jams. Then I hear the plucking of a note on her ukulele and my other one banging on the piano. It's going to be a while before we jam together.

Office Move

Well, the news is official.  I'm moving to my new digs on October 29th.  I'm thankful it's not Halloween...I mean, I have to get home to give out candy to all the kids around the block!  Priorities!!  

The floor plan will be shown to staff very soon.  I'm slightly nervous of what the plan will show.  I know I won't get a window seat.  And that's totally fair since I don't work in the office as much.  Those that have to go in and have no choice but to go in should definitely get the great seats.  I used to work there so I know how good the view is.  

I'm more worried about who I will be sitting by.  I really like my area right now because it's quiet. Everybody is working at a certain rhythmn, phone calls and conversations with other staff are not loud, people can concentrate in their area due to the quietness, people are respective of each other's space.  LOVE it.  

It's pretty hard to give up that quiet and space.  Some people are just more invasive of my space which I'm not fond of, or take up more time than is really needed.  But it is what it is.  I will make the space work for me.  In order to stay sane, I just have to.

Definitely not the end of the world.  But some changes up ahead for sure.  I will definitely miss the great area that I'm in now.  

Music

This house is going to get a new "music"player.  It's going to be my kid...with a recorder.  ROFL!  I still remember how to play...especially my school song!  But thinking back to when I first started...lots of squeals and odd sounds.    That will happen soon enough.  

But I was thinking that I might get a usb with mic to record the kid.  That should be perfect for when she brings home all the boyfriends I hate.  That should scare them off just fine.  

Until then, I will suffer like any parent.  And help her along the way so music actually comes out of that recorder.  

Security

My organization has a whole department that does security checks.  I'm not sure how they do it.  But they sure know a heck of a lot about me.  

So I decided to do some searching on the internet to see how companies do background searches as I've never worked in that line of work before.  You type it into a search engine and you get returns such as "back ground check service here at easy back ground", or secrets to passing a security check, or just companies doing deals.  

Considering I don't do a security check very often, I'll just forget about it all now.  

Winnings

Lately, I've been fortunate to win a couple of contests.  I am thrilled to have won some and I like my gifts!  The sponsors of the contests have been ultra nice too.  

So imagine my giddiness when I saw an e-mail today saying I had won another contest!  I would have won a full size sample of a new product and a $100 Lululemon card.  AWESOME!  

But I guess there is a first in everything.  I am checking my Facebook and my e-mail and I see that the original message saying I won something was recalled.  This is the message:

Thank you for entering the Garnier Body 7 Days of Giveaways contest!
Earlier today, you received an email notifying that you are a winner of the grand prize in the Garnier Body 7 Days of Giveaways Contest (full size product and a $100 Lululemon gift card). If you refer to the rules and regulations of this promotion, you can see that this particular contest is ending in 2 weeks, and 7 consumers will win the grand prize.

Unfortunately, there was a technical glitch with the previous promotion email.
We are working diligently to determine how this happened and will update everyone on Monday.
Please accept our apologies for this error as we understand that it must be a disappointment for you.

Ok, yes, I am disappointed.  But I'm not bummed about it.  I get it...technology and people don't always mix.  And really, I feel that I've been so fortunate to have won some contests lately...others should also get the thrill of winning too!  Though if a win comes my way, I won't dismiss it...especially if it's a lottery win.  Hello universe?  You listening?  My lotto bunny isn't helping quite yet.  

So my attitude is slightly different.  OMG.  Checking out Facebook comments, this company might just lose a gazillion customers.  Obviously I wasn't the only one that got the same e-mail.  Some people are saying they'll sue!  Some say that compensation should be given.  This company is the worst one ever.    Ummmm.  It was a free contest.  They don't have to compensate for anything.   And isn't there some clause about the adminstrator getting the final say?  Well the final say is that they're not giving out thousands of this gift package.  

I'll be interested to see what happens on this one.

Garage Sale

One of the "exciting" things I did while on holidays was have a garage sale.  The main reason was to get rid of some stuff!  Not sure how we accumulated so much stuff.  But the kids had so many toys to sell.  Ridiculous!  We didn't get to half of their toys!  There were household items and goodness knows what else out there. 

The garage sale was held for two days.  Unfortunately, the 1 day, our signs had fallen down for a while and we had no idea!  So not a lot of sales.  The second day of sales was much better since the signs did stay up...and I added extra signs to the original ones.  "Motivated to Sell."  Basically, name your fricken price and you'll pretty much get it.  

My girlfriend came over to also sell some stuff.  So it was nice to have some company.  We get to check out a flick on Netflix, eat snacks and gab.  That was fun.  

But the most memorable part of the garage sale was my husband!!  My goodness.  That man makes me laugh.  

On the second day of the sale, 2 women came to the sale.  The one woman had 2 boys.  They happily bought stuff and got some great deals.  They the left.  I didn't think about them after they left.  About 10 minutes later, I hear a door close and a van leave.  I asked my friend if it was those 2 women that just left?  10 minutes later?  Seemed odd.  But whatever...who am I to judge.

Maybe about 30 minutes later, those same women came back.  The one woman with kids mentions she forgot to buy a tricycle.  And the she mentions that she dropped her car keys down the drain basin!   She asked if I had anything to help hook it out?  

I go and find whatever I can find.  But I also call my husband down. He's good at this stuff.  He goes out and looks.  Next thing I know, the grate has come off.  I've been asked to go get different things so he can try to get these keys out.  Rakes, sticks, hooks, shovels...etc.  

On the very last trip when I was asked to bring something, I happily went to go get it.  But when I come back to the street, all I could say was, "you're in a f@%*ing sewer!"  I was kindly reminded it was a drain basin.  Basically, my husband hopped into this sink basin to get the keys out.  Ummmm...YUCK!!!! 

But if you can believe it, with his toes, he found the keys and used them to pick them up.   It's ok if you're gagging because I know I did.  But those keys were found and the woman was really appreciative.  

Proud of the guy for helping out.  But I don't plan to touch his legs from the knee down anytime soon.  

Holidays

Well, my holidays are over.  It goes by so quickly!  And really, every time I'm on holidays, I'm really ok with the idea of not going back to work.  Not that I hate my job.  I just think I'm really good at not working and taking it easy!  

The family and I chose to stay close to home.  Kidlets are pretty pooped after a really busy summer with summer camp.  They did so many activities that they would go to bed early in the summer.  And for one week, I think the kids really needed the chill out time to do nothing or at least, activities on way less of a schedule.

We did do fun stuff like PNE, Britannia Mines, beach, flying kites, picnics, etc.  Just whatever we felt like doing.   It was great spending it as a family and just being away from work.  

Ahhh.  Holidays.  There are never enough of them.  

Smoking

I am not a smoker or have I ever been.  I've never even tried it before.  So no choking scenes when I'm inhaling for the first time.  No rush that feels like euphoria.  And I'm ok with it.  I'm healthier for it and I choose not to as I want to be around for my kids.  No judgement on my part on those that smoke.  People make choices.  I just don't choose to make that choice. 

But that's not to say I'm not curious.  I used to hang out with a lot of smokers.  And I have to admit that after dinner or at certain times of the day, I'd want to have a smoke because I was almost on their schedule.  It was weird!  But thankfully, I never got started. 

I do realize that sometimes when I'm stressed, I think that maybe smoking wouldn't be a bad idea.  I see everyone destress.  I don't know if it's any better by smoking those famous smoke cigars as they're bigger and smell a heck of a lot better. 

But I've trained my kids to know that smoking is bad.  They'd beat me up if I started up.  

Definitions

Today, I'd like to clarify my definition of selflessness versus martyrdom and some of the consequences of these 2 concepts.  They are sometimes used interchangeably, but I think they are two very different concepts.   Remember, these are my definitions and not by some dictionary or thesaurus.  

Selflessness is an act(s)/gesture to someone/living being to make them feel better or assist in some way.  There is no thought of being repaid in any way.

Martyrdom on the other hand is a completely different thing.  There is motive behind it.  There is a need to gain something from the action.  It can be control or power over someone.  It's the need to be needed or to feel important.  It's the need to be thanked and recognized for all the "sacrifices."

With selflessness, the person that is being helped will be helped in some form or fashion.  And from the person who provided that assistance, they will know that what needs to be done is done.  Perhaps there isn't true selflessness because I suppose there is some "satisfaction" that is received from doing the action.  But they are positive such as relief, gratefulness, happiness.  

On the flip side, martyrdom can have negative consequences.  If the person doesn't get the praise, thanks or recognition of all the sacrifices that were done (small or big), they get miserable, negative, feeling that the world is unjust and unfair, and angry.  What I really love is when the martyr feels that the other person hasn't given back in the same way.  BAH!

Martyrs fit into my category that I call "Vortex of Darkness."  They really suck the living daylights and any positive energy in me.  And I really can't stand that.  There's already enough negativity in life and in the world; I am not going to get sucked into your darkness.  And I just keep thinking to myself...for all of those that really have something to be miserable about, why are they the ones that seem the most positive and selfless?  They can somehow see and work past their situation and no matter how bad it is, they somehow still see the positivity in something.   They can still somehow give back and not be a martyr. 

Believe me.  I realize that life isn't full of rainbows and unicorns.  But martyrs are really a category of people that I don't deal with and avoid on purpose.  Definitely not my cup of tea.