something we all have in common

We are just over one hour from the winning numbers being announced for the Mega Millions Lottery, which is over $330 million. I made Shannan buy a ticket for $1 at the Sticky Wicket. You never know, right? You always see these people on TV winning the lottery. Who are these people? Nobody I know ever wins the lottery. I wonder if anyone I know ever plays the lottery.

I started playing the lottery earlier this year after watching "The Secret." I totally bought into all that crap. Visualize it. Dream it. Ask for it. Wow, that sounds easy. Okay. So i started sinking $50 into the lottery here and $60 there. Finally, i realized, this is insane. I'm never going to win. So i stopped buying damned lottery tickets. But every so often there would be a big one, and you'd see these people on TV with the giant check. "You gotta be in it to win it" keeps ringing in my head.

Then i see this E! True Hollywood story on lottery curses. All these people who won millions. They thought they had it made. They all quit their jobs, started spending like crazy, living like celebrities. And inevitably, their lives would all fall apart. Drug addiction, tax evasion, murder, suicide. I guess losing the lottery isn't such a bad thing, huh? By the end of the special, though, i realized all these people were, uh, how do i say this politiely? "F'd" up before they won the lottery. I'm sure that wouldn't happen to me. So why not buy a ticket? It can't hurt, right? Someone has to win.

And don't we all sit around and daydream about what we would do if we did win the lottery. Shannan and I just did it tonight:

1. Quit my job
2. hire a lawyer and financial advisor
3. buy houses at the Jersey Shore, Provincetown, Hawaii, and Utah
4. Pay off our families' houses
5. Give everyone we love $9,999
6. Set up trusts for the nieces and nephews
7. Remodel the house
8. Hire a chef
9. Travel the world

Everybody dreams about winning the lottery. Nobody dreams about losing the lottery. But we have a way better chance of losing, so we should start making some plans.

J.Bo