I like entering contests.  It’s an odd hobby of mine.   Doesn’t matter the prize or what they’re giving away.  If there’s something to be won … I like to throw my hat in the ring. 

During many of my lunch hours, I’ll endlessly surf the web looking for sweepstakes to enter.  That would explain why I get so much spam in my inbox, huh?  When I was little, my dad would enter the occasional contest.  He’d never win, but always commented it was fun.  It must have flipped a light switch in my head because I started following his lead. 

The first thing I ever entered was a raffle at one of my father’s lodge events.  They drew my name and I won the evening’s grand prize.  A cookbook.  Not just any cookbook, mind you.  It was a gaming cookbook with recipes for pheasant, venison and the ever-popular bison.  Joy.

But I was hooked. 

On a good day, I will probably enter a dozen contests.  And over the last ten years, I’ve won a wide-variety of mindless prizes.  For instance, I scored a lifetime supply of Tic-Tac’s.  And by “lifetime supply”, they meant two GIANT cases.  I gave most of them away within four days.  So much for that.

I’ve won several DVDs, the world’s lamest trip to Vegas (uh, I aborted), and countless bundles of expensive toiletries.  I’ve won a portable DVD player and several hundred dollars in various gift certificates. 

Just today, I won a free brunch and various coffee items for 30 of my closest co-workers.  The irony?  I won it from the TV station that fired my sorry ass about five years ago.  Now I have new co-workers – and, by God, they’re going to enjoy that free brunch.

No, I’ve never won any major awards.  Like a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg.  But I’m hopeful to win a grand prize or serious $BLING$.  Someone is going to win … and one of these days it’s going to be me.    This is my version of gambling, I guess.  Except I never really lose any money.

So here’s to my addiction to sweepstakes.  Cheers!  You can’t win if you don’t play, dammit.