Yep, the Powerball draw was last night and I didn't win. I didn't even win a $5 consolation prize, but that's okay.
Thinking about it on my way to work today, it really is okay. Those aren't just empty words because I am no worse off today than I was yesterday. In fact, thinking of it, in some ways it's a blessing.
After all, I don't have to stand in front of a bunch of cameras and microphones and go off on my snarky responses. I am still me, still employed and still happy in who I am and what I do, and I don't have the added pressure of all that money.
Yeah, it is good and I'm happy and that plays right into something I heard yesterday on the drive to work. Having a lot of money isn't going to make you happy. If you're miserable without money, you'll probably be miserable with money. If you're happy without money, you'll be even happier with money. 'Money doesn't buy happiness' is a true statement. Get happy first, then win a bunch of money.
In different news, today is The Day of Assimilation. It's kind of like the Borg in Star Trek: "Resistance is futile." But that's okay, too. More than anything it's the unknown that's got me nervous, the 'what is it all about' and 'am I up to this'. Given my approach to life and living, I am up to it.
After all, if Joe Over There can do the job, why can't I? Is Joe Over There smarter than me? Maybe. But maybe it's just because he's had training and experience. If it is just because Joe Over There has training and experience, that should not prevent me from learning and gaining the experience. Then I can do the job, too.
Regardless of whether it's because someone else is smarter than me, I have a lunch meeting today with the VP of Finance, the Director of Finance and the A/R Clerk to discuss what's needed. This raises a number of questions:
1) Is this an interview? If it is, that's okay. Heck, I've interviewed often enough and across enough different industries (dental, banking, leasing, engineering, contracting, accounting/bookkeeping, etc.) that interviews don't intimidate me. Heck, I didn't even dress for an interview. I'm sitting here in blue jeans and tennies because, quite frankly, if they're looking to hire me because of my fashion sense, they'll be sadly disappointed. If they're looking to hire me because of my smarts and skills, we'll strike a deal.
2) Is this a simple 'get to know you better'? That's possible. I've been here for a bit more than two years now but I haven't worked closely with this group before and, if they're considering bringing me into the fold, they'll want to get to know me and they'll want me to get to know them.
3) Is this simply an overview conversation: 'here's what's needed' in broad strokes? Possibly but I doubt it because I don't think the VP of Finance has his fingers in this particular pie. The Director does through overseeing the person who's going to train me on this task.
Maybe it's a combination of all three. No matter. I'll go to lunch, get fed, come back and get trained and it will all be fine. I just have to learn what's required, figure out how to do it most efficiently, and make it happen.
It seems there's a bit of a backlog, but that's okay. I just came through a "bit" of a backlog with other things and they're cleared to the point where they're only taking a portion of my time now. I'm sure I can do the same here, and then I'll have attention to pay to other things.
The Stack has shrunk in the past week, and I have wrestled my database into submission. It is now doing what I wanted it to do oh those many months ago. It's still not doing what I want it to do automatically, but it's close enough that it's acceptable. I do still have one more point to deal with, some more reading, another tweak or two, and then I should be 'golden'. Or I'll have to find another solution, but that's okay. That's do-able, too.
So, no, I didn't win the lottery, except in the sense that I am still happy, still working and still as I was yesterday and I do love my life.
I hope you love your life, too, because it sure as heck beats the alternative!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Showing posts with label Powerball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powerball. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Powerball, Fear and Other Stuff
Comin' up on the Powerball draw again and tensions here are... non-existent. That's the problem, or the benefit, of living with someone who's math savvy. Hubby is math savvy. Hubby can drain the excitement out of speculating about the Powerball draw faster than a vacuum can suck the air out of an open paper sack. He starts talking numbers and odds and so on and my eyes glaze over.
Oh well. Dreaming and hoping and crossing fingers, toes, legs, arms and eyes is still... awkward. It's hard to get things done when your limbs and digits are all knotted up. Guess I should let go and relax. What's going to happen is going to happen regardless of what I do here. I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to learn whether I'm a schmuck or a winner.
In the meantime I am practicing what I'll say at my (snarky) news conference. I don't like the media. They're intrusive and ask stupid questions, so I'll keep it short, sweet and to the point:
1) Do you have an imagination? Use it. Figure out how it feels to be suddenly wealthy.
2) No, you can't have my money.
3) I know who my friends and family are. Don't come to me and say you're long-lost anything. I'll just say 'get lost'.
4) No, you can't have my money.
5) Yes, I have plans but you don't need to know what those plans are. They're my plans, not yours.
6) No, you can't have my money.
7) Yes, I know what I'm doing with it but you don't need to know what I'm doing with it.
8) It's none of your business and, no, you can't have my money.
9) Yes, I plan to contribute a lot of it to charity.
10) No, you're not a charity to which I'm contributing. Or, if you are, you'll be hearing from me. If you don't hear from me, go away.
Simple, right?
On the election front, I've been going back and forth with a couple of members of 'my' writer's site about Donald Trump. They seem to think that he's a maniac, ready and willing to press The Button that will wipe out humanity. I seem to remember the same nonsense being spewed about Ronald Reagan and George Bush I and Bill Clinton and George Bush II and every other presidential candidate since the 1960's. Yet we're still here. Huh.
The press also has their panties in a collective twist over Donald's apparent "admiration" for Kim Jong Un, completely contorting the man's words into something even a pretzel wouldn't recognize.
What Donald said, according to Business Insider and the other outlets I read, is that Kim Jong Un is a maniac. Now that's not a nice thing to say. After all, the definition of maniac from Dictionary.com is:
maniac
Hardly words of praise or admiration.
Trump then went on to talk about the man's ruthlessness, his viciousness, and the threat someone like this poses. Here's the quote from Business Insider, the quote that's been twisted into mega-pretzel contortions by all of the outlets:
"If you look at North Korea, this guy, I mean, he's like a maniac, OK? And you've got to give him credit. How many young guys — he was like 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals," Trump said in Ottumwa, Iowa.
The Republican presidential front-runner said Kim's willingness to push aside generals and "wipe out" his uncle demonstrated why the US needs to treat North Korea's nuclear arsenal as a serious threat.
"And all of a sudden — and you know it's pretty amazing when you think of it — how does he do that? Even though it is a culture and it's a cultural thing, he goes in, he takes over, and he's the boss," Trump recalled. "It's incredible. He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn't play games. And we can't play games with him. Because he really does have missiles. And he really does have nukes."
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un-2016-1
Do these sound like words of praise and admiration to you, or does it sound like a warning? To me, it sounds like a warning. Isn't the phrase "serious threat" in there someplace, and isn't it associated with North Korea and a mention of a nuclear arsenal? Oh, yeah, it is. Huh, how about that.
And, if you go to the bottom of that article, there's a link to another article: "Donald Trump: Here's how I'd handle that 'madman' in North Korea"
So the headlines being blared are that Trump admires this 'maniac'. But Trump then calls him a madman. It makes no sense. It's taking Truth and standing it on its head.
The problem we have here is Press Distortion. There's what the press wants - same-old, same-old manipulable, malleable, compliant Hilliary or one of the other politicians - and what most of America wants - a leader.
Since the press has the power of disbursing half-truths and outright lies, and people seem to have a tendency to lap it all up, they continue to try to blacken the man by twisting his words, taking the most outrageous things he says, and turning them into inflammatory nonsense.
What encourages me in this is that people don't seem to be buying it. Some are, no doubt, but many others aren't. They are seeing and hearing the real message. Not the one promulgated by the press, the one where they take a person's words and rearrange them to fit their desired paradigm. Instead, people are listening to the man, themselves, and are hearing what he's saying, themselves, and they're understanding what he's saying and meaning, themselves. Which is driving the left and the media crazy. They can't figure it out.
If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. If it wasn't so telling about the media and their bias, bigotries, and hate for anything they can't manipulate and control, it would be funny. Sadly, it's not. It's pathetic.
So let's all fear Donald Trump, okay? After all, he's ill-informed (and who among is perfectly informed on all subjects?). He hasn't the brains to know what he doesn't know and hire people to fill in the gaps, right? He does his own taxes and files his own paperwork and flies his own helicopter and plane and does everything himself without relying on people with more training, more knowledge and more expertise in those areas than himself, right?
Give me a break.
Anyway. I'm wondering about El Nino. Last fall we were promised a huge event. More recently we got decent amounts of rain. Then, we were supposed to get more rain, but it didn't come. Yesterday it was supposed to rain, but didn't. Over night it rained, a little, and now it's not.
Have the weather gurus got it wrong, again as usual? We'll see. Just checking Yahoo weather, it looks like in the next ten days we have five days on which there's at least a chance of rain. It's supposed to rain off and on today, tomorrow and Saturday and a couple of days next week. If it does, I'll feel a little better. If it rains more than projected, I'll be happy.
And, things are changing at work. The change I thought was coming is coming closer - as in there's a meeting about it today. Done deal? Yeah, probably. Mixed feelings on my part that will solidify once I understand what's needed and how long it'll take. I'm just like most other human beings. Change is uncomfortable until I know what to expect. Then, once I know what to expect, it's generally okay.
So that's life on the home front these days. Looking forward to tomorrow, to being able to pull out my tickets and...
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Oh well. Dreaming and hoping and crossing fingers, toes, legs, arms and eyes is still... awkward. It's hard to get things done when your limbs and digits are all knotted up. Guess I should let go and relax. What's going to happen is going to happen regardless of what I do here. I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to learn whether I'm a schmuck or a winner.
In the meantime I am practicing what I'll say at my (snarky) news conference. I don't like the media. They're intrusive and ask stupid questions, so I'll keep it short, sweet and to the point:
1) Do you have an imagination? Use it. Figure out how it feels to be suddenly wealthy.
2) No, you can't have my money.
3) I know who my friends and family are. Don't come to me and say you're long-lost anything. I'll just say 'get lost'.
4) No, you can't have my money.
5) Yes, I have plans but you don't need to know what those plans are. They're my plans, not yours.
6) No, you can't have my money.
7) Yes, I know what I'm doing with it but you don't need to know what I'm doing with it.
8) It's none of your business and, no, you can't have my money.
9) Yes, I plan to contribute a lot of it to charity.
10) No, you're not a charity to which I'm contributing. Or, if you are, you'll be hearing from me. If you don't hear from me, go away.
Simple, right?
On the election front, I've been going back and forth with a couple of members of 'my' writer's site about Donald Trump. They seem to think that he's a maniac, ready and willing to press The Button that will wipe out humanity. I seem to remember the same nonsense being spewed about Ronald Reagan and George Bush I and Bill Clinton and George Bush II and every other presidential candidate since the 1960's. Yet we're still here. Huh.
The press also has their panties in a collective twist over Donald's apparent "admiration" for Kim Jong Un, completely contorting the man's words into something even a pretzel wouldn't recognize.
What Donald said, according to Business Insider and the other outlets I read, is that Kim Jong Un is a maniac. Now that's not a nice thing to say. After all, the definition of maniac from Dictionary.com is:
maniac
[mey-nee-ak]
noun
1. a raving or violently
insane person; lunatic.
2. any intemperate
or overly zealous or enthusiastic person:
a maniac when it
comes to details.
Hardly words of praise or admiration.
Trump then went on to talk about the man's ruthlessness, his viciousness, and the threat someone like this poses. Here's the quote from Business Insider, the quote that's been twisted into mega-pretzel contortions by all of the outlets:
"If you look at North Korea, this guy, I mean, he's like a maniac, OK? And you've got to give him credit. How many young guys — he was like 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals," Trump said in Ottumwa, Iowa.
The Republican presidential front-runner said Kim's willingness to push aside generals and "wipe out" his uncle demonstrated why the US needs to treat North Korea's nuclear arsenal as a serious threat.
"And all of a sudden — and you know it's pretty amazing when you think of it — how does he do that? Even though it is a culture and it's a cultural thing, he goes in, he takes over, and he's the boss," Trump recalled. "It's incredible. He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn't play games. And we can't play games with him. Because he really does have missiles. And he really does have nukes."
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un-2016-1
Do these sound like words of praise and admiration to you, or does it sound like a warning? To me, it sounds like a warning. Isn't the phrase "serious threat" in there someplace, and isn't it associated with North Korea and a mention of a nuclear arsenal? Oh, yeah, it is. Huh, how about that.
And, if you go to the bottom of that article, there's a link to another article: "Donald Trump: Here's how I'd handle that 'madman' in North Korea"
So the headlines being blared are that Trump admires this 'maniac'. But Trump then calls him a madman. It makes no sense. It's taking Truth and standing it on its head.
The problem we have here is Press Distortion. There's what the press wants - same-old, same-old manipulable, malleable, compliant Hilliary or one of the other politicians - and what most of America wants - a leader.
Since the press has the power of disbursing half-truths and outright lies, and people seem to have a tendency to lap it all up, they continue to try to blacken the man by twisting his words, taking the most outrageous things he says, and turning them into inflammatory nonsense.
What encourages me in this is that people don't seem to be buying it. Some are, no doubt, but many others aren't. They are seeing and hearing the real message. Not the one promulgated by the press, the one where they take a person's words and rearrange them to fit their desired paradigm. Instead, people are listening to the man, themselves, and are hearing what he's saying, themselves, and they're understanding what he's saying and meaning, themselves. Which is driving the left and the media crazy. They can't figure it out.
If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. If it wasn't so telling about the media and their bias, bigotries, and hate for anything they can't manipulate and control, it would be funny. Sadly, it's not. It's pathetic.
So let's all fear Donald Trump, okay? After all, he's ill-informed (and who among is perfectly informed on all subjects?). He hasn't the brains to know what he doesn't know and hire people to fill in the gaps, right? He does his own taxes and files his own paperwork and flies his own helicopter and plane and does everything himself without relying on people with more training, more knowledge and more expertise in those areas than himself, right?
Give me a break.
Anyway. I'm wondering about El Nino. Last fall we were promised a huge event. More recently we got decent amounts of rain. Then, we were supposed to get more rain, but it didn't come. Yesterday it was supposed to rain, but didn't. Over night it rained, a little, and now it's not.
Have the weather gurus got it wrong, again as usual? We'll see. Just checking Yahoo weather, it looks like in the next ten days we have five days on which there's at least a chance of rain. It's supposed to rain off and on today, tomorrow and Saturday and a couple of days next week. If it does, I'll feel a little better. If it rains more than projected, I'll be happy.
And, things are changing at work. The change I thought was coming is coming closer - as in there's a meeting about it today. Done deal? Yeah, probably. Mixed feelings on my part that will solidify once I understand what's needed and how long it'll take. I'm just like most other human beings. Change is uncomfortable until I know what to expect. Then, once I know what to expect, it's generally okay.
So that's life on the home front these days. Looking forward to tomorrow, to being able to pull out my tickets and...
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Monday, January 11, 2016
Oh Well, Too Bad, So Sad...
...cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it. That's what my daughter used to say and she was right. Sometimes that's all you can do. Build a bridge and get over it.
Like Saturday's lotto drawing. High hopes, grand dreams and... $5. That's it. Which, considering I bought only four plays really isn't that bad. At least I got something for it.
Will I play again? Yeah, I will. I stopped and bought four more chances this morning.
What remains fascinating to me is that only about 75% of the possible number combinations were bought by Saturday, yet, according to one report I read Friday night, more than $1B was spent. So if more than $1B was spent and each play costs $2 that is 550,000,000 number series drawn. How does that work if there are 550M series but the odds are 292M?
I don't know. All I know is that for Saturday's drawing I bought four chances. I know that some people bought ten or twenty or thirty. On the news I heard about some people buying several hundred (I wonder how well they did?), but with all the people playing there were still one quarter of all the possible combinations not picked? What is the statistical probability of that given that not everyone went the quick pick route and, presumably, the quick picks aren't duplicated? Or are the quick picks duplicated? Another interesting question to cogitate over in the shower.
Well, no matter. Now it's going to climb to an estimated $1.3B and the mania will increase. Given that, despite the steep odds, why not play again? $8 against about a possible multi-multi-multi million lump sum payout after taxes if I win? Think about how much good I could do with that! And there is a benefit to living in California - a big one in this case. There is no tax on lotto winnings so that after tax amount, that is the lump sum payout after federal tax, so it would be a very nice sum, indeed.
As for other things, there's the discussion of Obie-One's gun control nonsense. There's a heated discussion going on over on the writer's site in which I participate. I don't know why I get into politics over there. It's a distraction, but I do and there we are.
In that forum it's a matter of whether the Executive Orders just signed by Obie-One are binding. I was surprised to learn that they are, sort of. Until someone takes them to court and demands a legal decision. My question there is if they are so powerful and binding, why doesn't Obie-One go all the way? Why didn't he pen those Orders to force legal, law abiding gun owners to turn their weapons in by date certain? Because he knows, and Loretta Lynch knows, and anyone with half a brain tied behind their back knows that such a thing would not stand up in court.
Aside from that, there's Trump's usual boorish behavior and ignorant ejaculations.
Now don't get me wrong, I support The Donald because I think he's a man who can get things done. He's a man who understands the importance of negotiation, of finding common ground from which a discussion between adversaries can expand. He's just wildly insensitive and has a remarkable ability to offend people. I genuinely don't think he's even trying. God forbid he actually tried! But hopefully he's not. Hopefully he's just an intelligent person who doesn't understand the benefit of filters and how they should be used. I'd like to see him learn, to have someone close, someone trusted, take him aside, sit him down and give him some help because it would go a long way toward making him more palatable as a candidate.
For me the bottom line is that I am looking for Mr. Most Effective to sit in the big chair. We've had thirty years of Mr. Nice Guy and look where that's gotten us. From #1 in the world in 1989 to about #10 in the world and we're declining. Which is what all powerful civilizations do given history and the lessons it teaches. I just hate to see it happen while I'm around. If I wanted to live in some other country I would go there. But I don't. I want to live here and I want this country to be the best it can be, but we're not right now.
Then, of course, there's the boor on the other side. The tiresome Hilliary who wouldn't know Truth if it came up, introduced itself, shook her hand and kicked her in the butt.
Which brings up an interesting idea for mulling. A debate between He-Boor and She-Boor. I wonder who would win? Both of them play fast and loose with the truth, although he doesn't have the track record of scandals and criminal allegations in his background. All of which give him a stock of ammunition to use, although the girls will cry "foul" even while she's attempting to kick him between the legs. Schoolyard stuff.
Then there's Bernie. Poor, weak-willed, limp-wristed Bernie who says he wants something but is really too scared to pursue it with will and determination. That's shown by his capitulations against Hilliary during the debates when he could have caused some major damage (e-mails and Bill's serial womanizing). Imagine him going toe-to-toe with Vlad. There's something to make me smile in pity. Now, when it doesn't count, not later when it would.
What would be really interesting is a four-way debate. Hilliary and Bernie on the Left, Trump and Cruz on the right. That would separate the men from the boys pretty quickly I think, and give voters on both sides a chance to see their candidate in action against the opposition. Of course that would never happen.
Hilliary would want the debate held during the Super Bowl or some other high profile event, maybe the Emmy's or the Oscar's or some other obfuscating 'thing' so no one would watch, or on some obscure channel in the middle of the night for the same reason.
Bernie would go along to get along, as he always does (pantywaist).
Still, it would make for entertaining television.
But, in the interim, before the next debate, I think I'll just dream about what I could do with my lottery winnings. I'll let you get to that, too. Have a lovely day and sweet, sweet dreams!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Like Saturday's lotto drawing. High hopes, grand dreams and... $5. That's it. Which, considering I bought only four plays really isn't that bad. At least I got something for it.
Will I play again? Yeah, I will. I stopped and bought four more chances this morning.
What remains fascinating to me is that only about 75% of the possible number combinations were bought by Saturday, yet, according to one report I read Friday night, more than $1B was spent. So if more than $1B was spent and each play costs $2 that is 550,000,000 number series drawn. How does that work if there are 550M series but the odds are 292M?
I don't know. All I know is that for Saturday's drawing I bought four chances. I know that some people bought ten or twenty or thirty. On the news I heard about some people buying several hundred (I wonder how well they did?), but with all the people playing there were still one quarter of all the possible combinations not picked? What is the statistical probability of that given that not everyone went the quick pick route and, presumably, the quick picks aren't duplicated? Or are the quick picks duplicated? Another interesting question to cogitate over in the shower.
Well, no matter. Now it's going to climb to an estimated $1.3B and the mania will increase. Given that, despite the steep odds, why not play again? $8 against about a possible multi-multi-multi million lump sum payout after taxes if I win? Think about how much good I could do with that! And there is a benefit to living in California - a big one in this case. There is no tax on lotto winnings so that after tax amount, that is the lump sum payout after federal tax, so it would be a very nice sum, indeed.
As for other things, there's the discussion of Obie-One's gun control nonsense. There's a heated discussion going on over on the writer's site in which I participate. I don't know why I get into politics over there. It's a distraction, but I do and there we are.
In that forum it's a matter of whether the Executive Orders just signed by Obie-One are binding. I was surprised to learn that they are, sort of. Until someone takes them to court and demands a legal decision. My question there is if they are so powerful and binding, why doesn't Obie-One go all the way? Why didn't he pen those Orders to force legal, law abiding gun owners to turn their weapons in by date certain? Because he knows, and Loretta Lynch knows, and anyone with half a brain tied behind their back knows that such a thing would not stand up in court.
Aside from that, there's Trump's usual boorish behavior and ignorant ejaculations.
Now don't get me wrong, I support The Donald because I think he's a man who can get things done. He's a man who understands the importance of negotiation, of finding common ground from which a discussion between adversaries can expand. He's just wildly insensitive and has a remarkable ability to offend people. I genuinely don't think he's even trying. God forbid he actually tried! But hopefully he's not. Hopefully he's just an intelligent person who doesn't understand the benefit of filters and how they should be used. I'd like to see him learn, to have someone close, someone trusted, take him aside, sit him down and give him some help because it would go a long way toward making him more palatable as a candidate.
For me the bottom line is that I am looking for Mr. Most Effective to sit in the big chair. We've had thirty years of Mr. Nice Guy and look where that's gotten us. From #1 in the world in 1989 to about #10 in the world and we're declining. Which is what all powerful civilizations do given history and the lessons it teaches. I just hate to see it happen while I'm around. If I wanted to live in some other country I would go there. But I don't. I want to live here and I want this country to be the best it can be, but we're not right now.
Then, of course, there's the boor on the other side. The tiresome Hilliary who wouldn't know Truth if it came up, introduced itself, shook her hand and kicked her in the butt.
Which brings up an interesting idea for mulling. A debate between He-Boor and She-Boor. I wonder who would win? Both of them play fast and loose with the truth, although he doesn't have the track record of scandals and criminal allegations in his background. All of which give him a stock of ammunition to use, although the girls will cry "foul" even while she's attempting to kick him between the legs. Schoolyard stuff.
Then there's Bernie. Poor, weak-willed, limp-wristed Bernie who says he wants something but is really too scared to pursue it with will and determination. That's shown by his capitulations against Hilliary during the debates when he could have caused some major damage (e-mails and Bill's serial womanizing). Imagine him going toe-to-toe with Vlad. There's something to make me smile in pity. Now, when it doesn't count, not later when it would.
What would be really interesting is a four-way debate. Hilliary and Bernie on the Left, Trump and Cruz on the right. That would separate the men from the boys pretty quickly I think, and give voters on both sides a chance to see their candidate in action against the opposition. Of course that would never happen.
Hilliary would want the debate held during the Super Bowl or some other high profile event, maybe the Emmy's or the Oscar's or some other obfuscating 'thing' so no one would watch, or on some obscure channel in the middle of the night for the same reason.
Bernie would go along to get along, as he always does (pantywaist).
Still, it would make for entertaining television.
But, in the interim, before the next debate, I think I'll just dream about what I could do with my lottery winnings. I'll let you get to that, too. Have a lovely day and sweet, sweet dreams!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Lottery Fever?
Does anyone in the United States not have Powerball Lottery fever? I don't know of anyone, even among the rational and staid. If they're not rushing out to buy tickets, they're at least paying attention and speculating - 'what would I do if...'
Given the sheer number of people who are in on tonight's drawing, it's probably 1:300,000,000 against that no one will win while the odds are 1:293,000,000 that someone will. With the jackpot at $900M it's pretty sure that there are 300M tickets sold in the forty-four states that participate.
Confession: I have mine. I bought two plays at one vendor, two at another and will buy one more at a third today. Superstition? Perhaps it is, but I do notice there are differences in the numbers - and not just a little difference. Out of the four plays three are pretty similar, which is one of the problems with the quick picks. However, if you don't have time to stand at the kiosk and fill in your tickets it's the only good choice. Or don't play, which is also a choice.
What would I do if I won? I have plans. Nothing big and I am very good at saying 'no'. I know which groups would get money and I know how I would structure my donations. I know who my family are so newbies showing up and declaring familial relations will be given short shrift.
Depending on how far that jackpot went would affect my plans, but the basic idea would remain the same because who needs more than they need to live comfortably?
Let's say I'm one of four winners. After all of the dust settles I would end up with almost $62M. Honestly, why would I need any more than $120k per year to live? Why could I not live well on $10,000 per month? Even on my bucket trip I'm not planning on spending more than $9,000 per month or $300 per day. One person traveling alone, staying in places for long periods and doing most of their own cooking should be able to make that work. So $10k per month is still far more than I would need, because my overall lifestyle wouldn't change.
I would happily accept $120k per year. Assuming I live another thirty-five years (unlikely, but possible), that would be $4.2M I would need to keep that pace. Since it's unlikely I would spend even $120k per year, it would roll over and I would have that much more available when I really need it.
Immediately, I would spend about $1.5m on myself. A new home locally and my future home on acreage over there. Land + site improvements + the home I've already identified and visualized that I would start on immediately so it would be ready when it's wanted.
I would buy the pickup truck I've always wanted, and a bicycle. Yep, a bicycle. A desktop computer and some clothes - Lee jeans in a variety of shades of blue (based on dye lot). Not Nordstrom or Macy's or any of the expensive places. Kohl's needs my business just as much and their prices are better. So are Target's. Why pay premium price for something I can get for less even if I have the money to spend?
Based on $6M taken from that $62M for myself and my future needs and wants, I would have a cool $56M to offer up to charity. Eleven charities and $5M each with $1M left over for the 'one-offs'? I would have choices, lots of choices and, looking at CharityWatch.org there are a lot of worthy charities out there.
And CharityWatch is worth a donation, too. If a charity uses more than 25% of the received donations on salaries and overhead, they are not spending their money wisely. Who gives money to charity to see it go for high salaries, lush offices, massive overhead and general nest feathering instead of going to help those who need help?
Aside from the winning, I would still get up and go to my job every day because I enjoy what I do (mostly). It gives me something to strive for, to do and look forward to each day. And that would offset some of the need for that $10k from my lottery nest egg so I would save for the future, just as I do now.
Why not retire? Why keep working?
Well, I don't play golf and how many rounds of golf can one play per week anyway? Even hobbies become chores if they're overdone. The pleasure departs and leaves work behind.
I might buy a horse or colt for training, but how many hours per week can one spend working with their horse or colt? I had horses before and spent twice as much time caring for them than I did riding or enjoying them, particularly the colt I was bringing along. Halter training, handling, accepting blankets laid across his back preparatory to the time he would be ready for the saddle, etc. was time consuming and required a lot of patience because he's prey and I'm predator (the position of the eyes in the skull are a giveaway to that).
One thing I have thought of is buying acreage and setting up a boarding stable where people would take care of their own horses. I would have the pleasure of having them there, seeing them every day, but I would hire people to feed them and muck stalls and haul doofle (poop). That would be funded primarily by the boarding fees I would charge, so I would have the pleasure without much pain.
I would also handle this in three stages.
Stage One is drop out of sight. Ditch the cell phone and go into hiding as far as possible. I would not announce my windfall to anyone who isn't in a position of 'Need To Know' because I have no interest in having people seeping out of the woodwork to declare family relationships or beg for money for their sick Aunt Tillie.
I would hire a CPA and meet with representatives of the charities I have already identified. My CPA and I would work with them to establish annuities or trust funds managed by an outside, unaffiliated party of their choice. Not a lump sum payout, but a steady stream of revenue.
I would buy the new house, truck and other things. For the time being I would keep my current car and use that for commuting but the truck would be there, ready to go, for Stage Three which would obviously come after Stage Two.
Stage Two, several years down the road, I would take my bucket trip.
Stage Three would be returning from my bucket trip and retiring to my cabin in the woods.
Those are far enough off, though, that I won't lock myself in by saying 'I'll do this, this, this and this.' I'll leave Stage Two for Stage Two and Stage Three to Stage Three.
Now, all I have to do is win. Even one quarter of that $900M would work.
$900M/4=$225M*.55=$123.75/2=$61.875M. Not too bad. Not too bad at all. Yep, I could manage on that.
Now I'm going to go pick out my house and truck. Here I am, wishing you sweet dreams!
Best~
Philippa
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