So, I used to have what some people described as a serious problem. I had a terrible job. I was working for a vindictive boss, in a pointless profession, suffering long hours for a barely survivable wage for a young man in the NYC metro area.
My funds were spread even thinner by my routine $18 lunches. $6 for a sandwich, $1 fresca, $1 for a sack of goldfish, and $10 for a NY lottery 'Set for Life' scratch off card. I would literally buy a scratch off 3 out of a 5 day week. The 'added tax on the poor' was doing a number on my bank account, but the fleeting thought that with one scratch I would be able to rise from my desk and never come back was worth every penny.
About a year ago, after a dozen interviews, I found a job that I like, and my scratch-off problem cleared right up like the inexplicable disappearance of HPV. It wasn't a conscious choice, I just stopped buying scratch offs.
Two weeks ago, on an especially sunny Monday morning I found myself at the counter of the bodega next to my work. 'Wouldn't I be having a better day if I was retired?' I thought. The answer is always yes (I cant think of a force more unstoppable than a 26 year old with zero commitments(think of how many times I could watch Sportscenter in a given week)), so I decided to visit an old friend. I bought a 'Set For'(that's what I call them), scratched it, and it looked as though I had won $5 (It cost $10, so I was really in the hole $5, but whatever). I threw the card on my desk at work and decided I would cash it in when I got around to it.
Well, today I went to cash it in, and to my surprise, the $5 winner was actually $50. I had misread the card, and the star next to the $5 meant it multiplied your winnings by 10. I must have asked the young Chinese woman behind the counter to pronounce the word "fifty" seven times.
"Really? Fifty? Five - O?"
Needless to say, I was thrilled. One of the few things sweeter than free money, is surprise free money. I used $10 of my winnings to get another Set-For, and won $20 on that one. So, it looks like I might have a problem again. It is possible that the problem never went away, and I've had it well before I even knew what the lottery was: I hate to work and will think of any way possible to avoid it.
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