"Rig it so I win"

The deliciously marvelous prizes. I won none of them.

“Rig it so I win.”

My words rang like a ransom demand to one of my former colleagues. Normally, I wouldn’t impose such a blatant disregard for the rules when it comes to media launch raffles. But considering my ill-fated fortune when it comes to raffles and the magnitude of the prizes that were at stake tonight, I was willing to sacrifice whatever ounce of self-respect I had left.

This particular raffle was part of Dell Philippines’ consumer market launch. And as with most launches go, companies usually raffle off the very same products they launch. Since the launch revolved around the long-anticipated release of Dell computers to the consumer market, the company graciously raffled off the very products they were launching, namely, the XPS M1330 laptop, the Inspiron 1420 laptop, and the Inspiron 530 and 530s desktop.

No, the prizes weren’t mouse pads or coffee mugs. They were brand-new, high-powered computer models that have yet to be released on the market!

With those two things in mind – my jinxed history in raffles and the awe-inspiring prizes at stake - I tried to get as much of an upper hand as I could get. And fortunately, I had a certain advantage waiting to be exploited: I knew the organizers fairly well. Additionally, I was a reviewer for a reputable tech magazine (hint: it resides in the summit of all tech magazines) so I was banking on name recognition to drive me home.

But the game plan was still to cheat, at least in my part.

After about an hour or so of constant plodding, begging, and asking my colleague to "make it happen", she – obviously annoyed – told me to sit tight and wait for the draw. Miffed, I had no choice but to do just that – wait. Fortunately these types of events also have another media perk: the open bar. What better way to wait than to drink as much as I can right? Besides, Dell's paying for it.

After five bottles of Coors Light, I wearily made my way back inside the bar. At the same time, the organizers informed the crowd that the raffle draw was set to begin. While inside, I scouted the area to look at my competition and noticed that there weren’t as many media people as there were during the night’s pantomime and belly dancing presentations. ‘Perfect’, I thought.

They all look seductively sexy. The laptops, I mean.

Less competition means more chances of winning!

Finally, Dell’s Country Manager, Barry Bunyi, together with other dignitaries from Dell Asia Pacific, made their way up the stage to pick the first lucky bastard of the night. As he picked from the fishbowl, Bunyi finally let the cat out of the bag.

Bunyi: “The winner of the Inspiron notebook is from...the Manila Bulletin!”

Me (under my alcohol-smelling breath): Damn!

Bunyi: “The winner of the Inspiron 530 is from...MANUAL magazine!”

Me: Shit!

Bunyi: The winner of the Inspiron 530s is from...HWM Magazine!”

Me: Fuck!

Just like that, three prizes were gone, with one left remaining. This one, however, was the big

kahuna, the biggest prize of them all, the Dell XPS M1330.

Knowing that, I gamely hid my disappointment and hoped that Bunyi would finally call my name and I, as a result, would shriek in delight, bask in the glory, and give big ol' Barry a bear hug - just like how my dream transpired the night before.

Finally, Bunyi reached for the fishbowl to draw the last winner. After opening it, he gave a half-smirk to the audience before saying, “The winner of the XPS M1330 is from.........Tech & Tuner!”

Another raffle draw and another empty-handed result.

Dejected, I made my way outside to drown in my sorrows. As I sat down and lighted a consolation cigarette, my colleague came up to me and asked, “Did you win?” Disconsolate and defeated, I only managed to nod my head, which prompted her to give me a reassuring hug and a give-away laptop bag, telling me that I’m bound to win a raffle draw sooner than later. At this point, my mood was beyond consolable. In an effort to keep my wits together, I simply nodded my head and said, “Yeah, but this laptop bag would have felt better if there was an actual laptop inside.”

After another three rounds of alcohol courtesy of the open bar, I called it a night and went home, thinking about my doomed fortune in raffles. Maybe the next time, I’ll actually tell them to rig the results.

At this point, that’s probably the only way I can win.

This was pretty cool.

Unfinished Business

I've had these books for close to a year but I've finished
only about five of them.

When I decided to take that sabbatical, one of the priorities back then was reading through the stacks of unread literature littering my room. See, I have an absurd – and expensive - habit of toiling far too long in bookstores; reading through reviews of books and ending up purchasing them just because somebody from the Montana Herald claimed it to be “a literary treasure for today’s generation”.

Naturally, most individuals would take such comments with a grain of salt. Who reads the Montana Herald anyway? Are they even a legitimate daily broadsheet or just a community newsletter circulating among the 862 inhabitants of that poor state?

But those comments are exceptionally deceiving, not to mention essential marketing tools. Who cares if they came from the Montana Herald or the Bizmarck Bulletin? Somebody said it’s good then it really must be good! We all want a sense of affirmation with our purchases and these comments do that job - and do it well, I might add.

So we buy them, thinking that we’re about to read the works of the next Pulitzer Award Winner. The problem is, while we buy these books like our lives depended on it, what happens after that remains a different story because buying them is different from reading them.

And that’s where I’m at fault.

The thing is I wouldn’t be too bummed out if I actually read the books I buy and not just use them as mere decorations in a room that already has far too of these said “decors” (mother prefers to call them trash).

But I haven’t read anything in three months. My current reading material, ‘Crashing the Borders’ by Harvey Araton still has a Garfield bookmark stuck in chapter eight, and it has been there since last December. It’s not so much the lack of time that prevents me from sitting down and opening these books, since my unemployed state gives me all the time in the world.

The culprit is a lack of interest - coupled with spending too much time thinking about harebrained thoughts like the universal usefulness of my pinky toe.

That’s what happens when you don’t stick to your gameplan. The pinky debacle, mind you, is but merely one proof of the pride-swallowing boredom I have been experiencing lately. I also once experimented with water-proof matches, chocolate mousetraps, BB guns, and rusted machetes. But I’ll reserve those stories for another entry. They're strictly embarrassing.

And so, as I write this entry, I will now fully concentrate on my books and when I say concentrate, I mean actually reading them as opposed to making them permanent fixtures in my bookshelves. For starters, I shall make it a point to finish ‘Crashing the Borders’ since it really is a fascinating read.

From then on, I shall stick to a plan of one book per week.
At least now I can say that I’m making good use of my time. The rakets will come, I hope. But in the meantime, I have approximately 24 books to keep me busy in the foreseeable future.

More importantly, reading books just might save me from the embarrassment of using up our supply of bandages.

The mission begins...

An Introduction

This is my fourth blog. One might think that a pretentious, trying-hard writer like myself should only stick to one blog considering that scattered ideas revealed in different blogs would only do more harm than good, especially when it comes to those who might chance upon to read my works. “No continuity”, you’d say.

But knowing myself, going against the flow has proven to be more of a norm than an exception to the rule.

And so, against all sensibilities and common sense, I am opening my new blog http://temporarydestination.blogspot.com. I really wanted to name it http://leavethelighton.blogspot.com but as you can see, somebody already beat me to it. It’s interesting to note that I made up seven different blog names only to find out that they were already taken. Who would have expected that, huh?

So, I’m sticking with ‘temporary destination’ because that’s what I believe my life should be – at least for now. I’m not one to stick to a routine and will always be on the lookout for doing new things – sagacious or otherwise.

That’s what this blog will be about. It’s going to be a running chronicle of my endeavours, whether it’s a crowning achievement, a mundane observation, or an embarrassing anecdote. I shall leave no stone unturned and write about everything, from the accomplishments to the embarrassments.

After all, you can’t have one without the other, right?

What makes this blog different and why should I convince you to read? First of all, I won’t convince you to read it.

I’d like to say that I’m going to let my writing do the talking, so to speak. If you read it and like it, then great for me! If you don’t, then let this blog become just another statistic.

I don’t write blogs because it’s en vogue. I don’t write it looking for attention with the hopes of someone reading it and offering to send me free books from another continent - although I would really love that.

Most importantly, I didn’t make this blog because I want people to compliment my writing. I for one will be the first to admit that my style is still a “work in progress”. I’m also no Brian Gorell and I don’t have any gossip-worthy stories to write about.

What I do have is a desire to write. And with this blog, that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Write.

Write.

Write.

And so I welcome you, dear reader.

This is my blog.

You’re welcome to read everything and you’re even more welcome to comment every so often. Rest assured, all your comments will not go unanswered and I am most certainly looking forward to corresponding with you.

So with that, let the pimping begin.