Day 15: You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round

I WON $55.50 TODAY!

$50 Gift card MyWeather.com for a second place win in their photo contest

$5.50 from WorldWinner.com for Wheel of Fortune game play

2011 Total Winnings so far:  $1,680.50

After a final marathon campaign of getting votes for my entry "Jazzhands the Snowman"in the MyWeather.com winter photo contest (thank you to all who voted, especially those from Mrs. Archie’s kindergarten class that I reached out to after 26 years on Facebook), I placed second behind Jessica Ice-Bergmann Lettuce’s: Michigan IceSkapades photo.  It was a tight race all day, but some how La Lettuce harvested an additional 50 votes right at the end.  Final score  Jazzhands:274  IceSkapades: 316. We both get $50 gift cards, but La Lettuce gets the green and the glurry. 

Today’s 2 contests:

World Winner.com “Wheel of Fortune”

American Express' Season of Surprises Sweepstakes (I like saying that phrase with a lot of swishy syllabant s’s)

Prizes: 

Wheel of Fortune: $631.80 jackpot

Am Ex:  $100,000

Rules:  Both involved entering standard personal info and then getting the chance to play an interactive game.  I reeeeally got into this. 

Wheel of Fotune had me spin a virtual wheel for $$$.   And the Am Ex game had me pull a slot machine lever for a chance at an instant win (which I instantly lost) but also included me in the running for a $100,000 prize.

Winnings:  On the Wheel of Fortune game I got to spin 3 times for free.  I actually won $5.50, though I am a little suspish if I’ll ever see it.

WorldWinner.com hosts Wheel of Fortune and a number of other online Game Show contests.  They getcha hooked on one for free the first time and then they make you pay for the rest….like someone who deals coke…blow, snow, yay-yo, Bolivian marching powder, the white horse, Aunt Nora (whuuut?) Stardust, CC (my playmaaate come out and play with meeee, climb up my apple treeeee, la la la la LA lahhhhh)....

 Playing the games online was super fun and super satisfying.  It made the contests interactive and worthwhile.  I love a good game/gameshow/board game.  I got hooked when I was a kid. Between $25,000 Pyramid, Press Your Luck, and Let’s Make a Deal, I would fake strep throat all the time in order to stay home to watch.

We also played a lot of games as a family.  I became a master at Boggle when I was little, by playing with a mother who crushed us by finding words like roe and tern.  She didn’t let her children win just so they could feel good about themselves. She was a competitive former English Major and didn’t care that you were just 11.   “You didn’t get “ire”?...Really?  Oh, ok…well that’s a point for me.”

A typical game looked like this:

Hmmmm.....

If you waaaaaant, we could actually do a kinda online contest and play a round of Bogs right now.  You game?  You can use this uber-dramatically underscored 3 minute Weakest Link timer:

I’m really actually going to play.  If you want to get a pen & paper totally do it, I’ll put my words at the bottom, and we can compare. And trust and believe that my mom will too and she'll post her words, cuz she reads this blog, and she is armed with pen and paper as. we. speak. You can check back against mine and hers (she'll beat us both…belieeeeeve…).  The words have to be at least 3 letters.

(my words will be below under the totally random orange square)

Ready?  Set ? Bogs!

My words:

Tar Tart Nab Slab

Slate Stare Dare

Date Rate Tab

Band Glare Slant Tan

Bats Tale Rant Gland

Bar Brat List  

Set Dart Rad Tad  

Dab Silt  List Shear Set Sister 

“Oh mom, you didn’t get sister?  Really?  Hmmmm…well I guess that’s a point for me.”

Day 14: Let's Get Ready to Rumbuuuuul!

2011 Earnings so far: $1,625
Toady’s contest:  Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine: St. Lucia Vacation

Prize:  A vacay to the Jade Mountain resort in St. Lucia

Rules:  Enter a brief one liner about why you need to put down your smart phone and leave your laptop go to on this getaway.   There are no TVs or phones in the rooms of this resort.    Instead what you look at is the ocean and mountains.  In fact there is a completely missing wall so you're fully immersed in the environment. It's spectacular.  

Onto the Main event  

(ding ding ding)

  Jazzhands The Snowman              VS                  The Michigan Ice Storm

  

This is the ultimate winter photo contest showdown between  my snowman and the Ansel Adams-esque Michigan Icescape submitted by Jessica Ice-Bergmann Lettuce (that's her clever on-line vegetable screen name)  Well I am ready to fight for this title belt and Salad Shooter down.  

Over the last 36 hours, I have been feverishly trying to collect votes to win this  photo contest on Facebook (luckily I don't have a husband and can order in food, so I didn't have to leave the house and there was no one to comment that I should probably step away from the computer)

 Up until yesterday, Ms. Lettuce had a strong lead with 88 votes.  Jazzhands slid past that in the wee hours of the night.  Lettuce woke to a surprise that someone had skidded by her ice patch.  That’s when she started picking up steam.  Since this afternoon, she has upped her votes to 144.  I’m close behind with 133.  There’s 24 hours left to go.  She’s fierce and on a mission to win.  But two can play at this game.  Lettuce see who’s fiercerrrrr….

So I still need help voting.  It’s super easy to do on Facebook. Here’s how:

2 easy steps:

#1. You must 'Like': http://www.facebook.com/myweather?ref=ts.
then.....

#2. You must 'Like' http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493580156924&set=a.493578421924.268416.155364446924

If I get second place I’ll be totally bummed.  Then I'll like go to second place party with a bunch of second place people and have to hang around with...

American Idol Runner Up Justin Guarini

Olympic Silver Medalist Nancy Kerrigan

And 2000 Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush

Day 13: She's a Small Wonder

2011 Earnings so far: $1,625

Today’s Contest(s):A few different ones actually. After stumbling onto a website specifically targeted to people who enter lots of sweepstakes (aka ‘sweepers’)  I found out a lot of new info on entering, and started really getting into the groove (and by groove I mean a bleary eyed, obsessive, having Thai food delivered cuz I don’t want to get up from the computer, did the sun set?, whatevs…kind of entering session)  I was unstoppable.  I was Vicki the robot.


Main Contest: All Modern.com's: Unleash your chic side living room give-away
Prize:  $25,000 in ultra-chic furniture  from All Modern.com styled by celeb designer John Gidding

Rules:   They were looking for a sassy 250 word entry that talked about why you need this furniture make over and how this new modern living room would help you live a chic and fabulous life.  I spoke of my outcast state as a gay man in his mid-30's late 20's, still using furniture from my college years. I titled my entry, “Help this queen get his throne.”

Beyond this contest, I entered a slew of super vague, brand-un-specifc, “win some cash and a vacay from us” sweepstakes.

But what really got me into marathon mode was finding a niche of Facebook pages where people can vote for each others’ unrelated contests. I used this to my advantage for the one ongoing contest I have….
Specifically, for my picture entry I've titled, “Jazzhands The Snowman” in the MyWeather.com photo contest: 

I'm in the top 10  & I need your vote. 

You too can vote, in just 2 easy steps:

#1. You've got to 'Like': http://www.facebook.com/myweather?ref=ts.

THEN CLOSE THAT WINDOW.  THENNNNN.....

#2. Then you've got to 'Like' http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493580156924&set=a.493578421924.268416.155364446924

So, ok,  just real quick I gotta get this next part out before my eyes literally fall out of my head and into my Basil TofuThe people on these websites trade votes.  So they vote for me, and I vote for them.   There are no allegiances, and no one cares what they're voting for actually, as long as they get votes.  It all feels very shady & corrupt and like we’re lobbyists on capital hill or something.   Looooooved iiiiiiit!!!! I got over 50 votes for my snowman pic in only 6 hours…ummmm…I honestly don’t know which part of that last sentence is the saddest.I voted for contests all over the world.  The “Paint on a Volkswagon” contest in France, a dress contest in India (pictured above...total flawless fireceness),  and an endless conveyer belt of “Vote for my precious baby” modeling contests.
Oddly, there were about a bazillion Filipino ad contests.  Companies are working overtime in the online contest front down in Manilla.  My fave to vote for was The Ultimate Faces of Nursing Model Search.  There are alot of Filipino nurses.  And there are a lot cute Filipinos.  Put those two things together, and you've got a fierce Florence Nightengale/ Imelda Marcos Showdown.     

                                                                                                                                             

Heaven Sent...and ready to raise Hell.....

Day 12: It's Payback Time

2011 Earnings so far: $1,625


Today's contest:  MyLifetime.com Clean Start Challenge 2011 Sweepstakes
Prize:   $5,000
Rules:  Fill out an online entry form.  They are asking for phone numbers.  I acquiesced, as much as I'm now beyooooond worried that I'm going to have to exponentially up my Verizon minute plan because of the army of telemarketers that are going to have access to my phone now.


Paid in Full:
Through all the blogging, searching for contests, and looking for pics & videos, I kinda maybe sorta lost sight of the reason I was entering contests to begin with, which is to get out of debt.  I'm happy to say that with my first round of contests earnings, I paid off one of my credit cards in full.  It was the Visa with the Vincent Van Gogh design "Starry Starry Night"

To honor the moment, I did the traditional 'cutting of the card'.  To claim the moment truly as my own, I cut it into the shape of a unicorn.   Neyyyyyyyy...

Day 11: And the Toni goes to...

2011 Earnings so far:  $1,625

Today’s Contest: Women’s Day/United States of Tara Season 2 DVD Giveaway

Prize:  The DVDs

Rules: Online Info Submission

As much as I said I was going to wait to write again....

I can't not write SOMETHING when I am entering a contest for a set of DVDs starring Toni Collette (but I will be brief, if only to get to bed before 2 am)

I love and live for Toni C.  She's ab fab and gets a thumbs up from me for just about everything she does.

Background:

In this show Toni plays Tara Gregson, a woman who has multiple personalities.   She won a Golden Globe for the role back in 2009.   Toni busted (quite literally) onto the scene as her care-free, shrunken clothes wearing, yet totally akward Muriel in Muriel’s Wedding.   I fell in love with this movie at first sight.  The plot of a young woman realizing her dreams & making them happen undesrscored by an ABBA soundtrack, felt like watching my future play out on screen.  

I totes want to be like Muriel in this pic: giving facial realness and looking like a true original clad in leopard, but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm more of a hotpink bridesmaid.

Other notable Tonis:

Toni Braxton

Toni Morrison

Toni Basil

Ton(y) Danza

Day 10: Blog update

Today's Contest:  Dollar General $5 Million Dollar Giveaway

Prize:  5 million $$$  grand Prize

I've decided to switch the format on here a little.  For now, I'll still update my contest entries and winnings on here on a daily basis, but only do a weekly recap with all the bells, whistles and pictures that you've come to expect.   As much as I'm trying to get out of corporate America, I'm still very much entrenched in there, and am going a little bonkers trying to learn how to balance that with this new blog.

I'm so excited for your excitement about this adventure and am so grateful that you've been reading.

I appreciate your patience as  I learn to get my bearings with this.

Thanks,

Matthew

Day 9: Neuteronomy

CONTEST UPDATE:

I am a finalist in the MyWeather Photo contest (which I blogged about on Day 4: Weather or Not).  Now the 2 pics with the top votes get $50.  I need your help.  Please go to the MyWeather Facebook page and vote for my City Snowman.  You’ll need to “like” the MyWeather page…and then you can “like” my pic. Thanks!!  http://www.facebook.com/myweather
2011 Earnings so far:  $1,625
Today’s Contest:   ASPCA Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest
Rules:  Submit the cutest pic you have of your li’l pet on their website. A panel of professional animal photographers will judge on the winners                                                                                          Prizes:  Different prizes are awarded for pics that place in the top 10.  The Grand Prize is a Trip to LA to attend the Genesis Awards:  A ceremony that pays tribute to those in news and entertainment for producing outstanding works raising awareness of animal issues.  You also get a custom painting of your pet, and a $500 gift card for pet supplies

Background: 

The ASPCA works to fight animal cruelty, advocates passing humane laws for our furry friends, and helps shelters nationwide.

As a fundraising awareness campaign they are having people submit pics of their little critters in a all out-no holds barred on line cuteness pageant.  This might prove to be as intense as people who submit pictures of their babies on line for Gap contests and then get LIVIIIIIIID when no one gives a thumbs up on facebook…I’ve seen it…it’s ugly….I meant the contest...not your baby...(welllll....)

Who will be crowned ASPCA Spay Day Anamalista of 2011? I submitted a pic of my own little pageant diva.  Ladies and Gentlemen, our next contestant MacGregor Fletcher……

Hi, my name’s MacGregor Fletcher, I'm from the great state of New York, home of the original alley cat.   I’m a full time sleeper who loves a loose string and my talent is staring at the back of the sofa for hours on end.

Animal Awareness is ever growing as more and more people switch to being veggie, vegan and not wear animal products.  Helping to usher the movement along are people of note from various fronts….in entertainment, Natlie Portman and Oliver Stone.  In fashion, Stealla McCartney, and in politics Dennis Kuccinch. It’s certainly not a new movement.  Figures like Buddha, Leonardo Davinci and some say even Jesus, were veggies, and animal lovers.  One of the most visible activists of our time is actress, Betty White who has been advocating animal rights for over  135 years.      

     Other lesser known Veggies:   

Lisa Simpson:  Perhaps it's her vegetarian diet that has kept her 

from aging at all for over 20 years now

Mr. Rogers didn't eat big birds

Spock'(s) Vulcan grip was chicken finger free

But even though we are progressing, we still have such a long way to go.  We are using animals for our entertainment in cruel thoughtless ways.

These are the innocent. The unprotected.  Please if we can put a stop to this, let it be today.

 One of the worst offenses of animal cruelty, on so many levels, is still perpetuated on a nightly basis, all over the country.  It's horrifying and awful, and after years and years people line up to see it.  It needs to stop.  It’s a single word that send chills down my spine.  Cats.

Day 8: MasterDater

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