Cheers
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The scan on this is a bit wonky due to lumpiness – the blue border is actually even! Finally finished off a “backlog” layout!! This is about my obsession with the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes. Title done with Stickopotamus letter stickers (finally got the final “e” I needed – thank you Holly!) and a font called “Bar Code”. The rest is found objects – a letter and envelope from PCH, a digital photo of me doing the “Home Alone” pose with “Impact” font reading “You mean… I may have already won?!”, a key chain to hold together the tag booklet, and a plastic necklace I got in a swap. Journalling (in the tag book) reads as follows: Scratch-and-win or break-open lottery tickets? Never buy them. Bingo? Too much cigarette smoke, too much hassle. VLTs? Too noisy – and hey, you have put your own money into those things! But if I open up my mailbox and spot one of those thick envelopes from Publishers Clearing House for their big sweepstakes, it’s a good bet that a carefully-filled out set of forms will be zinging its way back to the PCH headquarters well before the entry deadline even comes close. I’ve had a weakness for those envelopes that promise the moon since I was very young. Back then, PCH’s mailings came addressed to my mom or dad, who couldn’t have cared less and likely would have tossed them in the trash or the recycling bin had I not scavenged them away. I would sit in my room, carefully tearing out, licking and gluing down stamps, answering questions such as what time the Prize Patrol should arrive, and mailing off the return envelopes. In a dresser drawer, I saved all of the glossy photos of grand mansions, island vacations and other symbols of what such great wealth could bring to our family. My biggest dream was to send my dad on a vacation to Greece – he had talked for years about the ancient architecture of Athens, and I wanted him to see it firsthand. Sadly, the white van marking the arrival of the Prize Patrol never pulled up in front of my parents’ house, but I kept returning the envelopes and eventually I ended up on the mailing lists myself. Ed McMahon promised to visit if Canadian Family Publishers decided I was worthy of their sweepstakes cash, but that never happened either. I had a short-term addiction to on-line sweeps, but eventually got bored. Reader’s Digest couldn’t nab me; they wanted me to take out a subscription and I wasn’t buying. Yet the lure of those Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes continues. A little bit of paperwork, a 49-cent stamp, and off the (much thinner than the original) envelope goes. In my rational mind, I know I’m grabbing after fool’s gold – empty wishes, wind-caught dreams of enough money to go on exotic vacations, buy the toys I want, donate to the causes I believe in and save those I love from the headaches financial insecurity can bring. A large part of me doesn’t even want to win – I know there are as many problems and demands resulting from too much money as from too little, and we are comfortable and secure in our jobs and our home. I like being able to make a contribution through the work I do and help pay the bills at the same time. So why? Why do I keep sending off those envelopes? I guess it’s just that little niggling question, that rosy-coloured, candy-floss question that keeps VLTs ca-chinging and charity bingo coffers growing, those two seductive little words: “What if?” I can't get the tag book to stay in place properly!! It's in the envelope secured by a “pocket” of foam tape, but I want it to be easily removable. I'm using temporary hold Scotch tape, but if anyone has better suggestions, please let me know. Thanks. Feedback/praise/constructive criticism gladly welcomed. Carmen.
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Thanks for spreading positivity!
