42,000,000 - Our Lucky Number
Amazing developments have unfolded for the Bear family here in Long Beach, California. I'm not sure what to think about any of it. To be honest, I'm completely numb. I suppose I should feel giddy or awestruck or grateful or SOMEthing... but I don't feel anything just yet.
Perhaps I should come right out and say it. Cripes. Carey and I haven't even called our families yet to tell them. I dunno, I guess we don't want to jinx it.
Right.
I'm just going to say it. Deep breath.
Last night, Carey and I became Millionaires.
For as long as I've known Carey, she's had a penchant for entering sweepstakes and raffles and lotteries and contests. (One year, while we were dating, she called off to stay at home and wait for the Publisher's Clearing House folks to come knocking on her door. She even dressed up and put on makeup, only to watch in horror as some lucky, televised resident on the other side of the country opened her door and was handed Carey's big check.) Anyhow, I've explained the odds game to her countless times, but she refuses to believe me: "Care, you've a better chance of getting struck by lightening than winning the Lottery." "Come on, you never know," she'd say, and then she'd waste our money.
Only not last night.
Oh, it's been going on for a few years and I've just had to sort of give in. I've had to look at it as an entertainment expense, like going to the movies or something. Whenever Carey goes to the grocery store, she rolls the dice and, depspite my protests, buys a Super Lotto Plus card and picks her numbers. Sometimes we're lucky enough to get our money back, but it's rare.
Last night, though, when the numbers were announced at 7:57, she wrinkled her nose and said, "shut up shut up shut UP!" She showed me the card and... and, yeah. Every. Single. Number. Matched.
So, we sat there and sort of stared at each other and Carey started crying. $42,000,000. It still hasn't really sunk in and I'm still waiting for there to be some strange catch that we haven't taken into account. I logged onto http://www.calottery.com, found the phone # to claim our prizes, called them up and talked to a very helpful woman named Avril Pousson who told me, yes it's real and congratulations and you must be thrilled.
Uh. Yeah. Thrilled. Geez.
Choices like payments-or-lump-sum? and do-you-want-to-divert-this-percentage-to-that-charity? have to be made by Monday and it's all a freaking tornado. Tomorrow, Carey (since she's the one who actually bought the ticket) gets her picture taken and she's going to be on Fox News (probably getting one of those oversized checks or something). I asked if we could possibly forego the whole press part of it, but the California Lottery Board says no - they use footage of winners as publicity and it's kind of the nature of the beast.
Kooky ideas have been occuring to us about how to spend the money. Maybe we'll sink some of it into real estate. Carey wants to give at least ten million to Central African missions she's been reading about. Me, I want to make a low budget indy movie and do it right. Either way, this will open up enormous self-publishing opportunities for me and Carey can relax about school and schedules and...
Either way, we'll both be taking some time off. I don't know if I'm going to quit (I've always told myself I wouldn't adjust my lifestyle much if something outrageous like this happened, but now that it's a reality, good grief), but I'm definitely going to scale back my schedule. Needless to say, neither of us were remotely prepared for this.
Really, we're just happy. Thankful. Amazed. I'm not sure what to say. Our lives will be much different from now on and, to be honest, I'm a little scared. Either way, I'll post updates to this site as they come. Gulp.
!!!
Perhaps I should come right out and say it. Cripes. Carey and I haven't even called our families yet to tell them. I dunno, I guess we don't want to jinx it.
Right.
I'm just going to say it. Deep breath.
Last night, Carey and I became Millionaires.
For as long as I've known Carey, she's had a penchant for entering sweepstakes and raffles and lotteries and contests. (One year, while we were dating, she called off to stay at home and wait for the Publisher's Clearing House folks to come knocking on her door. She even dressed up and put on makeup, only to watch in horror as some lucky, televised resident on the other side of the country opened her door and was handed Carey's big check.) Anyhow, I've explained the odds game to her countless times, but she refuses to believe me: "Care, you've a better chance of getting struck by lightening than winning the Lottery." "Come on, you never know," she'd say, and then she'd waste our money.
Only not last night.
Oh, it's been going on for a few years and I've just had to sort of give in. I've had to look at it as an entertainment expense, like going to the movies or something. Whenever Carey goes to the grocery store, she rolls the dice and, depspite my protests, buys a Super Lotto Plus card and picks her numbers. Sometimes we're lucky enough to get our money back, but it's rare.
Last night, though, when the numbers were announced at 7:57, she wrinkled her nose and said, "shut up shut up shut UP!" She showed me the card and... and, yeah. Every. Single. Number. Matched.
So, we sat there and sort of stared at each other and Carey started crying. $42,000,000. It still hasn't really sunk in and I'm still waiting for there to be some strange catch that we haven't taken into account. I logged onto http://www.calottery.com, found the phone # to claim our prizes, called them up and talked to a very helpful woman named Avril Pousson who told me, yes it's real and congratulations and you must be thrilled.
Uh. Yeah. Thrilled. Geez.
Choices like payments-or-lump-sum? and do-you-want-to-divert-this-percentage-to-that-charity? have to be made by Monday and it's all a freaking tornado. Tomorrow, Carey (since she's the one who actually bought the ticket) gets her picture taken and she's going to be on Fox News (probably getting one of those oversized checks or something). I asked if we could possibly forego the whole press part of it, but the California Lottery Board says no - they use footage of winners as publicity and it's kind of the nature of the beast.
Kooky ideas have been occuring to us about how to spend the money. Maybe we'll sink some of it into real estate. Carey wants to give at least ten million to Central African missions she's been reading about. Me, I want to make a low budget indy movie and do it right. Either way, this will open up enormous self-publishing opportunities for me and Carey can relax about school and schedules and...
Either way, we'll both be taking some time off. I don't know if I'm going to quit (I've always told myself I wouldn't adjust my lifestyle much if something outrageous like this happened, but now that it's a reality, good grief), but I'm definitely going to scale back my schedule. Needless to say, neither of us were remotely prepared for this.
Really, we're just happy. Thankful. Amazed. I'm not sure what to say. Our lives will be much different from now on and, to be honest, I'm a little scared. Either way, I'll post updates to this site as they come. Gulp.
!!!
posted by Jeremy Bear at
5:32 AM
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