I bought my first lottery ticket yesterday EVER. How is that possible you say? Surely at some point, Kim, you must have felt financially desperate enough to give it a whirl? No. When I was desperate I became an alcoholic and addict, but that’s another story. Power Ball is by far an easier route!
Today my daughters and I bought not one but two Power Ball tickets. It was so absolutely ridiculous that the pot was 1.6 billion. How could you just not? I didn’t want such a frivolous act - which included standing confused at the self-serve lottery ticket machine for way too long - to go without some fact checking. Who are these Power Ball people? How are they making money? A large percentage gets distributed to all the state governments to spend. What I thought was even more fun was the Reddit thread on this question that answered What is Powerball only briefly before moving into other topics like “why do women ask men to be emotional and then shame them” or “why do I get a ton of SMS from political people but not Coca Cola?” Moving on, I thought well, it’s a way for the government to get more money from people to help fix roads, or schools. Until my older teen who has a way of curving left said: “It keeps down insurgence,” interrupting me fantasizing about the hire of my full time personal assistant with my winnings. “You know that Karl Marx quote - ‘Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature…the opium of the people.'‘ That’s the lottery.”
I paused. I was moving into my Paris apartment over looking the Louvre in my mind. “The lottery gives the poor people a sense of false hope so they don’t rebel.” I glanced down at the Power Ball ticket in my hand. $2 was a lot to pay for suppression as one of the masses. Then I realized rich people don’t buy lottery tickets so they are not giving money to the government in that way, and I started to feel annoyed.
Have you done a lottery ticket fantasy budget after buying a ticket? Can you imagine winning? You would probably have to move, change your number and your kids may have to leave their school. Wouldn’t there be potential kidnapping for ransom? Too many factors. I am kind of relieved I didn’t win. Okay, that’s a lie.
If You Are Looking To Do Some Writing:
I discovered the “quiet room” at WeWork last week. If you thought WeWork went bankrupt, it didn’t. Well at least in LA where there are a ton of them. They have a room that is silent. No phone. No talking. It was freaking heaven. If you are like me and someone else’s conversation when I am trying to get a sentence right is like a cannon shooting off in your brain, then this is the room for you. Plus, they have a special right now $240 a month unlimited which includes weekends (get away from that family and write!) for the first six months. I couldn’t be happier with discovering I have options aside from yelling on Zoom coaching calls over the coffee shop blending every bean they own.
What I Wish Someone Would Create:
More of those people with the signs giving hugs. They were a thing for a while, and the people always appeared a little crazy because your mind was like, “why is that grown ass man spending his day giving hugs for free?” We are naturally suspect. If it’s a group of sorority girls we are less suspect. I mean what a brilliant idea, though, the hugs. It is a fact that we need 10-15 hugs a day to feel like we are thriving. I don’t know about you, but I get like 2 maybe a day? I spoke at an event last weekend and the audience was mainly gay men, and after I got 50 hugs! I was in heaven for days! When you get hugged you just feel better. I know sometimes I am around someone who really could use a hug, and I am like, “You seem like you need a hug.” They stiffen and resist. Or those people who just fall into you and are so grateful. Our bodies need touch. Well, not that kind of touch. But you know what I mean. Get your head out of the gutter.
Shameless Plug: Mark your calendar for the Book Launch of my book No More Denying Sexual Abuse: Making The Choices That Can Change Your Life on February 18, 2023 at 7 PM in Los Angeles! You are all invited. Music and fun.
Powerball...