I won a keyboard once when I was in Grade 4. I don't even remember what the event was, but we were all crowded in the school gym. The lights were off except for on the stage. A little strip of paper was pulled of a box and the name announced. It was my dad's name but he made me collect the grand prize--I guess I didn't ever really win that then. But it felt like I had won something; I was officially lucky.

After that, for a while I entered every raffle with the expectation of winning. Having never won anything since, I've changed my outlook. I convinced myself that games of chance--lotteries, raffles, etc--were a waste of effort. I think the last lottery ticket I bought was in senior year of high school. A bunch of us walked past a convenience store and a friend wanted one. Peer pressure kicked in, as it does among adolescent boys, and soon every one of us got in line and bought a ticket. I didn't win, nor did I expect to.

But when Rock 102.1 had its "Shred the slopes in Aspen" contest, I just had to call in. This week is the last week they're qualifying people for the trip and over $2000 in equipment for the slopes. It'd be a miracle if I won the trip, but I'd be happy with the qualifying prize any day: two lift tickets to Cascade Mountain and a Rock 102.1 ski cap. So what if I can't shred the slopes in Aspen--skiing in Wisconsin for free with a free ski cap on my head still beats sitting at home in Milwaukee listening to the radio. So when they played their jingle, I was excited. It took me a second to realize it was time to call, but when I did, and I raced for my cell phone. The last thing I wanted was to call in at the completely wrong time and sound like a fool. I nervously dialed the number--carefully, but as quick as I could--and waited. There was silence for a split second, and that split second seemed like minutes. Was it going to ring? Would I get a busy signal? I held my breath. Alas, it was a busy signal. I hung up and tried again. Then again... and again... and again� for about 2 minutes. A busy signal was all I got each time. While I was optimistic, I suppose deep down I didn't expect anything other than the busy signal.

It's the same thing every time: I don't win. So why did I bother to write about it now? I have a take-home exam due in two days and I needed to procrastinate.