Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim - Am I Ever Going To Win?!

Okay, so, true facts. When I was twelve years old, my dad and I were driving on the highway one evening in early March when one of those spectacularly random events unfolded right in front of us. It was, like, equivalent to money falling from the sky. Only this actually happened.

A huge truck drove past us when, suddenly, the tire swerved to avoid something on the highway. Except the swerve was pretty sharp and, stopping suddenly, the back door of the truck swiveled open and boxes upon boxes fell out. As tons of boxes toppled onto the highway, all of its contents fell out.

Guess what the boxes held?

Hundreds and hundreds of empty Tim Horton's Roll Up The Rim cups.

I know, right? All over the highway. Amazing.

You should have seen it. To this day, I still laugh when I think about the number of people who pulled over, stepped out, and ran around the highway frantically grabbing as many Roll Up The Rim cups as they could. People fought over the cups. People grabbed garbage bags from the trunk of their cars and proceeded to stuff Roll Up The Rim cups into the bags. Said garbage bags were also on the verge of exploding once all the cups were cleaned up. There were some pretty satisfied people stuffing those garbage bags into their trunks later that night.

Amazing. Amazing.

So did we participate in this venture? Obviously. Who are we kidding? I'm shameless when it comes to free stuff. I always have been. Even when I was twelve.

Anyway, we scored about 20 cups. Because we were slow. And because other people grabbing cups were maniacs. However, on to the more important question: guess what we won after rolling up the rim of all those cups? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Boo. What happened to the 1 in 6 chances to winning deal? With that many cups, we should have at least won a donut. Double boo.

However, despite never having won a Roll Up The Rim prize ever, I still secretly hope that one day, I'll win something. A donut, anything. I like the idea of breaking even with a purchase. Example: Hypothetically, I buy a Apple Cider, I roll up the rim, I win a coffee. I break even and get a drink for free! Woot. Awesome. Little things like ~breaking even~ and winning a donut excite me. Don't judge. There aren't many other exciting things going on in this grad life beyond schoolwork, you see.

Anyway, while it might be a meaningless chase, that quest to win something elusive is addictively fun. (I'm addicted to competition and winning. I don't know if it's an only child thing, but it's definitely why I joined dodgeball). And hey, it worked for Charlie on his quest to find that Golden Ticket, yes? I have such a weird fascination with that book. And I was so happy when he found that ticket. Please, I know I wasn't the only one emotionally invested in that search.

Have fun participating (if you choose) in yet another month of Roll Up The Rim! I wish all of you the best of chances in finding that elusive golden ticket! Something fun to look forward to in the midst of All. This. Work. Sad Face. I'm swamped with too much to do, are you?

Now, I'm off to worry in a corner about a major presentation I have tomorrow. Perhaps I'll need a Tim Horton's Apple Cider to calm my nerves (I'm jittery). Served in a Roll Up The Rim cup, obviously.

"Yet even in certain defeat, the courageous secretly cling to the belief that life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. But rather, it is a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan."
- Serendipity

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”
- Oscar Wilde

3 comments:

  1. Assuming that the odds really are 1/6 the probability of you getting 20 losing cups is 2.6% That is some bad luck right there.

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  2. Haha, definitely lousy luck! Good luck to you though! :)

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  3. how's this for a losing cup? i have a masters degree and work at tim hortons for nearly minimum wage. go winners!

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