Winning and Losing: Day 34 & 35
My team didn’t win on Super Bowl Sunday, but that wasn’t the biggest controversy. In hindsight, I guess I should have seen something like this coming when it comes to my sister. I spent the day with my dad at his house as he threw a Super Bowl party for a bunch of his friends. As part of the Super Bowl party activities, there was a betting pool.
I rarely bet simply because I know the odds. This was a simple 100 space sheet with each space being worth $1. Ten people each put in $10 ($100 total) and wrote their name on ten spaces. Then numbers were randomly picked for the top and side rows which would be used to correspond with the score at the end of each quarter making the entire pool pure luck. $20 was to be awarded after the first quarter, $20 after the second quarter, $20 after the third quarter, and $40 dollars for the final score. While in most cases I would have declined, it really wouldn’t have been appropriate under the circumstances and so I put in $10. I figured I would simply have to accept it as payment for a lot of good fun and good food (hot wings, dips, shrimp tacos, veggies, and much more as appetizers, some great chili for the main meal).
If all had gone as planned with the odds, there would have been absolutely no issue, and my sister would have accepted that I had poorly spent my $10 entry fee. However, I managed to beat the odds and ended up with the winning numbers at the end of the game:
Winning gave me $40, and a $30 profit for the day. My sister immediately insisted that this was ill-gotten money and cannot be added to my minimum wage challenge. She argues that those on minimum wage can’t afford to gamble, so I shouldn’t reap the benefits of gambling. Of course, in my opinion this is nothing but a lame attempt of her duty since there would have never been an issue had I lost (What is your opinion? Should I be able to keep this money?). While an extra $30 to spend in the challenge doesn’t sound like a lot, it would cover the total amount of money I spent so far on food, so I would be able to take great advantage of this if I can keep it.
Day 35
The morning after the Super Bowl was spent helping my dad clean up after the Super Bowl party, and then it was a travel day down south to visit mom (and get the car clutch checked out). While driving south, I usually only stop at the Golden Gate Bridge when the sky is blue. It was a rather overcast and foggy day, so I had no plans to stop, but when I arrived, the bridge looked almost ghost-like in the fog and I had to spend a little time admiring the scene:
I didn’t end up getting down south in time to take the car in, so that is the plan tomorrow to see the what the damage might be. In the end, I was able to spend the last two days without spending any money, and actually making $30 on the football pool. Transportation costs (including the bridge toll) were covered as part of house sitting and there is no cost visiting Golden Gate national recreation area.
Today’s & Yesterday’s Spending
Food: $0.00
Car: $0.00
Housing: $0.00
Travel: $0.00
Health: $0.00
Misc: $0.00
Total: $0.00
Total Spending
Food: $27.89
Car: $0.00
Housing: $0.00
Travel: $0.00
Health: $485.00
Misc: $19.00
Total: $531.89
people on minimum wage gamble. Some work in casinos, some buy lottery tickets. She needs to get with reality. I know people on minimum wage and they *do* gamble. The football pools weekly, basketball pools…