So how much money have you lost at the fair, trying to win one of those BIG prizes? It's annoying, right? It feels like you're just about there, and you blow it. To be frank, I’ve spent money on countless things, it was a bit tricky for me to decide, especially taking into consideration that I spend my money on things I don't need. Like every typical teenager, I find myself spending most of my money on food. No matter how much money teenagers spend, its mostly on pointless things we don't need, but instead want. It was summertime and the carnivals were out in full force. In the 30 mile radius around my house, there had to be at least a dozen begging friends trying to entice their friends to go and blow $200 trying to win a $3 stuffed animal. …show more content…
That was the night my financial life came tumbling down all because I lost in a game of Bucket Toss. If you're heading to the fair to play games, expect to get played yourself. Not everything is fair at the fairgrounds, even if the stakes are just an oversized teddy bear. It was the summer of 2013.
My experience at the Fair at the PNE, in Vancouver, BC went by in a blur of eating fresh donuts, the sound of peoples laughter and screams filling the air along with general carnival fun. Each carnival day has its own personality – different people, rides, food– all these things contribute different highlights. Well that year, one specific moment stood out, how I managed to lose 200 of my precious dollars at a risky carnival game called bucket toss. Sounds so simple right? Tossing a ball in a bucket? This game which simply consisted of a single bucket and 3 base balls, was the reason I became financially broke at the age of 16. All the birthday and Christmas money I had been saving up was thrown away right in front. I suddenly became aware that the world is nothing but a gamble and It's only a gambling problem if you're losing. Along with many other carnival games out there, this bucket toss game was rigged because the baskets were sitting on a hollowed surface. They just give you a garbage prize making you think at first you'll win a bigger prize. Then they have you hooked. Once you have entered the realm of carnival gaming, it is difficult for you to get out. Trust me when I say difficult. I had my sister literally pulling my arm out of my socket trying to get me away from playing another round. It seemed so simple. All I had to do was get the ball in the basket. How hard can that be? I was astonished at when the ball hit the bottom of the basket it suddenly bounced back out. Most of the time I will aim for the bottom of the basket, the goal is to try to drop the ball with a high arching toss. It's really embarrassing. I'll empty my wallet throwing those balls in the bucket until I'm broke. Thinking about it, I was such an amateur, I was tossing the ball at 90mph and miss everything instead 10 mph like you're supposed to. It's easier to quit after a win than a
loss. The first time I tried, I didn't win. So in order to get me to play again, the man showed me how to do it, making it look easy. How does he do it I wondered? Well here's his trick. Before playing, he just puts three balls in the basket and only removes two when he's about to shoot, there's only one left in the bucket which helps reduce the bounciness. It's an advantage I didn't get when I played. The reasons that works is so it can't fly out. But when your money comes out to play and he give you three balls to toss, out comes that helpful deadening ball in there. And what's the result of that? I lose every time. The carnival guy kept giving me these wild offers, like double or nothing, because he knew I would take anything to get me to go another round. I guess I've always been a bit too mule headed, because I remember as a kid, I refused to give up on anything. I clearly saw my accurately tossed balls deflect off of the bucket three times. Of course I immediately demanded another try and tossed away again. I distinctly remember one of the balls during one of those rounds bouncing directly back to me and hitting my hand. I still remember the smirk of that slimy carnie looking at me just trying not to laugh out loud. Along with every mistake comes a well learned lesson. I've learned that it's okay to take risks in your life. "If you win you'll be happy, if you lose, you'll be wise". That's why I pretty much stopped playing those games. Even if I was ultra efficient and took home a decent sized animal, I still felt like I'd rather have the money back. Not to mention, you have to cart the damn thing around with you all day which would be so tiring. I'll never spend a dime on those games. I'll keep my money and buy some overpriced junk food instead. At least I know I'll be getting something. After about 20 tries, I could tell that everyone around me was feeling tired, and nervous at how much money I managed to blow. How was I going to tell my mom that I wasted my 200 dollars on what could've been something so useful. If I hadn't taken the chance at playing that carnival game, in end I would have regret the chances I didn't take. My dumbest money mistake has made me more aware the outcome of playing for my money, and has shaped me into a more wise individual.
First, the main character, he is in a terrible situation, far from home, hungry, poor and his wife may die due to illness. We don't know his full past ,or know how much he or Laura’s hardships can be related to race. the author tells a story of an unfortunate individual who has suffered, and that the bingo game represents his chances of escaping his situation. As the author goes on to explain, "He felt a profound sense of promise, as though he were about to be repaid for all the things he'd suffered all his life. Trembling, he pressed the button" (42). If we look back at the time and the age of this short story his race and suffering are associated with one another. The bingo game comes off as a means for the main character to overcome and rise above his unpleasant situation. Our main characters luck is only temporary, because, Policemen come into play and fight the button away from him and beat him over the head. “Regardless, the main character is still the focus of the unfair world and a system in which he lives. The wheel lands on the evidently winning "double zero," but that's unluckily exactly the amount of money he is going to get” ("Protagonist in King of the Bingo Game.”). With still being broke, he will not have enough money to pay Laura's medical bills. By the end of the story, the main character is in an even worse situation than where
It was the summer of 2012 and my family was taking another trip to Six Flags Great America. Earlier that summer we went just for me to be disappointed. At the time I wasn’t 54 inches yet and couldn’t ride any of the rides that I wanted to because they were the most popular at the amusement park. But, I hit a growth spurt between trips and we planned to ride all of the big rollercoasters. The one that I was most terrified of at the time was Raging Bull, one of the tallest, fastest, and longest steel coasters in the US. As we started to wait in line for the ride I was shaking with both anticipation and fear and began to rethink my idea to ride the rollercoaster. I decided to stay in line and see what many people thought was a great coaster.
There are regions in parts of the globe that take part in normal activities that, here in the United States, would be considered completely abnormal, even inhumane. Yet, traditional ties sewn into a cultural realm deems certain events, such as “the lottery”, to be well within the bounds of socially acceptable. Old Man Warner epitomizes the relevance of the power of tradition in this short story, and the symbol that takes shape from it. A veteran of seventy-seven years in the lottery, he snorts at the idea of giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that… Pack of young fools,” he says when it is mentioned that some towns have given it up. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore…” he spouts off, illogically. The lottery was so steeped in the town’s traditional makeup that even the barbaric physical act of killing someone with stones was not the least bit
Yearly rituals are accepted by most people and the reasons behind the celebrations are unknown to most people. Americans practice different annual traditions such as Fourth of July, Easter egg hunt, Halloween, Veterans Day and more. Likewise for Shirley Jackson, a wife, mother, and author of six novels, two memoirs, and a collection of short stories including “The Lottery.” Jackson’s short twisted story, “The Lottery,” portrays a ritual almost as old as the town itself, especially for the fact that there’s no remembrance from the villagers or the oldest man, Old Man Warner, the real reason for the ceremony. Jackson’s story describes a brutal custom in a small village that punishes the winner of the lottery; however, Jackson uses irony, characters and symbolism to support her story. Jackson’s purpose in The Lottery is to demonstrate that conformity can be helpful in some situations but damages those who choose not to conform.
Now it's sometimes smart to think that way and be cautious of money. When it comes to little things it starts to add up, and buy add up I just mean by all the stuff we have in the house. Ariely also gives examples with food like sugar free drinks feel like the healthy and good
"Gamblers Anonymous: Q and A." Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page. Web. 12 May 2011. .
Lotteries are the picture of money for most people. Lotteries are often viewed as a great thing, winning the lottery means winning cash, but in reality a lottery is just a raffle. It is a process ruled by chance. Winning the lottery could be from the best reward to the cruelest one ever. In 1948, Shirley Jackson wrote the short story “The Lottery” to show there is pointless violence and brutality in humans’ lives and how society accepts it. She used the story to show how people will join senseless traditions because their friends or family is doing it. Shirley Jackson, in her short story “The Lottery” uses seemingly ordinary details about the setting and the townspeople to emphasize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, and
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.
The syrup festival. The pride and joy of Vermontville MI. A syrup making, sugar smelling, good little fair kind of event. Every year since Lauren was little, she and her family would make the short hour trip down to her grandparents house which was well equipped with good times and deep-rooted memories.
All the people around me were excited and were in a very festive mood; and they all were perfectly allowed to do so. After all, it was the Fourth of July, Independence Day, and my birthday. I had a very pleasant feeling as I strolled through the row of tents at the beach with my friends by my side, as I observed countless people enjoying themselves under the summer sun in the commotion of the small festival. The city was quite festive – decorated by splashes of red, white, and blue everywhere. People occasionally wore a plastic Uncle Sam’s hat, wore patriotic boardshorts, or somehow showed off how American they were proud to be. It was a wonderful feeling and it was by far the best birthday that
So I went to Las Vegas with my toddler Spanish and came back a boy! There was not many Spanish speaking people when I went. I was a bit of a creeper listening to random conversations wearing my cheap sunglasses. I would try my best to find the verb, subject, and object they were talking about. Basic words like sed, hambre, mira, mi, tu were common. Sometimes I would recognize the verb but could not figure out the verb ending kind of like trabajarldfkjsdpsb. I was asked a few times if I spoke Spanish and I always replied with “Hablo un poco”. They would then send a flurry of words in my direction as I stood hopeless trying to understand. Occationally I would muster up the courage to order in Spanish or to say anything in Espanol. It was incredibly
In the past, I had come to grips that I had bad sleep issue and rarely had a good night rest. Partly, due to my high energy daughter with special needs that also woke frequently and partly because I've suffered with this affliction for my entire life. I came to expect that the hightened worry prior to travel would just be part of who I am,as well. I can write lists so I know I'm not forgetting anything, but ultimately, I'll worry that I'm forgetting something or not leaving the my parents, who usually take care of the kids/pets, with enough info to survive without me.
Gambling involves taking a risk. It’s something that gets our adrenaline pumping. Believe it or not, money is one of the major things that makes the world go round and some of those believe that money does indeed buy happiness in our lives. We all have heard the stories of those who have won thousands to even millions of dollars just by gambling and we instantly think that could be us. If some random person can be that one in a million, surely I can be too, right? Even though gambling is a fun thing to do, it is important to be aware of the kinds of gamblers that exist in today’s society and realize that gambling should be played in moderation. For instance, some variations of players include: The Social Gambler, The Professional Gambler, and
Ever since I was about six years old, I wanted in the worst way to go to Disneyland. I would hope every year that my parents would chose Disneyland as our next family vacation destination. I dreamt of the day I would come back from Disneyland with exciting tales of adventure and a pair of sparkly, ruby red and black Minnie Mouse ears of my very own that would be the envy of every kid in my elementary class. Once I finally went to Disneyland, it was amazing; Disneyland was everything I had expected and more. However, a couple years later when I returned to Disneyland, it was different. The rides, buildings, and everything in the park did not have the same allure. The magic I had experienced as a child was no longer there.
A million thoughts ran through my head when they called my name. I can remember thinking ‘Me? Is that my name? Did they call my name? I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it!’ I looked out into the audience and saw the most proud smile I’ve ever seen resting on my grandma’s face. The day I won my first pageant is one I will always remember.