triOS Students to Compete in XMG Studio Gaming Challenge

Ontario, Canada – Students of triOS College will compete this weekend in a 48-hour gaming challenge hosted by mobile game developer XMG Studio. Winners will receive a large cash prize, a chance to have their game published and potentially a job with the company.

The competition will kick off Friday at 5p.m. at the triOS College GCA Hub, located in Market Square on 110 King Street East in Kitchener. Students will work in small groups of one to four to see who can build the best addictive mobile video game.  XMG designers will be available for encouragement and support throughout the two-day competition.

Dean of Technology for triOS College, Jackson Eckert said, “Intense video game development competitions such as the Great Canadian Appathon allow students to quickly tune and build their skills in a collaborative and focused environment. It is a vital event for all of our video game students, as well as anyone who wishes to enter the game industry.”

The competition will conclude at exactly 5pm on Sunday, September 30^th. At this time games will be judged on criteria including level of fun and entertainment, art design and stability. The top three finalists will go on to compete in front of a panel of judges at the “Grande Finale” in Toronto on November 8, 2012. This event will be sponsored by KPMG.

The grand prize- winner will receive $25,000, the chance to have their game published in the app store and possibly a job with XMG Studio Inc. The runner-up will receive $5,000.

Profile Questionaire

1. What is your full name?

2. Where are you from? Do you still live there now? If not, where do you currently live?

3. How old are you?

4. What is your career and how did you decide to do this?

5. What are you short/long term goals?

6. Where did you receive your education?

7. Have you ever overcame a difficult struggle? Explain.

8. Give me a little background on yourself. (culture, religion, philosophy, etc.)

9. Describe your family

10. Do you have any hobbies or interests?

11. Explain one lesson you learned that you would like to share with the world.

12. Fun Fact about yourself?

Five Possible People to Profile

1. Kara Goucher: an american olympic distance runner and idol of mine. I would love to get a chance to learn even more about her.

2. Brianna Johnson: A fellow transfer student at the College of Saint Rose. It would be interesting to hear her perspective on the school.

3. Alicia Silverstone: You may know her from her role in the movie “Clueless” but she is now a huge advocate for a vegan lifestyle. I am currently not a vegan (just a vegetarian) but would love to hear more about her position on the matter.

4. David Swanson: A famous teacher and practitioner of Ashtanga yoga. It would be interesting to hear his take on the benefits of ashtanga versus other types of yoga.

5. Jodi Picoult: She is one of my all time favorite authors. It would be wonderful to profile her and learn about her writing methods.

The Murder of Cherry Hill

Jesse Strang of Putnam County, New York was hanged to death August 24, 1827 after confessing to the murder of John Whipple. This event marked the last public hanging in the capital district.

Strang worked as a handyman on Cherry Hill Farm after meeting John’s wife, Elsie at a local bar. Soon after, Elsie began plotting a conspiracy to kill her husband and run away to Montreal with Strang. After a failed attempt to poison Whipple’s tea with arsenic, Elsie looked to Jesse Strang for assistance.

Strang climbed to the roof of the shed and shot Whipple with a rifle Elsie had paid for. Strang immediately fled to a local store to secure his alibi, but police remained suspicious. Strang later confessed to the murder but blamed Elsie for conception of the plan.

Due to the time period of this event, Elsie was thought of as a victim in the crime based on her gender. Jesse Strang did not get off easy He was told by The District Attorney, Edward Livingston, “You are guilty, you must be convicted, you must die!”

To this day the verdict of Strang’s trail remains highly controversial.

Reflection

A recent post I entitled “Who am I as a Writer” was my attempt at giving readers a glimpse into what my writing is all about. A classmate of mine, Abbey Barker (a fantastic and already published writer!) wrote up her own take on me as a writer that she later posted on her own blog. After comparing the two posts, it is clear they are completely different. Abby does a wonderful job of giving information about me, in terms of my interests and past experiences. I also enjoyed the way she alternated between listing facts and writing them out. I on the other hand mostly discussed my writing process, and what draws me to writing. I provided more information about myself on the About Me page. Abbey mentioned that I planned on gearing the blog towards health and fitness, which is what I originally planned on but  have decided against. Instead I plan to make this blog broader with less of a focus. Thanks again, to Abbey for writing a great post about me! To check out her fantastic fashion blog click on the link below.

http://coffeestainsonwhiteclothes.tumblr.com/

Meet Jennifer Zinis

Last Thursday during my freelance writing course, I had the pleasure of interviewing a fellow classmate, Jenifer Zinis. Jen is currently a freshman from Oneonta, NY and is majoring in psychology at the College of Saint Rose. She is a new writer who recently started her own music blog. Jen has always had a passion for music and enjoys listening to mostly alternative and rock bands. Two of her favorite groups are Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse.

Another interest of Jen’s is studying youth culture from a sociological standpoint. She greatly admires Donna Gaines, a sociologist and writer for Rolling Stones Magazine. In her blog Jen hopes to include some entries with a sociological focus. Jen views writing as mainly a hobby for herself. In the future she hopes to put her psychology degree to use by working in a prison or rehab as a counselor.

Fun Fact: Jen was named after Genny Light Beer by her parents who share her taste in music.

Jen’s blog will be up and running soon and when it is I will post a link to it from here!

“Everybody Knows” (a short story)

During Johnny’s first three years in college, he was the big man on campus.  He was devastatingly handsome, standing just over six feet tall. His dark blonde hair and muscles so strong that they could be seen through his clothes made him irresistible to the ladies. Johnny was the starting quarterback for his division one school. For the last three years he led the team to win three consecutive conference championships. He always made the deans list and even tutored other teammates in his spare time. He was smart, funny, charming, handsome and athletic. Every girl wanted to date him while every guy wanted to be his best friend. When Johnny showed up for pre-season his senior year he felt extremely confident; little did he know his whole world would be turned upside down and nothing would ever be the same.

A new freshman joined the football team Johnny’s senior year. His name was Curtis; and he was more than good, he was phenomenal. Now most freshmen wouldn’t be considered much of a threat, especially to a returning three time champion senior. However, Curtis was the exception. He could run as fast and as graceful as a gazelle; he had both speed and endurance. He was bigger and stronger than Johnny and clearly just as handsome. Curtis could throw with more accuracy than an archer and never missed an opportunity to make a great play. As Johnny watched in awe he could not believe how every ball thrown in Curtis’s direction was caught. High, low, long, short; Curtis jumped, dived, reached and caught them all. The coaches were amazed; the other players watched him in awe. Day after Day Curtis excelled in practice; while Johnny’s self esteem and confidence fell.

The first game of the season Johnny started, everyone knew that Curtis deserved that spot but the coaches let the senior start in his first home game. Johnny no longer felt the confidence he had before. He did not feel quick on his feet and his legs were heavy. When he wound up throwing the football, he could not think as fast as he needed to before completing the throw. Needless to say his performance was abysmal. The score was 6-0 then 13-0 then 19-0 before you knew it they were down 45-0 in the second quarter. Johnny did not know what was wrong with him but he could no longer keep his composure; anger and embarrassment consumed him. Johnny knew that he needed to do something big in order to win the game; for more was at stake than just the game: his starting position, his popularity, his confidence and his self-respect were all on the line. He was no longer thinking clearly; every throw he made could not be further off if he tried. He looked over at his coach, who was telling Curtis to get ready to sub in. He looked into the stands and saw his father get up and leave. He looked at the players on the field and the ball in his hand. Apparently Johnny stood still looking around for a second too long. He was hit with a force that felt like a truck crashing into him. As he hit the ground hard everything went dark.

When Johnny opened his eyes he was in a hospital bed. The room was filled with cards, flowers, chocolates and balloons. Apparently he had landed on the bottom of a ten-man pile up. The Doctors told him that he was extremely lucky not to have suffered a more serious injury. Johnny severely broke his right leg in three places and had a minor concussion. He was lucky to be able to walk; but to Johnny this was the worse thing ever. He could no longer participate in his final football season and he would never be able to play football again. Now Johnny had lots of people who cared about him, many people visited him during the six days he spent in the hospital. No one thought any less of him for having a bad game, or for not being the quarterback anymore. He had many friends who loved him for his personality not his athletic skills but Johnny had trouble seeing that.

Johnny stopped feeling good about himself after that day, he became depressed. He did not want anyone to know the pain he was feeling, so he tried to put on a cheerful face. He went to all the games and watched Curtis lead the team; they were undefeated and broke every school record possible. Although he wanted the team to succeed, for some reason on the inside he was hoping they would fail. He was jealous and he hated himself for thinking these awful thoughts. What kind of friend was he? He needed to do something to relieve, the terrible ache in his heart but didn’t know how. Johnny decided to go for a walk, he just needed to get away for a little while.

He did not know where he was going but he just needed space. He moved slowly on crutches but the pain in his leg was nothing compared to how he felt on the inside. When he saw the local bar, it seemed like a good idea to have a drink. Although he was 21, Johnny never drank alcohol. He never wanted to do anything to negatively affect his athletic performance; but now he didn’t need to worry about that. As Johnny finished his first beer he suddenly felt just a little bit better. As he finished his sixth beer he even started laughing. Was he feeling happy? Was it that easy? Would drinking be the magic solution to make the pain go away?

The next weekend Johnny went to the bar again and got drunk. As the weeks went on Johnny went to the bar more and more. He still spent time hanging out with his friends, tutoring his teammates and watching the home football games. He tried as hard as he possibly could to appear happy in front of the team. He would say all the right things and make jokes, everyone found hilarious. On the outside he was the Johnny everyone knew and loved but on the inside he felt empty. No one needed to know about the pain he felt, no one would understand anyway. Before long he no longer limited himself to only going to the bar on the weekend. He started going out some weekdays as well; before long every night Johnny was at the bar getting drunk. He told no one and he drank with no one from school; just the other fellows he met at the bar.

As time went on Johnny spent less time with his friends and more time getting drunk. He did not want to spend time with his former teammates. Football meant everything to Johnny and he could no longer play. The team didn’t even miss him; Curtis was far better than he ever was. Whenever he could Johnny made excuses not to hang out when his friends. After all he would rather spend time with his new friend, Alcohol.

As Johnny went to the bar more and more often he began to feel the only friend he needed was Alcohol. He went to the liquor store and bought a few bottles of liquor, which he strategically hid around his apartment. Under his desk, in his bottom dresser drawer all places no one would look. He would drink first thing in the morning when he woke up, and any chance he got throughout the day. He never talked about his developing addiction; it was his secret. After all he could stop whenever he wanted to, or could he?

He doesn’t remember when he stopped being in control of the alcohol and when it started controlling him. Johnny stopped caring about anything else; his grades fell. When he showed up to class he reeked of beer and before long he stopped going to class altogether. He rarely spent time with his old friends and he didn’t volunteer or tutor students anymore. He craved alcohol all the time and he could no longer get through a few hours, let alone a whole day without it.

One day a group of Johnny’s former friends, the football coach and his parents knocked on his door and when he did not answer they knocked it down.  Johnny was drunk and passed out on the floor as they searched the room and found hidden bottles of alcohol everywhere. Although Johnny had tried to keep it all a secret, everybody knew that he had a problem; they were just unsure on how to act upon it. Johnny rarely spent any time with his friends but whenever he did he smelled of alcohol. Whenever his mother called him Johnny either didn’t answer or spoke in a slurred tone. His football coach got a list of all the players’ attendance throughout the last semester and it was clear Johnny wasn’t going at all; he was failing all his classes. Not to mention the multiple times Johnny had been spotted stumbling out of the bar late at night, were a dead give away of his dark secret.

Johnny was lucky that everybody knew. He was a good kid who just went down the wrong path. He was lucky that he had friends and family who cared about him enough to get him help. Johnny went to rehab after the intervention but his road to recovery will not be an easy one. He is getting better and has finally realized how fortunate he is for having so many people in his life who care about him. Although he tried so hard to hide his drinking, Johnny was glad that everyone knew. If they did not know, he could have drunk himself to an early death. He knows now that although drinking can temporarily make him feel better; it doesn’t make his problems go away.

Who am I as a Writer?

 

I push open the heavy door and enter the library. I walk over towards the window and seat myself in a comfy chair, open my laptop, and take a sip of my coffee. My body may be still but my mind is moving a million miles a minute. thinking…thinking…thinking.  Moments pass sometimes hours before any thoughts worth writing are formed. Sometimes I can write an entire story or paper in one sitting, other times it takes much longer. Writing is not black and white. A piece of writing that one person loves, another will hate. Quite the contrary from other subjects; take math for example. You receive a problem, you attempt to solve the problem and in the end it is either right or wrong. Writing is different, it is a never-ending gray area, and perhaps that is what most draws me to it.

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed writing. It has been a way to express myself, take a break from reality or just share something I find interesting. I don’t have a particular area that I feel compelled to gear this blog towards. I love to write creative fiction pieces. I also try to live a healthy lifestyle and greatly enjoy writing articles related to yoga, running, and sports. I may throw in some pieces on music or cooking as well. Basically anything that I find interesting is fair game for this blog. I have never had my own platform before so as I write more posts, I hope to find the  writing style that suits me best and learn more about who I am as a writer.

“Jackpot” (a short story)

March 15, 2010

The bright rays of the sun shine through my bedroom window, blinding my eyes and waking me from my deep slumber. The sweet aroma of pancakes consumes the one bedroom house making it nearly impossible to fall back asleep. With a heavy sigh I lift my body out of bed and follow my nose down the stairs. The first time Kay and I slept together, it was a Saturday and the next morning she made us pancakes for breakfast. Ever since, they have been a Sunday morning tradition. I enter the kitchen where my wife is dumping a large bag of chocolate chips into her second batch of fluffy, buttermilk pancakes. I give her a quick kiss, grab the morning paper and sit down at the table.

“Chocolate chips today, my favorite!”

Kay whips around to give me a quick death stare. Honestly, I can’t wait until this pregnancy is over; the more pregnant this woman gets, the more emotional she becomes!

“Maybe if you didn’t breathe so loudly, right on me, then I would have been able to get some sleep last night too!” snaps, Kay.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. If you want tomorrow I will sleep downstairs,” I reply.

Now don’t get me wrong, I see how ridiculous Kay is being and I know that I should not be the one forced to sleep on the pullout couch. But quite honestly when dealing with a hormonal pregnant woman, it is always best to let them have their way, because if she is unhappy then it is inevitable that I will not be happy. She will make sure of it.

“You just don’t want to be around me anymore because you think I am fat,” she sobs.

I take a deep breath and compose myself before I say, “Of course I don’t think that you are fat. You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Why do women constantly ask that question? It is obvious that the regardless of their size the answer will always be the same. “No, of course you are not fat.” It all seems like a waste of time to me. Not to mention Kay knows that she is fat right now. Afterall, she is pregnant!

“Aw, you are so sweet, I love you baby,” she answered sweetly.

Unbelievable.

We both sit down at the kitchen table and eat our feast while we read the Sunday paper. I skim through the wanted section desperately searching for any kind of writing job available. Who knew that a four-year journalism degree would leave me with so few job opportunities? I have spent the last three years working at Pizza Palace with a 16- year old girl and a 50-year-old high school dropout with no front teeth. It is a good thing that the fifty grand a year I spent at N.Y.U. is paying off.  Kay is making decent money by putting her cooking skills to use in a small bakeshop down on Main Street, she dreams of one day opening her own shop. She really has a knack for baking. Her banana-nut-muffins are out of this world (and I am not just saying that cause I have to). Right now money is a little tight. In fact, it is so tight that we have cereal for dinner at least twice a week and we wear sweatshirts and gloves inside, instead of turning on the heat. But hey, we’re young, in love and we’re happy, and that’s all the really matters, right? But dear god I hope I can find a real job soon. I got to support my family, especially with this baby on the way.

Kay’s long blonde hair glows in the sunshine as she cuts out coupons. Even when she is pregnant, she is still gorgeous. She pulls herself up from the chair and waddles over to the fridge, pulling out a jar of hot sauce. I watch in amusement as she proceeds to dump the sauce all over her chocolate chip pancakes. Seeing my curious stare she replies, “What? I was craving hot sauce.” I laugh and so does she.

“Oh by the way, after breakfast, would you please run to the store and do the grocery shopping for me today? I have to go to Allison’s baby shower.” She asks.

“No problem, Hun.” I reply.

Although I hate grocery shopping I know better than to argue. Even though she was happy at the moment, god knows how long that will last for. I inhale a huge stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, grab the keys and get into my beat-up Chevy.

I pull into the Food Mart parking lot and walk into the store. The long list in my hands reads: hot sauce, chocolate, rocky road ice cream and sardines. Pregnancy does make for some strange cravings. Before I know it, my cart is overflowing with everything from ground turkey breast and apples to Boston cream pie and chocolate glazed donuts. In line for the register I stand behind a young red haired woman.  The big blue eyes of the little baby in her arms catch my attention. I make faces at him and he let out a little giggle. God, I can’t wait to be a daddy. The redhead wore a bright red T-shirt with a “Hi my name is Carrie” name tag. I can’t help but smile at the baby as I imagine how my life will be one month from now, when I will have a baby of my own. The tired looking woman grabs her older son’s hand, I would guess he is about three years old, and puts the baby in the front of the cart. She looks stressed and tired but happy.

“Hey Mommy?” The little boy asks, “Have you ever hit the jackpot? Like in gambling?”

The woman laughs, “ No sweetheart, but are you feeling lucky today?”

“I feel very lucky!” He replies, with a huge grin on his face.

The woman laughs as she buys a lottery ticket from the cashier and heads off with her children. What a cute kid.

I pay for my groceries, nearly falling over when the bubblegum chewing cashier tells me the price, $258.62! We do not have that kind of money! I will have to talk to Kay about this later. As I head to the door I notice a lottery ticket on the ground. It looks like the woman in front of me in line dropped it. I pick it up and tuck it into my wallet before getting into my car and driving back home. I stop quickly at the hardware store to buy a few gallons of yellow paint for the baby’s new room.

I figure since Kay was at Alyson’s shower, today would be a great day to paint the baby’s room. I put on my headphones and blast my music It was actually fun. After the room was complete, I hop in the shower for what seems like an eternity. It was difficult to get all of the paint off. When I got downstairs, I saw that Kay had returned from the party.

The two of us order Chinese food for dinner and eat it on the couch while searching through, The Big Book of Baby Names for the perfect name for our child to be. We have a great time as we laugh at ridiculous names. Who in their right mind would name their daughter Celery? And argue over names we either love or hate. It was times like this that help me to remember how I am the luckiest guy in the world to have a wife so amazing as Kay. Even though the pregnancy makes her crazy most of the time, her old self is still in there. We fall asleep together holding the book.

I wake up the next morning in a good mood, and head off to Cocoa’s to buy my morning egg sandwich and paper.

“Hey, Joe! How’s it going today,” said the owner, Arnie

As I rummaged through my wallet I came across the lottery ticket I found yesterday. I never buy lottery tickets. There is such a small chance to win and I have never been really lucky. In fact, I don’t think that I have ever won anything in my entire life.

“Hey, could you just run this ticket through for me, to see if it won anything?” I ask Arnie, as I hand him a five-dollar bill.

“Sure thing, bro,” he replies as he swipes the card.

Little did I know it but what was about to happen next would change my life forever.

“Holy Shit!” Arnie screamed.

“What, What is it?’

“HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!!!”

“WHAT????”

“Joe you won! YOU WON THE JACKPOT!!”

My heart races as I let out a loud scream; everyone in the store looks at me like I am crazy as Arnie runs over to me and we jump up and down. I have never won anything in my entire life, and now I won the Jackpot of the New York Lottery. SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, BABY!

Suddenly, in the midst of my excitement, a thought crossed my mind. This was not my ticket; it belongs to the lady with the two little kids. Oh who cares, I tell myself. I was broke! Kay and I deserve this money. We need this money. Finder’s keeper’s right?

April 14, 2012

It has been about a year since I won the lottery and life has become much more comfortable for Kay and I. We now have an additional family member Emma Rose Collins. She turns one tomorrow and I swear, she is the most beautiful creature that I have ever laid my eyes on. Jasmine also moved into our house and works as a live in nanny for Emma. Not that we don’t spend a lot of time with her ourselves, but this way she is never left unattended. Kay quit her job at the little bakeshop and opened up a bakery of her own, where she is the head chef. I, on the other hand, spend my days at the local country club playing golf and tennis while enjoying the occasional ice- cold beer.  We sold our shitty apartment and currently reside in a beautiful four- bedroom house with a wrap around porch and an in-ground swimming pool out back equipped with a slide and a diving board.  I can’t wait until Emma gets a little older and I can teach her how to swim and play baseball. Even though we have a lot of money, we stayed in Bloomfield Vermont. We like the town and don’t feel the need to relocate. We have a beautiful home and this is a great school district for Emma, the same school that I went to when I was a kid, and this is where my whole family lives.  We would not want it any other way.

Today we are actually having the whole family over to our house to celebrate Emma’s first birthday. I have been sent to the store, while Kay has agreed to cook all of the food. (Quite honestly this is an agreement that I can live with, since the only thing that I can cook successfully is pasta.) I hop into my fancy red Mercedes and crank up the radio as I drive to the grocery store. I roll down the windows and feel the wind in my hair as I cruise down the road. The sun shines and the air is warm. There is even a parking space right by the entrance; it truly is the perfect day.

After loading up the cart with all kinds of good food (I am even allowed to buy brand name products now that money isn’t tight.) I head over to the checkout and wait behind a lady with two young boys. The little one sucks on a binky while the other one grabs a Kit-Kat bar from the shelf,

“Mommy, may I please have this candy bar?” He asks in the sweetest voice.

The mother turns around, “I’m sorry Jayden, not today.”

I know that I have seen this woman before but I cannot for the life of me figure out where.  She looks tired and embarrassed as she pulls the food stamps out of her purse to pay for her groceries. My heart aches as I think about how life just isn’t fair.

That’s when it hit me; I knew why I remembered her. She was the woman I had seen at this very store a year ago. Back when I had no money, I was behind her in line and… Oh god. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up; that was her wining lottery ticket! The woman I stole from is now on food stamps and cannot even afford to buy her son a candy bar, while here I am living large. What did I do? How do I live with myself?

As I get into my fancy car I hold my hands to my head. “Oh god, Oh god, Oh god.” It’s okay, I tell myself. You needed that money too. If you had not won the money, you would probably be on food stamps yourself. Okay, so we both needed the money. But how could I live so comfortably, knowing this family is struggling to make ends meet? At that exact moment, I look up and see the lady with her two redheaded children walking out of the dollar store, located right next to Food Mart. The family heads over to a junkie old car. I watch as she lifts her children one at a time, and carefully fastens them into their car seats. I know what I should do. She pulls out onto the main road, and I follow her home.

I make sure to keep my distance, so she does not know that I am following her. As we drive through the bad part of town, my heart goes out to this woman even more. Finally she stops in front of a tiny, rundown house. The paint was chipping off the sides and one of the shutters dangles off the window. 14 Elm Street. I scribble down the address on a napkin, and drive back home. I immediately grab my checkbook and write out a check for two million dollars. Then I grab a piece of paper and write,

Dear Carrie,

 Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation. I have more than enough money and would be honored to share some of it with you. Not very long ago I was in your position struggling to make ends meet. Although you do not know it, you changed my life and now I hope to do the same for you.

-J

Next I drive back to 14 Elm Street where I sit for over an hour. I want to place the note and money into the mailbox, but what would Kay say? I cannot just tell her I gave away that much money without an explanation as to why. I turn my car around and drive back home to tell Kay. But when I walk into the house and see her big smile, I freeze. What will she think of me when she discovers the ticket was not mine, but I never told her? Right after I won I should have found that woman, but I did not even so much as try to. I am an asshole.

December 24, 2020

Many years have gone by since I hit the big jackpot and I never told Kay about Carrie. Many times I have driven by Carrie’s house but I never gave her any money. Today I drove by her house and was shocked to see a foreclosure sign standing in the front yard. I actually felt like I was hit in the stomach. When I walked up to the door and knocked on it, a realtor in a business suit answered. She proceeded to tell me that the house’s previous owner went bankrupt and moved out West. My head spun as I walked back to my car and sat there sobbing for a while before I drove off.

I could not feel worse about what happened with Carrie. After all, I was single handedly responsible for this family’s misfortune. I had the opportunity to make things right, but I lost my chance. To this day, I have never told anyone about what really happened regarding the ticket. The guilt I have to live with is beyond comprehension. Although I have a beautiful family and live in a lovely house, I cannot help but be miserable and depressed. Kay does not understand and my depression has driven us apart. Last week, she filed for divorce. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret taking that money; it was not mine to take. I guess that it is true what they say about money, and how it cannot buy happiness. Heck, in my case, winning the lottery ruined my life.

 

 

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