Sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto shop waiting for them to fix the hamster that runs around in the wheel to power my little nothing of a car. I have a Honda Insight - sure it is supposed to be good for the environment, but my purchase of such a vehicle was purely selfish - I had to admit it but it is the truth - commuting 70 miles each way to work everyday, I needed something that would get good mileage, and, seriously, without embellishment, I have a 58 MPG lifetime average on the car. That means over the course of the 172K + miles I have put on it in the past six years, I have saved...well, A LOT of money in gas. I spend about five and a half dollars a day on gas with that little thing.
So anyway, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto while they are replacing the front tires of my roller skate, and my mind starts wondering. They have no TV for those waiting and no free coffee (or even pay-for coffee) like most places do. So my mind starts thinking. This is usually a fairly dangerous thing. My mind goes places that Angels fear to tread when it is without stimulation. It makes it's own stimulation, and then takes some wild turns down tangents most people have never considered.
Luckily, this time, my mind was still mostly asleep after staying up so late playing Raven Shield with my buds, and getting up early to get the car here for the new tires, so I started thinking, and I mean seriously thinking, about what I would do if I won the lottery.
What I would do if I won the lottery:
Really, my plans for any lottery winnings would depend on how much was won. But lets pretend it is the $300 million lottery. Taking the cash and after taxes, I'm guessing there would be about 125 million simolians in my bank account after all the dust settled and Uncle Sam got his share.
First, I would give ½ to charity. That would be about $62.5 million dollars (I think most of it to charities the help the families of US service men and women who have been killed or injured). Then I would openly challenge John "you little people don't do enough for the poor" Edwards to match the donation.
Second, I would setup a college fund for any and all family members. The fund would be such that any family member who wanted to tap into it could. It would be a small interest loan (like 1.5% or something ridiculously low), unless the student received at least 4.0 GPA, then the loan would be forgiven and they would not have to pay any amount back. This might seem like a high GPA, but when one doesn't have to work, and all of their expenses are paid, and they get a monthly allowance for pocket money, there should be absolutely no reason why one cannot get a 4.0 GPA.
Third, I would hire a plumber and have all the plumbing in my house re-done.
Fourth, I would hire an electrician and have my entire house re-wired.
Fifth, I would quit my job and tell the little dictator in the corner office to 'have a nice day'
Sixth I would seriously investigate what it would take to get a fuel cell generator for my house. Not only would it generate electricity, but also produce water. And, if rumors be true, any electricity one produces but doesn't use, gets pushed back onto the grid, so the electric company has to pay them for the power (it would be SOOOO cool to get a check from those folks for once!). And for water, if I could get off the city water supply and have pure H2O - well, all the better.
Seventh, I would get the 5/8th that Jaguar she has always lusted after.
Eighth, I would by myself a big fat Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and ride the Al-Can highway on my Hog, camping from here to Alaska. Well, okay, I can get one for the 5/8th also, and she could come if she wanted to (I guess).
After all that, I figured I'd have about 20 or 30 million clams left, and I could use part of that to open a coffee shop. A roomy place, with tons of hard back books and giant, comfy leather chairs and big couches. Like those libraries one sees in those movies made from Agatha Christie novels. People could come in, be comfortable, enlarge their knowledge with old dusty books, drink coffee (or chai tea or whatever else suits them) and surf the 'Net if they so wanted. Oh, and board games, I'd have board games for people to play, checkers, chess, Chinese checkers, pente, Monopoly, stuff like that (hey, anything to keep them in the shop drinking coffee or what not). I'd need the business because, with only 20 or 30 million bucks left, even if on got only 5% interest on investments, that is only about 1 or 1.5 million dollars a year, and who on God's green earth can live on that pittance? I'd need the business to supplement that measly income.
Technorati Tags: Honda Insight, Winning The Lotto, Charity, Dreams
So anyway, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto while they are replacing the front tires of my roller skate, and my mind starts wondering. They have no TV for those waiting and no free coffee (or even pay-for coffee) like most places do. So my mind starts thinking. This is usually a fairly dangerous thing. My mind goes places that Angels fear to tread when it is without stimulation. It makes it's own stimulation, and then takes some wild turns down tangents most people have never considered.
Luckily, this time, my mind was still mostly asleep after staying up so late playing Raven Shield with my buds, and getting up early to get the car here for the new tires, so I started thinking, and I mean seriously thinking, about what I would do if I won the lottery.
What I would do if I won the lottery:
Really, my plans for any lottery winnings would depend on how much was won. But lets pretend it is the $300 million lottery. Taking the cash and after taxes, I'm guessing there would be about 125 million simolians in my bank account after all the dust settled and Uncle Sam got his share.
First, I would give ½ to charity. That would be about $62.5 million dollars (I think most of it to charities the help the families of US service men and women who have been killed or injured). Then I would openly challenge John "you little people don't do enough for the poor" Edwards to match the donation.
Second, I would setup a college fund for any and all family members. The fund would be such that any family member who wanted to tap into it could. It would be a small interest loan (like 1.5% or something ridiculously low), unless the student received at least 4.0 GPA, then the loan would be forgiven and they would not have to pay any amount back. This might seem like a high GPA, but when one doesn't have to work, and all of their expenses are paid, and they get a monthly allowance for pocket money, there should be absolutely no reason why one cannot get a 4.0 GPA.
Third, I would hire a plumber and have all the plumbing in my house re-done.
Fourth, I would hire an electrician and have my entire house re-wired.
Fifth, I would quit my job and tell the little dictator in the corner office to 'have a nice day'
Sixth I would seriously investigate what it would take to get a fuel cell generator for my house. Not only would it generate electricity, but also produce water. And, if rumors be true, any electricity one produces but doesn't use, gets pushed back onto the grid, so the electric company has to pay them for the power (it would be SOOOO cool to get a check from those folks for once!). And for water, if I could get off the city water supply and have pure H2O - well, all the better.
Seventh, I would get the 5/8th that Jaguar she has always lusted after.
Eighth, I would by myself a big fat Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and ride the Al-Can highway on my Hog, camping from here to Alaska. Well, okay, I can get one for the 5/8th also, and she could come if she wanted to (I guess).
After all that, I figured I'd have about 20 or 30 million clams left, and I could use part of that to open a coffee shop. A roomy place, with tons of hard back books and giant, comfy leather chairs and big couches. Like those libraries one sees in those movies made from Agatha Christie novels. People could come in, be comfortable, enlarge their knowledge with old dusty books, drink coffee (or chai tea or whatever else suits them) and surf the 'Net if they so wanted. Oh, and board games, I'd have board games for people to play, checkers, chess, Chinese checkers, pente, Monopoly, stuff like that (hey, anything to keep them in the shop drinking coffee or what not). I'd need the business because, with only 20 or 30 million bucks left, even if on got only 5% interest on investments, that is only about 1 or 1.5 million dollars a year, and who on God's green earth can live on that pittance? I'd need the business to supplement that measly income.
Technorati Tags: Honda Insight, Winning The Lotto, Charity, Dreams
