Before Christmas, in the retro atmosphere of the Waldorf Hotel, two friends made a vow for New Years: enter as many contests as possible and see who wins the most prizes.  Now, I’ve always considered myself a lucky person, not in terms of height or mathematical skill, but in my ability to win prizes.  My interrupted winning streak started at age six when my parents took me to a church bazaar and I won an enormous bottle of Andre’s wine.  My Dad tried to look happy, but being a painter, he already had his share of paint stripper.  Since that first momentous win, I have won play tickets, gift baskets from The Body Shop, Lush, and Sephora, Canucks tickets, and a number of other prizes worth less than $300.  So, yeah I don’t win big, but I do win relatively frequently.

The rules of this contest are very simple.  My friend and I will enter as many contests as possible.  I don’t think it matters if we enter the same contests or not, but the contest entries must be free.  This is because I am as cheap as I am lucky.  My willingness to do odd things to win will vary depending on whether my common sense or extremely competitive nature comes out on top. I am only entering contests that offer prizes I would actually want or would like to give to someone close to me.  At the end of all this, whoever wins the most will take the “loser” out for a nice dinner and very delicious cocktails at the Waldorf Hotel in January 2012, should the world still be here.

So, start your pools now.  Who’s going to win?  As the days and months go by, you will learn more about us.  Discuss amongst your friends and family which of the two of us seems to have the luckier profile, star sign (I’m a Cancer under the old zodiac and a Gemini under the new, BTW), and track record.