I'm A SUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!

so, it occurred to me a few days ago, that i've been had.  this realization made me chuckle at first, as if to say "well done".  and then i began to get angry.  i quickly moved on from the anger, but the thought of this has stuck with me for a few days now, and this morning i figured i might as well try to help some of you out.  

I WANT TO SAVE YOU FROM MAKING THE MISTAKES I MAKE

recently a national establishment began running a deal.  collect 5 points to get a free drink. you collect those 5 points by spending a minimum of a dollar for each point.  you could spend more than $3 per point.  up to you.  now, here's the first part of where i got suckered. my plan was perfect.  i'd spend the cheapest amount possible and still walk away with a "free" drink.  

man, they got me.  so this realization hit me.  in order to collect on this "great" deal, i'd have to spend a minimum of $5 in order to collect a "free" drink with a value of around $3.  now, does that really sound "free" to you?  bottom line, i could have just spend the $3 to get the drink i wanted right away.  

the kicker is, i get these same free drinks from my place of employment every single day.  don't have to pay a dime for it.  so, i spent $5 unnecessarily to get a $3 drink free.  are you tracking with me?

this is similar to when one walks out of a store that had a huge sale going on.  "i saved so much money today!" is a comment not unfamiliar.  the reality is, said person just spent a ton of money on stuff.  they just maybe didn't spend as much as they would have on another day.  but the point is that money was still spent.  you didn't save money.  you spent it.

now, for the second part of said suckering.  when a place says they have something for "free", they don't.  it's a magic trick.  we, as americans, are suckers for "free".  anytime we see a "shortcut" we are all over it.  we don't want to work hard for anything anymore.  we don't want to earn it.  we feel we already deserve it.  

i really want to turn this into some deep, theological teaching, but i'm going to stop myself here.  this really is nothing more than a humorous story, a moment in time that i had to stop and just laugh at myself.  i do some crazy things sometimes, and then i make them seem to be more of a big deal than they really are.  

it really is fun to laugh at yourself.  give it a try sometimes.  go on.  do it right now.  laugh at yourself.  do something silly on purpose.  we've really got to get better at developing a sense of humor.  if you are struggling with laughing at yourself today, let me know, and i'll laugh at you myself.  i'll even laugh out loud.  :)

P.S.  i'm really looking forward to that "free" drink coming my way!  only one more point to collect................