measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The price for a fantasy As Erich and I drove home from Boston in the HOV lane the other day, the topic of making money off of my penpalling came up somehow (probably off of the obscene costs to mail things). As I've often said, I'm putting some postal worker's kid through college with my mailing costs. It's not uncommon to see me dropping $40 at a time with packages. I've had my $200 months for mail when I've fallen behind. Yes. I'm a freak. Leave me alone. So we're chatting about this, and Erich mentions how I should get involved in one of those pyramid scheme things where you send a dollar to Persons A, B, and C, drop a person from the list, add your name, etc. "Well, actually-- I have one of those letters on the table in the living room right now, Erich. I've been tempted." I have to admit, there's a bit of a curiosity there. To send out these letters and watch dollar after dollar come back in the mail. I could pull a Daffy Duck and dance around the house singing "I'm rich! I'm a wealthy miser(ess)!" The letter makes all the wild claims about how people with a modest return on these letters will make $800,000 from this, and how it's perfectly legal because the $1.00 is used to "add your name to that person's mailing list, and is therefore a legal transaction." Riiiiiiiiiiiight. But it's so much fun to dream about. And then the logistics come in. And it makes it that much more amusing. Trying to picture the obscenity that would be the mail stack of $800,000. How much room it would take? All in one dollar bills? And imagine the poor teller who has to count that up when you make a deposit at the bank. Even $100 in ones is a nasty sized stack. You'd instantly become the hated customer because you're making the teller actually have to get off her stool and do some work. I've gotten a variation of this pyramid scheme letter many times. I've never actually followed through with it, although the temptation is definitely there. But then again-- to send this off to all of these people, should I feel sorry for them? Or should I blow it off because they're dumb enough to part with their money--- just like I am? LGM has mentioned that he plays the lottery with the dream of winning, but it's as much fun to fantasize about what he'd do if he actually WON. It's an inexpensive ticket to dreams of wealth and full-time play, supposedly without the stress and fear of the Real World. But Erich and I talk about it... having fun with imagining how we'd set it up...and how we could cheat on it (getting multiple post office boxes, dropping all of the other people on the list, etc.). The images of cars and houses and debt-free living take over my mind. And so much of me is tempted to say "Aw screw it... what the hell!" But I'm way too chicken-shit to go through with it. Mostly because deep down I know I wouldn't get the return back for the cost of the postage, let alone all of those ones to make the bank pissed off at me. The letter still sits on the table, even though I got it nearly a month ago. Every once in a while, I'll pick it up, wonder about what-ifs, then dismiss them, and put the letter back on the table. I won't put it in the trash. Because then I won't have the easy access to the fantasy. *sigh* 10:49 a.m. - 07 August 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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