1 la fleur pot de la fortune

i've won one thing in my life. at the tender age of eight i blazed through ten nancy drew books in a week so my name would be thrown into a raffle, wherein- blessed by the whims of fate- i bagged a free private skate party. unfortunately, we'd been in atlanta for literally that one week and i knew no one- much less enough people to populate a roller rink- so i passed on my prize.

in truth, it seemed a small sacrifice when compared to the possibility of a party comprised entirely of me, my parents, an empty skating rink, a disco ball and assorted employees of the sparkles family fun center. however, looking back, i think i might have been a little less dismissive had i known i wouldn't win anything for the next 20 years.

in fact, i wouldn't win anything until today. yes, that's right. today i am a winner. and after cavalierly tossing a tattered business card into a flower pot, i have a pair of plane tickets. dubrovnik, please.