Tuesday, August 23, 2011

MINUTE TO WIN IT SWEEPSTAKES


Hello! My name is Erika and my friend Jordan and I do a once-in-a-weekly podcast called The Cosmopolitan Hour. We have exciting news at this late hour!

We are procrastinators. I mean, obviously. But we’ve got our reasons: Jordan is biking 30-60 miles a day to train for the Ride to the Light Three-Sanctuary Century; and I am working my way through the Buffy: the Vampire Slayer on Netflix from the comfort of my beer can fort; not to mention we both work full time. You may be like us. You are busy, or float around happily with your head in the clouds, or perhaps come from a dimension that experiences time differently than we do in ours. Whatever the reason, time slips away from you. You needed to get to Vida Vegan Con, you meant to, and you didn’t.

But you still could.
A good procrastinator always has a good reason (Id., Buffy). Just give us your best reason in the comments below. That’s it. Give us a reason to give you the last ticket to Vida Vegan Con 2011.

Here are the rules:

1. This giveaway is for one entry to the conference only. The winner must be in the Portland area or able to get to the Portland area and house themselves for the conference. Seriously: Do not enter this contest if you cannot get to Portland by this weekend (that’s Portland, Oregon. Just to be clear).

2. Jordan and I are the judges. Our whims are unpredictable and fanatical, and you are at our mercy. So it’s best to just be honest and be yourself.

3. Your comment must be posted by Midnight PST tonight! The winner will be announced Wednesday at Noon PST. And we really will try to make that deadline!

4. Your entry must fit in the comment box! Keep it brief, and beautifully punctuated, and leave us wanting more. We will say, “my goodness, we must meet this charming internet stranger. They gave us just the right amount of scintillating detail that we must learn more from them, immediately, and therefore they wiiiiiiiiin!”

Some examples of good reasons:

“Last Chanakah, my husband cashed in his frequent flier miles to buy me a ticket to Portland, but I had spent my Vida Vegan Con money on a handsome faux-leather carrying case for his frequent flier card. Oh, the bitter irony!”

“My bastard boss wouldn’t let me know if I could take this week off until too late. Now he changed his mind and has told me it is in fact the only time off I am allowed all year until Christmas.”

“I’m passionate about veganism and looking to build a community with friends and colleagues this weekend. I never thought I would make it out to Portland from Allentown, but after my surprise quickie wedding to a flight attendant in Atlantic City last month, I can fly when I want, where I want!”

So what are you waiting for? Go!

11 comments:

  1. I just moved to Portland three months ago and am loving the lush availability of vegan goods here. After having moved over 2,500 miles from my former home, I'm a bit low on cash, but would really love the chance to go to Vida Vegan Con!

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  2. I'm a vegan cyclist, and author of the blog Small Time Cook. I relocated to Portland from LA on August 2nd specifically to be apart of the vegan magic here, and found out about Vida Vegan Con a few days later. I immediately Emailed them because their site said that registration was closed. They Emailed me back to say that a few last minute tickets were up for sale, but after relocating 1,000 miles and moving into a new place, I could not afford the $250 price tag. A few days later, they Emailed me again to tell me about the Back to Eden Banana Split contest for tickets, which I didn't enter because I am anti-banana. Sorry, bananas, but you're kind of too mushy for my taste. Anyway, I accepted my fate, decided that I would attend as many off-site events that I could, and patiently wait for next year's extravaganza. But then, to my utter delight, I found this! Meet your charming internet stranger! Hooray!

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  3. I mean "a part". I hate typos! I blame my eager fingers....

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  4. I found out about Vida Vegan Con after we left Portland for my in-laws guest house in California, our landlord kicked us out of our beautiful NE house because he needed to sell it very fast (which he did, thanks to our quick exit.) So, there we were living in southern California & I was unsure of our fate & if it included Portland. My father in law (who's house we were living in) fell ill & almost died of a rare fungus called Valley Fever- which is a real thing, I promise you & to top it off he had an allergic reaction to it that put him in ICU for months. It was a life changing experience so much so that my husband, our son & I returned to Portland & bought a house in the Buckman neighborhood. I've been vegan for over 5 years (I've been blogging for the same amount of time at http://heartshapedsky.wordpress.com), I happily shop at Food Fight, & I'm grateful every day for my awesome vegan life.

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  5. I am a relatively new vegan, little over 3 months. By the time I wanted to go it was sold out! I live in Portland already too! I am starving for information and support, and this is the ultimate place to be for that. I have been a foodie for years and am ridiculously excited about food - and now I get to be ridiculously excited about vegan food! And, my 2 1/2 year old will thank you - she's refused to eat meat since she started eating food - no one has offered her meat for a long time now. I'll send you a thank you video - staring my adorable daughter once you send her mother to VidaVeganCon!

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  6. I make mean pumpkin pancakes, ride a turquoise bicycle, have cat-eyed glasses, and enjoyed my first date with Kittee at pdx foodcarts. I am now trying xgfx vegan livin' and want to go to Vida Vegan to meet more like-minded dapper folk and sample all of the goodies and cashew creme treats. A longtime (seventeen year) vegan who has lived in Canada, France, and the Czech Republic, I am relatively new to pdx, and have wanted to meet more of the vegans/activists here, but my job is crazy nutty so I haven't been able to make meetups yet. Vida Vegan is like one enormous meetup--and happening before work boils over again--and I want to be there with bells on and cupcakes in my belly.

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  7. "Once-in-a-weekly"...? WTF?

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  8. Cue the violins and choose me, because I'm a ridiculous cat lover with a broken down kitty. Much of my spare time and all of my disposable income--including any funds that could have gone towards a VVC ticket--has gone towards the care of my feisty orange girl. Although she's only five, she’s racked up more than $3000 in veterinary bills so far this year. I didn’t budget for my own health insurance, but she has her own neurologist! I’m not particularly cool, but I am particularly nice, and I would absolutely love to meet you all and rub elbows with the sparkly vegan blogging community. If I'm chosen as the recipient, it'll be like going on the best vacation ever, but I’ll still be able to take care of the six-pound purr and hiss machine that rules my days.

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  9. Point of Clarification: "Once-in-a-weekly" is an amalgamation of 'once-in-a-while' and 'weekly.' We aim for the latter, but often end up with the former.

    Back to the excitement!

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  10. Oh how I wish I could blame my ticketless hands on procrastination... Almost 3 years ago I was diagnosed with a condition so rare that it effects only a few hundred people in the US. I dont even recognize myself anymore: I've lost a ton of weight, my hair/skin/nails totally changed, I barely sleep, and not to mention I've completely drained my bank account. Recently a member of my support group claimed she's discovered an expensive cure, but unfortunately insurance doesn't cover it (not that I have it anyways). It was a miracle that I came across your blog today - not only is it comforting to find another invalid but you've given me the opportunity to finally cure my veganbloggeritus! A weekend amongst the country's leading experts of this sickness and access to the world's best medication (Id., vegan donuts and corn dogs) is my only hope for recovery. With your help I could finally find the strength to lift my fingers off my crusty keyboard, stretch out my shoulder pain, and get a good nights rest after holding hands with Vegansaurus as we heal ourselves via the soothing words of qualified veggie panel members.

    Truth is, I'm a journalist who traded in her steady paycheck and sold her soul to the world of freelancing in order to live the so-called glamourous life of a vegan blogger. Little did I know living paycheck to paycheck wouldn't allow me to continue dining at my favorite restaurants as frequently or attend über cool conferences. Grass is always greener...Perhaps you'll acknowledge the sacrifices I've made and reward me for my dedication to my plant-based pen. Mingling with bloggers like yourself whilst stuffing our faces with vegan nomness would make it all worth while. Otherwise, can I borrow your Netflix login to watch Buffy and bum a six pack to drown my sorrows over the weekend?

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  11. guys, guys, guys. Excellent job. We have our work cut out for us! I wish we could send all of you to the Con, seriously! But sadly we must pick one. Cue the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth!

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