While I was teaching I heard of something called The Teacher Next Door program. Through the program, teachers can get certain HUD homes at half price. A house at half price? Say no more. Dallas and I were sold. The only problem was the houses were generally in very bad disrepair and in neighborhoods that are run down and in need of revitalization. Undeterred, we knew we were destined to become the proud homeowners of one of those dumps.
The other problem was that the only way to get one of these houses was to submit paperwork saying you were interested in the house and the computer would randomly choose who got it.
Ever since we got married, Dallas and I had been trying to become the lucky winners. Every time we saw a house that qualified on the website we’d go visit it, peer through its windows, and start dreaming about our perfect life there. Sometimes couples who actually had a realtor would be there and we’d get to go inside. That’s when we’d be greeted with the black mold, the holey walls, and the leaky roofs. So what? The house was half off! We could fix it up.
Every time we entered the drawing. Every time the computer passed us by.
Every time.
Until one time.
I was done teaching for the day and knew it was time for the results of the latest winners to be posted. I pulled out my paper with my confirmation number and scanned the list. A cute little condo had come up for sale that week. Dallas and I had visited it. We had walked all around the condo complex. I knew this was our house. I knew it.
I looked at my number. I looked at the number on the screen. Oh my goodness, they looked very similar. I looked more carefully at both numbers. I think they’re the same. Of course, the number was about 25 digits long so I tried to match each digit up as best I could with my shaky hands and my mounting enthusiasm. I did this over and over again.
Each time with the same result.
The numbers were identical. We won the house. WE WON THE HOUSE!
I remember seeing Dallas and the first thing I said was, “We got it.”
I made Dallas look at the computer screen as I read our number off to him. Sure enough, they matched. I immediately called the housing office and they confirmed that we were the winners. Dallas captured that moment:
We felt so blessed to win the condo. Of all the houses we had seen, this place was in the best shape by far. No mold. No missing heater. No punched out windows. The only fixes we needed to make were cosmetic.
That little condo served us well. It was about 850 square feet – two bedrooms, one bathroom.
We lived there six years. We made friends. We brought three babies home to it. We currently rent it out. We still love it.
This is the story of how two of the most undeserving people scored some of the hottest tickets in town three times…mostly through sheer dumb luck.
Act I
Have you ever heard of the TV show Psych? Dallas and I used to love that show years ago. At the time, we never knew of anyone else who watched it. I got out of the habit of seeing it, but Dallas still kept up with it, and I’d catch him watching episodes here and there.
Fast forward to the end of last year. My friend posted on Facebook that Psych: The Movie was about to be released and there was to be a movie tour with a stop in Salt Lake. Also, tickets were free. I had no idea that a movie was even in the works, but I thought, “Huh. Dallas loves that show. I should try to get tickets and surprise him.” I hopped online and nabbed a couple of tickets without any trouble.
What I didn’t realize at the time was Psych had gained a very devoted cult following in the years since it first aired. In fact, this movie tour was part of a fan contest. I can’t remember all the details, but it was something like the city with the most social media engagement would be selected as one of the cities where the movie tour would stop. Salt Lake fans (through no help from me, obviously) had blown the competition out of the water, thus giving us one of the coveted tour stops. This meant that I had gotten tickets that probably should have gone to someone who, you know, actually participated in the contest and helped Salt Lake win.
I didn’t really realize any of this at the time. I just knew we were going to see the movie, and it would be a fun date night. And I was right about that!
On the appointed day Dallas and I joined many other Psych-Os and took our seats…but not before we took a picture with the pineapple glasses they gave everyone:
(For those not in the know, they hide pineapples in all the episodes of Psych, so pineapples have become a symbol of the show.)
I was already suffering a bit from impostor syndrome as I found myself amongst some of the biggest Psych-Os in the country knowing that I hadn’t even been bothered to keep up with all the seasons of the show. That feeling was made worse when they began the evening with a trivia game. They asked what I thought seemed like very obscure questions about the show, and people knew not only the answers, but there was one girl who could answer the question AND state the episode name and number in which the answer could be found.
After the trivia game they showed the movie. We enjoyed our complimentary popcorn and drinks as we watched the show. The movie was fun to watch, but the best part was seeing how much everyone around me was loving every second of the film. The audience laughed, cheered, and clapped throughout the show. It was so fun to watch the movie with people who you knew were appreciating every minute of it.
After the screening they had a couple of the actors and a writer or producer come out, and they chatted about the film and answered questions.
All in all it was a really fun night for the die-hards and even the fair-weather fans in attendance.
Act II
Our next story starts much like the previous one. I was on social media again (Instagram this time) and saw that a friend had posted that Hamilton tickets were going on sale that morning. She had several computers already booted up and on the website waiting for 10:00 when the tickets would be available. “Huh,” I thought. “I’ve been wanting to see that play. Maybe I should try to get tickets.”
I hadn’t even heard that Hamilton was coming to town. I assumed I was too late and wouldn’t have a chance to get tickets, but I realized I could log on right then and still have a shot, so I decided to just try. Before I knew it my computer alerted me that I was in and could buy tickets. Yay! I was excited for my good fortune, but again felt a bit undeserving that I got the tickets…especially when I learned that my friend whose Instagram post was the catalyst to my getting tickets didn’t get tickets herself. Bummer!
Nonetheless, Dallas and I had a great time at the show. Much like our Psych experience, everyone around us was so excited to be in the crowd. We were sitting by a teenager who knew every word to every song and was on the edge of his seat the entire time. The enthusiasm of the crowd added to the whole experience.
The play was energetic and impressive. The cast did a great job and Dallas and I were amazed with the insanely clever rhymes and word play in the songs.
Act III
In those previous two performances, we were the oblivious idiots who had no idea what was in store. We were the ones who felt slightly out of place amongst the zealous fans we found ourselves rubbing elbows with. However, for the third show, the tables had turned. I was the extreme fanatic.
I caught wind that the Hale Centre Theatre was doing The Scarlet Pimpernel. I grew up watching the Jane Seymour movie. In college I committed the words of the music to heart and saw the play a couple of times. This may be my favorite musical of all time. I knew this would be a show I couldn’t miss.
I bought tickets a year in advance. I marked the day on our calendar. As each month passed I did a happy dance and told Dallas how much time we had until the big day. Finally, the time came to head over to the Hale Centre Theatre’s beautiful new facility. We took our seats and this time I was the crazy person on the edge of my seat with unbridled excitement causing leg twitches and bursts of loud, happy sighs as I took in the stage and the scenery. No, I would not play the role of impostor this time.
In fact, I realized I might be in the running for the biggest fan in attendance as I leaned over to Dallas and said, “Do you think I’m the only person in this theater who has a Scarlet Pimpernel song as her ring tone?”
The Scarlet Pimpernel was amazing. The Hale Centre Theatre always does a fantastic job with every production they do and this was no exception.
We loved our theater experiences this past year! I’m definitely going to have to work on sliming my way into some more performances this year!
One application that doesn’t get enough use in our house is Photo Booth. Whenever it’s used raucous laughter reigns. I’ve included both the original picture and the Photo Boothed one. It’s up to you to figure out which one is real life…
