Timing is everything

Recently the 25th billion iTunes song was downloaded.  The lucky person who downloaded it received a $13,000.00 gift card.  Although it boggles the mind that 25 billion songs have been downloaded, what are the chances that you would be the one to do it?  I'm not a statistician but I think it's along the lines as the lotto.  What made the person download a song at just the right time?  Chance or dumb luck? Timing can be good or bad.  If you got new tires BEFORE the first rain, that's good timing and probably paying attention to the weather forecast.  Getting a flat tire in the rain because you were driving the car your friend loaned you is bad timing but with the best of intentions. Leaving a slot machine after playing it for 2 hours only to have the next person hit a huge jack pot is bad timing and an excuse to commit murder or at least aggravated slapping.  Why do these things happen?

I have a friend who seemed to win some contest on the radio weekly.  She had some golden touch and her timing was great.  Tickets to movies, events, T Shirts she's won them all without breaking a sweat.   I have personally won two contests.  I won a Beatles 45 record (don't make me tell you what a 45 is) in 1963 by answering a question of some sort.  The next time I won anything was 2012.  I answered the second most correct answers about our cafeteria staff and such and got $10.00 of credit to spend.  I was thrilled I assure you but if you look at the length of time between wins, it's a little sad.  49 years between wins may be a record.  Oh by the way, I enter a zillion contests a year plus play the lotto.  I fill out surveys in the grocery store in hopes of a gift certificate.  I fill out surveys when I buy things on line, eat in a restaurant all in hopes of getting a little something fun out of it.  I've tried winning the Dream Home and the Green Home on HGTV every year they have had the contest.  If there is a form to be filled out and dropped in a barrel somewhere, I do it.

So why am I going on about luck and timing?  Well, I've been buying songs on iTunes for years.  I buy them pretty regularly but recently, I've been a little mad at Apple.  I decided they didn't share and play well with others as evidenced by the way it's difficult to use their products on a non Apple device.  It can be done, but it isn't necessarily easy (remember this is my opinion).  So to punish Apple, I decided to start downloading my songs from Amazon.  An added advantage is the prices can sometimes be much better and they don't care what device you put the music on.  Amazon gets a lot of business from me and they have wonderful service so I like doing business with them.  Why am I bringing this up in relationship to luck and timing?  Well, I bought some music from Amazon the other day.  After I read the article I wondered if I had purchased the music from Apple would I have had the 25th billion download?  It would be so me if that was the case.  But lucky or unlucky, good timing or bad timing, any day you wake up you have another chance to win something.  Life is good.