Pondering...

I read this on yet another one of my many blog-haunts, and it is just SO interesting, I had to put it here to ponder myself.

From Random Acts of Journaling You are given a gift of 1 million dollars (kindly adjust for currency in your location). There are some restrictions on how you can spend some of the money, as follows:

$100,000 must be donated to charity. What charities will you support? Something to do with children. Childhood diseases of some sort, not really sure which one.

$100,000 must be given to one person that you know. To whom do you give it? What would you expect him/her to do with it? Would you put any restrictions on its use? Would it make a difference if you could make the donation anonymously? I think that I would give it to Chad's parents, mainly his dad, and for him to use in his business. Not sure if that is totally legal, but hey, this isn't real anyway! Yes, would restrict it to actual business money, and with the stipulation that Chad's mom can cut down her hours or stop working all together. Not sure if I would make it anonymous or not...probably not.

$100,000 must be given to someone who has recently been in the news. Who gets it? Why? That man who lost his wife and 3 kids in the mudslide in Las Conchita. Although he kinds of bugs me, that must be a lot to bear, and he didn't seem like he had a lot.

$100,000 must be spent on a public beautification project. You can build a park, commission artwork, etc. What do you do, and where do you do it? Donate it to the Como Zoo to renovate its giraffe area....they need some room. I know it isn't much for them, but it is something.

$100,000 must be spent on a memorial to someone/something that you have loved and lost. What form does the memorial take? Who is it for? My aunt died soon after Jack was born, and she was a doctor and she went to the U of MN for her degree, so I think I would do something with their Ph.d. program there. Maybe buy something they need and dedicate it to her, or if they are building something, donate the money and ask for a plaque or something.

$50,000 must be spent studying something you have not formally studied. What will you study? Art. Watercolor painting, to be specific. There was this show on in England called Watercolour Challenge and I loved it and have since aspired to be able to do paint with watercolors.

$50,000 must be spent establishing a scholarship. What's it for and who will you name it for? I would name it for my friend from high school, Aaron, who died 2 weeks after Jack was born. It would be for swimmers who are also ok students, but no stellar kids. Just ordinary nice guys like he was.

$50,000 must be given away in a contest. What kind of contest do you hold? Hold a contest for kids at my old elementary school; whoever could read the most books in a week wins the money. Figure younger kids would be less likely to cheat.

$200,000 must be spent doing as many things as you can on your "lifetime to do list." Always wanted to see Alaska? Take a boat trip on the Rhine? What things would you do first? Go to Tahiti and stay in a glass bottom hutt. Buy/put a down payment on my dream house.

That leaves you with $150,000 of mad money. If the rules say you can't spend that money on things that might be termed "practical," what do you buy on your spending spree? Traveling around Europe. Clothes. Shoes. Gorgeous handbags. Jewlery.