Please Pay Again... Roll Up the Rim is Back!

Loonies and toonies have started flying out of my wallet.  I am begging my husband to drink his coffee faster (and he has begun entertaining himself - as is his annual tradition - by purposely drinking his coffee as slow as he can).  I can feel that old familiar buzz in my veins and capillaries.  And it's only Day 1!!!

All this can only mean one thing...

It's RRRRoll up the Rim to Win time at Tim Horton's!!!

You would have thought I'd won the lottery if you'd seen my reaction when we pulled into the drive-thru at Timmy's today and I saw the signs.  "Yes!!!! Yes, yes, yes!!!!"  I was literally bouncing in my seat!  I saw driver after driver leaving the drive-thru window with RUTR cups in hand and hope in their eyes.

Having carefully studied the contest rules many times, I know that your odds of winning are better when you order a large coffee, so I immediately demanded that Kenny get us 2 large coffees.  As soon as we had those precious cups in hand, I had ripped open the tab and I... was... chugging!

Have you ever tried 'chugging' coffee?  It's only for the seriously addicted.

Ken has often said that he thinks it would be interesting if someone made a documentary about contests that involve addictive products.  Kenny always pictured the name of the documentary to be "Please Pay Again".  I think it's an excellent idea for a documentary.

You see... I used to be so naive and unsullied.  Coffee used to be something that I had only brewed once - with questionable success - to help me stay awake for my grade 13 physics exam.  I used to go to Tim Horton's only once in a blue moon for a little treat.  But then one year in university I grabbed a coffee from Timmy's when I was studying late at night and I needed a little energy boost to stay awake.  Little did I know that it was prime RUTR time, and little did I know how that one coffee would change things forever!

I rolled up that fateful rim and won.... a free coffee! I loved the suspense.  So didn't I just toodle off and wander back to that same Tim Horton's and get myself that free coffee?  Yup, I did.  I had started the cycle of addiction.  The more I rolled up the rim, the more I wanted to do it again.  The more coffee I drank, the more I craved it.  I was completely enamoured with the Timmy's ritual.  Then one day it happened... my coffee was handed to me WITHOUT THE CONTEST CUP!  My stomach sank... and it's been the same kind of heartbreak every single year when I get my first 'normal' cup handed to me after weeks of rim rolling.

So, the contest was over, but the damage was done.  Suddenly I realized that I was craving a coffee at least twice a day.  Those darn marketing types... they had me right where they wanted me!  And so, that is how I became a coffee lover and a Tim Horton's junkie.  It was that darn "Please play again" that I revealed on 90% of my cups.  "Of course I'll play again!  I'd be thrilled!"  Ugh.  Why am I so obedient?!!  :-)

So, I think Ken is right... the name of the game is definitely "please PAY again".  When I finally get to the bottom of my cup of coffee, wild horses couldn't stop me from rolling up that rim.  (Heck, the coffee barely stops me!  I tried rolling up the rim with the coffee still in the cup once... that didn't go so well.)  I roll up the rim, utterly and completely convinced that this is it.... this is the day I finally win a big prize!  My eyes quickly scan the underside of the rim for those words, "Win/Gagnez" and then hope and optimism quickly turn to bitterness and resentment as I inevitably see the words "Please play again."  I groan and curse the Tim Horton's big wigs, ...and then immediately start scanning the sides of the road for another Timmy's!  Oh how they do love to suck me in!  They manage to organize things so that I'll win at least 1 free coffee or muffin in the first few days of the contest,  and then I am powerless to resist... convinced that I'll win big!

Having said all of this, there are few things quite like a good old Roll up the Rim contest to pick you up in the last few weeks of winter.  It's like seeing a good friend after a long while.

So, as another contest gets underway, so does my annual tally.  I'll keep you posted at the top right hand side of my blog page on how many wins vs. please play agains I reveal over the next few weeks.  And if you are a fellow RUTR enthusiast.... I wish you luck!  And stay away from my Toyota Matrix!!!  :-)