Being Blonde

I hate to perpetuate blonde stereotypes, especially when I pride myself on being an intelligent woman.  However, I seem to have had another "blonde moment."

(Note:  Intelligence and a knack for doing stupid things are two entirely separate characteristics.)  

I recently found myself receiving a FREE brand new vacuum, valued at about $500, and it's all because I wanted a gumball.

Seriously!

And no ... this is NOT a product review blog post - it's a look-at-how-stupid-I-can-be post.  

Let me start at the beginning .....

In the months prior to the BlogHer conference each year, party after party is announced.  Many of the parties are open to everyone on a first-come, first-serve basis.  (There are only so many people any single venue can accommodate.) 

Long story short, this year I attended a party put on by The Mouthy Housewives (which seems only fitting when you think about it).  The party was held in a club a few blocks from the hotel in New York.  

It was a very nice party.

The thing is, as soon as I entered the party I noticed the cutest, most adorable, little plastic vacuum cleaners used as centerpieces on all the tables.  Each plastic "toy" vacuum cleaner was a gumball dispenser.  They were filled with colorful gumballs and if you pushed on the handle of the toy vacuum, gumballs would come out the bottom of it.

So cute!

So clever!

I wanted to snatch one right off the table and run out of the club with it just so I could show everyone how cute it was.

Just as I was appraising whether or not I could steal one (kidding - sorta!), one of my friends came up to chat with me.  

"Look at the vacuums!" I said enthusiastically.

Have I mentioned it was very LOUD in the club?

Loud music, lots of people talking .... party noise.

"You can get one!" she answered.

"I can get one?" I asked excitedly.  Visions of walking back to the hotel with a vacuum gumball dispenser under my arm danced through my head.

"Yes - for FREE!" she exclaimed.

Wow ... a free, adorable, gumball dispenser!  SWAG baby!

I was thrilled.

"Just go fill out a card with that woman in the back corner," she yelled across the party noise.

Well, you don't have to tell me twice.

What?  You think I don't know a good opportunity when I see one?

I walked back to a smiling woman in the corner of a room.  

"Hi!" I said.

"I heard I get a FREE vacuum!"

She looked a little taken aback.

"Well ... yes."

"Can I take one of these?" I asked, pointing to the three gumball dispensers sitting on the table in front of me.

"You want one of the gumball dispensers?" she asked hesitatingly.

"Yes!" I said excited for the cute toy.

"They're all over the room, on all the tables.  You can take one from anywhere," she said confused.

Did I mention there was a lot of party noise?

I was wondering why my friend told me to go get a vacuum from this woman who was telling me I could have taken one from any table in the room.

"Can you fill out one of these cards?" she asked.

Ahhh ... I see.  She DID want something from me.

And so, I filled out a card asking for my blog name, home address and a little other information.  

You have to understand, every vendor you run into at BlogHer wants a business card and/or your contact information so they can contact you later.  Filling out a card in order to get swag is not at all unusual.

As I was filling out the card she asked, "Would you like to see how the vacuum works?"

It was then, as an aside, I noticed she had a full size, real,  LG vacuum cleaner with her.

To humor her I laughed and answered, "Well, sure you can show me but only if it's good at picking up dog hair."

Once again, she looked a little taken aback by my words but she quickly smiled and replied, "It's GREAT with dog hair."

As I filled out my information card, she demonstrated the vacuum cleaner.  As soon as I was done with the card, I smiled and said, "Now can I have one?"

She paused, baffled, and looked at me.

I pointed to the gumball dispensers in front of her.

"I'm so excited about these, am I allowed to take one now?"

"Um, sure - of course!" she answered.

I grabbed one and ran before she could change her mind.

I was SO excited!

Later that night I walked back to the hotel with my friend.  She asked if I had filled out a card for a free vacuum and I gleefully showed her my gumball dispenser.

"Yes, I did!" I smiled.

The next morning I ran into two of the party organizers at Starbucks.  I chatted gleefully about the cute gumball dispenser I had walked away with the night before.

"You do know you're getting a new LG vacuum sent to your house, don't you?" they asked.

My jaw dropped.

"I get a REAL vacuum?" I asked.  Visions of my conversations the night before ran through my head.  I began blushing when I realized how odd our conversation must have seemed to the vacuum lady.

"Yes!  In 4-6 weeks a new, LG vacuum will be delivered to your house."

And guess what?

It was!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Comments

[sandra]

We NEED a picture of the vacuum.

[Joanne]

wow! I'm sure the gumball machine is more fun though!

[A Mom on Spin]

Why don't you just keep the gumball dispenser for yourself and send the real vacuum my way?

That way we'll both be happy!

[Donna in VA]

How awesome!! You have no idea how thrilled I'd have been. See, I'm a self-proclaimed "vacuum cleaner slut". I love 'em!! As evidenced in a post I did a couple of weeks ago - http://yellowjeepblonde.com/eureka/. (I have a cat hair problem in my house that's been making me insane!)
Congrats on the new vacuum.
Signed, Jealous in VA ;-)

[Jan]

Gretchen at Second Blooming got one too. Now that I'll probably REALLY get to go to BlogHer next year (yes - Beloved wants to go too), they'll probably only give away oven mitts.

[di]

Awesome! Anything that picks up dog hair is good in my book.

[Chantel]

A free vacuum? Now that's some serious swag!

[Sandra]

LOL

Pics please!

[Trina]

If you would rather have just stick with the gum ball machine I would love to take the real one off your hands. Mine started on fire last week and as it sailed out the door and was sprayed with the hose I realized I would be needing a new one.
On another note, how do I copy a picture of the random number to post on my blog so people know I am not just giving the prize to who I choose? I see you have it on your last post so I thought I would ask if you could help me.

[Pseudo]

I'd like to win the maid that runs the vacuum over the floors from time to time...

[DuchessOmnium]

I'm blonde too and don't quite get it... Did everyone who filled in a card get a free vacuum cleaner?

[Jason]

So just because you filled out a card you got a real vacuum, no strings attached? I'm not blonde but I'm still confused.

[Jill]

OMG, got my vacuum last week too, and holy heck, it DOES do an amazing job on the dog hair. Loving it ... I sadly now use mine every day. But these rental house floors probably never looked so clean. :)