JUNE WINS
***WARNING*** Contains Ru Pauls Drag Race S9 Spoilers!
***STATS***
Comps Entered: approx 2200, plus approx. 600 Twitter RT's
Comps Won: 20
Ratio: 1:140
Approx Prize Value: £849
Longest Winning Streak: 3 Days Straight
Non-Comping Days: 6
For ages I couldn't think of a theme for this months introduction...should I go with the election, the weather...David Lynch? And normally I write something vague at the beginning of the month and alter it throughout. For some reason though I haven't been 'feeling it' this month. OK I say 'for some reason', but I know exactly the reason(s). Last month everything was awesome (SING IT!!!): my script got chosen to be made and shown on the BBC, I won a holiday and a tonne of other comps, I had a nice little part-time film lecturing job and 2 other potential media jobs on the horizon.
This month however, started with a win that I couldn't claim (more about that later), then one potential job fizzled out (not enough experience apparently) and another one delayed at the last moment because a lead cast member has pulled out. Pfffft! Plus, the stats haven't ran as well in my favour as they have in previous months: partially because I haven't entered as many (especially Twitter, as I am sooooo booorrreeeeddd with RT's), but also because, well, I just wasn't lucky!
Which brings me on, inevitably, to drag queens. This month also saw the final episode of Ru Pauls Drag Race S9!! And, apologies if this is a spoiler, but Sasha Velour (my fave) was crowned as the winner! Watching this, combined with reading click-bait articles about comping (plus the whinging and backlash that goes with it), I obviously had a brainwave of a question to ask you all.....
WHICH S9 QUEEN DEFINES YOUR COMPING STYLE??
Is it...
A. Sasha Velour
Sasha performed consistently well throughout: she put in the effort, rarely bitched about others and helped her fellow queens. She wasn't tipped to win and the odds were against her, but when she did she was gracious and grateful.
B. Trinity Taylor
Trinity was a favourite to win (alongside the awesome Shea Coulee) and probably thought she had it in the bag! As a seasoned queen with years of experience under her (cinched) belt, she really could have gone all the way! Although a worthy finalist, at times, she showed a bitterness towards the other, newer queens. Oh the shade of it!
C. Valentina
Gorgeous, fan favourite Valentina was tipped to win, until a poor performance and a shock elimination shattered her Drag Race dreams. At times she has shown a bitterness regarding her exit from the show, but acknowledges that she took winning for granted and therefore was not putting in the effort. She ended up winning Miss Congeniality, but will this be enough for her?
D. Aja
The extremely talented Aja was another early eviction from the show. She had such potential, personality and talent, but this was overshadowed at times by her whinging and complaining about the wins of the other queens.
E. Peppermint
Peppermint was lovely, talented and very respectful of her fellow queens. Against all odds, she made it to the final: a massive surprise to herself and others, but definitely so happy to just be part of it!
F. Nina Bo'nina Brown
"I never win...this competition is so unfair...everyone is against me.." blah blah blah...
So, for no reason whatsoever, let me know your drag-comping persona!!
On with the show...
***PRIZES***
1. 5 craft books from a Twitter RT competition with Books Etc. You didn't have to comment, but I tweeted that I had just got a load of crafting paper and needed some guide on what to do with it. I think maybe commenting, rather than just re-tweeting might get you noticed more, especially if its something relevant to the post. Or again, maybe its just dumb luck.
2. Voucher to use with the Scillonian Ferry for a return trip to the Isles of Scilly. This was a creative competition, where you had to think of a way of saying 'Happy 40th Birthday' to them. If Im honest, mine wasn't overly creative- I just wrote it in the sand on Trecco Bay in Porthcawl and tweeted it to them, but they liked it! Yay! Over 1700 people entered and they gave away 40 prizes...I think that calls for a ...wait for it...PIE CHART!!!!
3. £75 IWOOT vouchers from TopCashBack on Twitter! This was my first Twitter party, which I stumbled upon just by chance while doing a bit of brainless re-tweeting. I wasn't really sure how it worked, but I figured I would give it a shot. When they first said 'hello' I sent them a really bad 'Dad joke', which they responded to pretty quickly- a good sign I thought! During the hour they put up five questions to answer and a hashtag to use when tweeting your reply. I tried to think of it like a conversation between myself, TCB and the other party guests, so I replied a few times for each question, plus also commenting on and liking other tweets. I also made sure I replied if TCB commented on one of my tweets, and tried to be a bit funny or cheeky in my responses. After an hour (which went quite quickly) it was all over and they said they would announce the winners later. I then tried to forget about it, figuring I had probably done it wrong anyway! But no! They announced me as the 1st prize winner- amazing!! So, thats my little tip on Twitter parties (because after just the one, I am OBVIOUSLY an expert!!)- just treat it like a real-life conversation, get involved and chat to the other 'guests'.
4. 3 Spiderman books from a prize draw by SFX newsletter. My second win from them- how lovely! I entered because the main book is a sort of history of the evolution of Spiderman which is pretty cool. The other 2 books sound like kids ones which I will give tooooo....noooo...waiiittt!!! THEY HAVE STICKERS IN THEM!! Sod the kids, the stickers are MINE!
5. Pants. Yup a pair of pants. Actually, not just any old pants, they are made by Kinky Knickers (I think the wonderful Mary Portas did a show about them). It was on their Instagram page, but you had to email them your answer to a question (something about guessing how many boxes were in a picture- I said 666!). To save blushes all round I won't post a picture of me modelling them!
6. Crate of "The Great Get Together' Pale Ale via The S*n. As much as I loath the right-wing propaganda "shit-rag" that is this 'newspaper', the competition itself was run to coincide with the memorial events to commemorate MP Jo Cox and judged (bizarrely) by Ross Kemp. You had to write about what unites us, so gave them a little ditty about how 'we all live under the same sky...' and, yet again, included the picture of my mom reading a book in the garden, sheltering under her umbrella. My mom then went to one of the local Great Get Together picnics at our local recreation centre. Unfortunately, only 8 other people turned up.
7. Despicable Me 3 cap and toy. God I hate Minions. They aren't cute, they aren't funny, they are just bloody annoying, but I entered the prize draw through Frubes anyway and won twice. My mates kids like them, so this will go in their hamper for Christmas. Would you like to see a graphical representation of my hatred? Of course!
8. £50 TicketMaster voucher from a purchase/instant win competition from Burtons Fish n Chips. I had won this before, so didn't bother entering again for ages. I thought I'd have one last go and surprisingly, I won again! I bought Busted tickets with the first lot...because...well...they're what I go to school for!Not sure what I will spend this on- Im hoping that maybe Eddie Izzard or Stewart Lee will announce another tour soon, or maybe put it towards a ticket for Festival No 6.
***CAPTAINS LOG ADDITIONAL*** I actually spent this on cheapo tickets to see Miss Saigon in December, when it comes to the WMC in Cardiff. Shhhh, don't tell my mom, coz they are for her.
9. Seventh Generation Hamper. This was a Rafflecopter from the Moral Fibres blog which I found on the MSE forum. Im not particularly excited by cleaning products and I loath Rafflecopters (comment on this, tweet this, watch this, visit this...yawn). You could have up to 10 entries on this, but I only had 3. The hamper came and its alright actually, will keep us clean for a bit anyway.
10. £150 Wigwam holidays voucher through a prize draw on the UKTV Mums website. Aw this one is kinda cool, a free little break in a wooden tent thing in the middle of nowhere sounds ideal. Its restricted on where you can use it and I was hoping for a site on the Isles of Scilly so that I could combine with the travel voucher. Unfortunately there isn't one yet, so I might wait, or swap it, or give it to my brother (tho he has enough bloody holidays!!).
11. Name a Bright Star thingy through a Rafflecopter (again!) on the Chammy IRL blog. Gutted that this didn't include travel TO the actual star and I wonder, if in many years to come when we have perfected deep space travel, will people actually visit my star and still keep its name? Its called Rossetti and will be a present for my best mates gran for her 80th birthday. Awwwww look at her little face...
12. £3 Costa voucher. If you sign up with an HSBC card on the Android Pay app, for the first 30 days, every time you use the app, you can get an instant win of various vouchers from £3 to £50. Pretty cool if you are going to use your card anyway.
13. Book, prize draw, Peoples Friend. something about an old gardener guy. Mom is happy.
14. £3 Costa voucher. Again. Nice.
15. Roald Dahl game from a purchase/instant win on Mr Kipling cakes. Who doesn't like a lemon drizzle eh? Picked up a pack in Tesco, entered the code...was hoping for the holiday, but got a game instead. And some cake. Ah that'll do tho.
16. £3 Costa voucher. Ill be having the shakes with this much coffee.
17. A YorkTest kit through a Rafflecopter (!!) on The Reading Residence blog. Was meant to be for kids, but they are sending me an adult one. It tests for food intolerances and is faced by Dr Hillary Jones, so it must be good....(quack). They sell this for £250, which I think is ridiculous! Im sure the results may be interesting, or comforting to some and I am curious about what the results will be, but I can't imagine people being prepared to pay that much for it.
18. £3 Costa voucher. So.....much....caffeine....
19. £3 Costa voucher. It hurts.
20. £10 Pizza Express voucher, also from the Android Pay instant win comp! Ive really loved this one, as I have won every third time and its so nice to get these little bonuses! Ill be in Cardiff next week (going to visit the set of where my little film is being made), so I might take a mate, get some pizza and make a day of it!
***ALSO RANS***
I am sooooooo gutted about this one! I entered a creative competition to win tickets to the Isle of Wight festival, but because the win came through at short notice (just a few days before) none of my friends could take the time off work to come with me! I respectfully and sorrowfully thanked the promoters, who passed the prize on to someone else.
And thats it this month: a lot less wins than in May. But considering what has happened in the past few weeks and the wins and drag race finales, I don't want to consider this month as being perhaps less lucky. I definitely have won in many ways...I may not be a Sasha Velour this month, but I do think I could be 'Miss Congeniality'! (Im beautiful, Im a model, I look like Linda Evangelista....).
Hope you have all had a great month and that July is even better! Oh and look out for #InternationalLexxDay on July 31st ;)
Love your hair, hope you win!
Lexx
