Our European Dream Come True

Europe was somewhere I’d always dreamed of going—a faraway, romantic place that I would love to explore one day.  I didn’t know how or when it would happen, but I always knew I would get there one day…

That’s why when I heard about the contest that a local L.A. radio station (97.1 AMP Radio) was having to win a roundtrip for two to Paris to see Nicki Minaj live in concert, I knew I had to try! The contest was running for five days, and throughout the day whenever the radio station played the Nicki Minaj promo, that was your prompt to call in.  The 20^th caller would win Nicki Minaj’s new CD and be entered into a drawing to win the grand prize trip for two to Paris. I listened to AMP Radio all week, just waiting for my chance.

Driving home on a Thursday night, I heard the promo on the radio and immediately called.  By some sensational stroke of luck, I got through and was thrilled to find out that I was the 20^th caller!  As soon as I got home, I researched the contest online and discovered the drawing would take place the following Monday.  Of the 60 contest winners, just one would win the grand prize.  I waited anxiously all weekend, hoping against hope that I would somehow win that prize. 

On Monday, I got a voicemail from the radio station, saying “We’re calling about the Nicki Minaj Black Friday CD that you won. Please call us back as soon as possible.”  I called back a few hours later, disappointed to hear that they were only calling about the CD.  But when I called, the AMP Radio promotions manager, Tara, told me that she wasn’t calling about the CD at all—she was calling to tell me that I WAS THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF THE TRIP FOR TWO TO PARIS! 

At that moment, I had an out-of-body experience where it felt like I was floating outside my body watching the scene unfold below.  I vividly remember yelling into the phone, “You’re kidding me!”  Tara assured me that while this was hard to believe, I won the contest and would be going to Paris this summer.  I yelled, “SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!” and began jumping up and down in the middle of my office. 

And that’s where our European adventure begins!