xtcian

our delicate blue marble

5/25/09

You know how contests always seemed rigged? Like some dude or some woman gets their entire sorority or choir or mega-church to vote for them, and you wonder if you'd ever be able to muster up that kind of following? Well, now you can be that very pain-in-the-ass institution that pushes someone into victory.

Namely, my buddy Seth - a young man known to many of you - is trying to win this contest put on by Hyatt. Due to the economy, Seth is one of those guys who is removing himself from his job with the blessing of his company, and this could be something tremendously awesome for him.

I'll let him explain the details, but know this: he's a former housemate, a Carolina grad who bleeds sky blue, and all-around excellent fellow. Let's win one for the home team, shall we? Here's Seth:

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Well, this is mortifying. I'd always imagined that Ian would offer me the xtcian stage because I had something important to say, rather than merely an absurdly self-serving favor to ask. But I find myself in striking distance of winning a free year-long vacation, and for that I figure it's worth making an utter fool of myself.

Specifically, I'm hoping you'll vote for me online in a contest sponsored by Hyatt Hotels, where the prize is 365 free nights at any Hyatt throughout the world, plus one million airline miles with the airline of my choice. Last week, the night before the contest's deadline, I contrived an utterly cheeseball last-minute entry - a video - so that I could tell myself that I at least tried. Then, the other day, I got a Fedex telling me that, from 48,000 entries, I am one of 20 semifinalists.

Now, to get me to the final round of 5, I'd need you to follow the 4 easy steps below to vote. In case it offers any motivation: if I win, and if you can represent to me that you voted for me at least 6 of the 8 possible times, I will throw your name into a hat and hold a raffle of my own, where I'll transfer to the raffle winner five of my free Hyatt nights (this, provided that Hyatt will allow me to do so - I'm working on figuring out with them if that would be okay).

[ed. note: as of 6/3/09, voting is closed - thanks!]

STEP 1: Register. Go here to join Hyatt's Gold Passport global frequent guest program and get a number. Save that number. (I'm sorry that this is required, but they don't ask for any unusual information, and it's the only way. There will be no spam ever as long as you uncheck the boxes asking about special offers.)

STEP 2: Vote for me! Go here and select my entry, located in middle of the bottom row. And look, I'm fully aware that there are worthier entries to vote for than my pandering ramblings. Please vote for me anyway.

STEP 3: Repeat Step 2 every day this week until next Tuesday. You can vote once per day up to eight times, peoples. Please do. Optional autopilot program: If you'd like to help me out but want an easier way, just follow Step 1, send your Hyatt Passport number to me at [email redacted] and tell me who you want to vote for (um, me), and I'll vote as your proxy.

STEP 4: Spread the word. To win this, I figure that I'll need pretty much everyone I know, and perhaps most people they know, to vote for me each day, so any assistance in making that happen would be most appreciated.

That's it! If you have any questions, use the comments, and Ian or I will check in throughout the week to let you know the results. Maybe someday I'll get to return to the xtcian guest blog slot with something more altruistic, or at least more consequential, to say. And with your help, I will be typing that blog entry from Bali.

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Seth holding 14-month-old Lucy in Paris, 2006