The Vince Files

So Anna and I were driving to work when I heard the contest on QM FM.  They play a short audio clip and you’re supposed to identify who the speaker is.  Well I knew with 100% certainty that it was Vancouver Canuck Roberto Luongo speaking about the upcoming season.  But it wasn’t the right time to call; the contest wasn’t until 9:30 a.m.

Sarcastically, I told Anna that as soon as I heard you could win a panini grill, I just had to play.  Me, I’m no panini-grilling kind of guy.  Give me some tongs and some steak and my Weber and I’m happy.  But I just checked Future Shop, and this panini grill sells for $100 so I can’t complain.

Well, 9:30 came around and we were both in the office.  I was already listening to the radio station through their “Listen Live” link on their website when the clip was replayed.  The announcer then gave the number to call.  So I pick up the phone and called the number; it was busy.  So I re-dialed…and re-dialed…and re-dialed.  When the phone started ringing, it kept ringing…and ringing…and ringing.  Then suddenly 2 voices came on the line.  It was Terry and Tara; I got through!  They asked my name, asked if I wanted to play (of course, I said, “yes”), and asked me who I thought was the speaker in the clip.  I gave the correct answer.  Then the line was dead.  I had accidentally pressed “End Call” on my phone!

I didn’t mean to end the call.  I was actually listening to the radio on my left headphone, with my telephone pressed against my right ear.  I actually wanted to close my browser so I could hear the phone.  Of course, when you’re speaking to radio stations on the air, you’re actually delayed a few seconds.  So a few seconds after I inadvertently hung up, I heard my voice on the radio.  I also heard them say, “Hello?  Are you still there?  Well, you win anyway!”  When I heard that I had still won, I quickly called them back and to my surprise, got through on the first try.  I gave them my details and was told where I could pick up my prize.  Anna and I went to the QM FM offices on 2nd Avenue in Vancouver during our lunch hour and picked up my prize.

Included in my prize pack was: the grill, a cookbook and other recipes, an apron, a spatula.

I was actually quite surprised at how easy it was.  Luckily, my phone at work (some Cisco VoIP phone) makes it easy to redial.