“Livin’ it Up” in My Birthday Month

June. It’s an auspicious month. Some decades and nine months ago, two people did something unmentionable and out I popped. It is my birthday month. At home I have instituted a law wherein the occupants are obliged to be nice to me for the whole month, and not just on the day of my birth. It was not received well, let’s say Hosni Mubarak would have faced more of a warm welcome in Tahrir Square.

So, it is my birthday month and I think a bit of self-aggrandisement is in order. I would like an iPad, and considering there is no chance of it sauntering into my life, I have decided to go with the next best way that I know to acquire things: winning them. I have been invited to take part in a special Blogger’s Challenge that will pit me against seven other bloggers for the opportunity to win the covetable device. I’m Scott Pilgrim and they’re the evil exes. The battleground is a cutesy strategy game, and Ramona is the iPad. After the dust has settled, the blogger with the highest score will have won. So, what has this got to do with you? Well, dear readers, I shall require your help in overcoming the many obstacles in my path and claim the top prize. And if helping me out doesn’t make you feel good on the inside, there are superficial prizes for you to win because this challenge is also open to the public. Still interested? Good. Find out all the details after the jump.

OK, so the game in question may be fairly similar to a Facebook one that elicits such diverse reactions as unparalleled joy all the way down to the sounds of horrible retching. Created by Standard Bank, the Livin’ it Up game has you starting off with an empty patch of property and a wallet full of cash. With it, you can purchase a house and buy things to make it a home. You can buy all sorts of items from fuzzy dice, free-flow, and a ludicrously large spoiler for your car to different room upgrades; you also purchase security measures such as razor-wire and attack geese.

It seems that your property is situated at the corner of Realism lane and Disaster avenue. As such, it is not immune to the weather gods, and if there is anything advertising has drilled into your head all these years, it is that you should never be without insurance when a disaster strikes. Parents would be wise to let their children take a turn at this game. It will enlighten kids about the pangs of working life, and how squirreling away money for emergencies is always a good idea. If there is anything that will dispel their fluffy dreams of a tax-free life, it might well be this. Let’s keep it real.

You need to insure your belongings and by managing various everyday processes, you increase your points score in the game. At the end of each month for the next couple of months, the top scorer walks away with a different prize. In June the prize is a Nintendo Wii, a Sony Bravia 32” LED in July, a PS3 in August, and so on. Towards the end of the year, one thoroughly dedicated winner will drive away in new BMW 320i. If this sound like your kind of competition, then head to Livin’ it Up and get building!

But wait a moment. If you feel like helping me out in my quest to win the Blogger’s Challenge prize, leave a comment below and I’ll invite you. If you then register for the game from my referral e-mail, it shows that you care about me. Also it will result in valuable cash appearing in my account. ;)