Free Stuff Trifecta today

SCORE #1 - Chocolatey Drizzle

Coming out of South Station this morning I scored some more Chocolatey Drizzle from 3 out of 4 of the people passing it out. I didn't even eat any of this pile. I put it by Dolly's jar. She ate some and brought some home for her daughter. This is uncanny how many times they have been passing this stuff out.

SCORE #2 - PRESIDENT CHEESE

On the way to grab some lunch the folks from President Cheese were setting up. Swung back by after grabbing a burrito to go at Boloco. (Which I washed down later with the last of my Vitamin 10 Water.) Got to sample the Goat's Milk Cheese, Brie and some Mediterranean Medley. All of them were delicious. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. I even entered my name to win a cheese/wine tasting party for 25 people. Maybe I will invite anyone who leaves a comment, if I win. ;-)

Score #3 - Cigar Boxes

The tobacco shop on corner of Charles and Boylston, The L.J. Peretti Company Inc., puts it's empty cigar boxes out on the side walk for anyone to take. I walked by on the way to the train and what do you know? Some nice boxes to be had. These are the good ones too. Nice wooden ones with a shellacked finish. I have grabbed a few in the past. The kids like to keep trinkits and crayons in them. I keep spare change in one at home. I gave some to Neil for his coin collections. Dolly even served cannolis in them at a party. Nice presentation, Dolly. Today I grab 2 from the pile. One will be for my son's Legos and the other to replace a broken plastic container for crayons. This is a nice form of recycling. I like that the folks at this store don't just through the empties in the trash to fill up the land fill. There are so many uses for little wooden boxes. What would you do with them?


So all in all. An excellent day int he city for free stuff!

More Chocolatey Drizzle, Polar Beverage and Vitamin Water 10

Yesterday I had some errands to run on my lunch break and I needed to pick up something for lunch. On my way to the bank I once again came across some representatives from Quaker Oats. And not surprisingly they were still handing out the Chocolatey Drizzle. I said to the guy handing them out, "Wow, more Chocolatey Drizzle! You must have trailers full of this stuff." He replied, "Warehouses full of it!" I wonder if this will be the end, or do they still have more. Time will tell. I completed my errands. I had 2 bags of drizzle in my hand. Couldn't use the Stuff and Repeat technique. It was a nice day and was not wearing a jacket or carrying a bag. Now it was time to get some lunch. I remembered that the Croissant Du Jour offers a free Polar beverage with the purchase of any sandwich on Monday's and Tuesday's. I have been aware of the offer for some time, but have only remembered it on a Wednesay, Thursday or Friday, when standing in line to get a sandwich. Finally, I remember on the right day! At this point I was on Newbury St, passing by some kind of spa. There were was a woman standing out front with a sink set up and a sign about a free hand treatment. I was kind of hungry and didn't want to get sucked into a sales pitch and I didn't really need a hand treatment anyway. I kept walking. At Croissant Du Jour, I got The Margherita - "Perfection on a Baguette - Fresh cut basil, fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, olive oil, oregano", for $6. (I am on a meat free diet.) I picked the Polar Seltzer with Cranberry Lime for my free beverage. I think the new guy made my sandwich. He forgot the pickle and handed me the sandwich without a bag. Oh well, one less bag deployed into the environment is ok with me. I would have enjoyed the pickle, though. Sandwich was yummy. Free beverage to wash it down was tasty. Free dessert was satisfying. I ate both bags of Chocolaty Drizzle. mmmmm Chocolaty Drizzle. I think Dolly ate most of the ones I put by her candy jar the other day. She really liked them.

The photo and poster in the above pic are a couple items I mentioned in the first post of this blog. I tossed them in since they were still sitting on my desk. They were from an event that was at Nike Town Boston on Newbury Street the week before the marathon. This was a jackpot event for free stuff. I got my picture taken, I got a free download from iTunes, a free reflective running vest, a free sport drink (forget what kind) and I went back to get the free poster. My boss and co-workers found me 3 times on the poster!

Today I headed out for a long walk. Each week I want to try to get in as many 2-3 mile walks as I can. I head down Boylston at my 'I'm taking a serious walk' pace. Blip . . . .Blip . . . .Blip. Uh Oh. Free Stuff radar is picking something up. I see tents at the far end of Copley Plaza. Sounds like they have a sound system, too. Does that van have some kind of beverage logo on it? So much for the walk, I'm sucked in. The nice folks from Vitamin Water are handing out their new Vitamin Water 10, a naturally sweetened 10 Calorie per serving version of their flavored water. I grab a lemonade and try to check out everything that is going on. The girl with the mic is walking around talking to people as they try the water. There is a line of about 20 people with cards in hand waiting to punch a code on a locker. It must be something good if people are standing in line, in the hot sun. I learn that if your code opens the locker, you win $10,000. Get my card and get in line. No good. Put my name and phone number on the card and drop it in the bin. Still could win free Vitamin Water 10 for a year. The lemonade wasn't bad. Only 3 grams of sugar in an 8 ounce serving. I grab a few more and headed back to the office. I take a picture of my loot to use later in my blog. I Should have taken some pics outside. I guess I am still new at this blogging thing. I should have taken a short walk and come back around before grabbing some extra bottles. I guess I got caught up in all the exitement. This is turning out to be a good start of the week for free stuff.

Chocolatey Drizzle and a CFL

Coming out of South Station yesterday there was a familiar site. A crew of Quaker Oats people handing out some Mini Delights, Chocolatey Drizzle, Bite Sized Light Crispy Multigrain Cakes. I say they were a familiar site because this is the 3rd or 4th time I have scored some Chocolatey Drizzle. Since they were spread out pretty good, I used the stuff and repeat technique. One girl gave me 2 packs. As I walked away, I stuffed them into my bag. Across the street, I approached a guy, who handed me 2 more. Now their goal is to get rid of this stuff so I probably don't have to be so covert about it. He probably would have given me some even if I had some in my hand already. But what's the fun in that. There were actually about 4 people handing these things out and I could of taken some from each of them. One time, my friend John went back and forth several times between a crew handing out M&M chocolate bars at Downtown Crossing and came back with a boat load of them. I wasn't feeling that greedy, so I took my score and headed to work. I ate one bag and put the rest by the giant candy jar in Dolly's office for everyone to enjoy. They are pretty good. Kind of reminds me of Crispix Puppy Chow recipe.

Another score I received earlier in the week was a free G.E. Compact Florescent Light Bulb. There was a guy handing them out in the lobby of my building on Earth Day. If you have not made the switch to CFLs you really should consider them. Save money and use up less resources!

And speaking of Earth Day - don't miss the mother load of FREE concerts, EarthFest.

My First Blog

The gang at work were amused at all the free stuff I come back with when I go out for a walk. They suggested I start a blog about all this free stuff. So here it is. IF IT'S FREE, IT'S FOR ME. And of course, I am using a free blogging service to do it. Within the last few days I have gotten, a free reflective running vest, a novelty photo of me at a finish line, a poster featuring me crossing said finish line 3x, several bags of some Quaker Oats chocolaty drizzly things, a sport drink, 3 Nantucket Nectar Pencils, a cup of juice, an iced Cappuccino and an ice cream cone. There is plenty more free stuff to be had out there. More to come. . . .