While I will not officially give up until the contest is over in 15 days, I figured I would give it one last-ditch effort.

My entry has quietly slipped back to tenth place and, with 672 votes, it needs roughly 6,000 votes to take the lead. While that will not likely happen, it is still possible. The entry currently in second place, for example, registered on September 5th and launched from nothing to second place in less than one week’s time, so it is indeed still possible. Even the entry of the son of Donny Osmond, which I thought would easily overtake first place, has languished down to fourth place. A mere 59 votes right now would at least propel my entry to seventh place.

In addition to FlyerTalk, I have tried appealing to many entities, including but not limited to the school where I earned my Master of Business Administration degree, various news media, the American Red Cross where I donate platelets, family, friends and colleagues. I certainly thought I could easily garner thousands of votes, but with little luck. Even social media such as Facebook and Twitter, both of which I am not a member and therefore were not posted by me, did not help all that much.

Of course, the offer is still on: if my entry somehow wins by a miracle, one lucky (or unlucky?) FlyerTalk member gets to accompany me on the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica.

Please vote here today, as it is the last chance for me and one other FlyerTalk member to trek to Antarctica. Spread the word to everybody else who has at least one valid e-mail address.

Thank you in advance to those of you who have yet to vote for my entry and will, and thank you so much to those of you who already voted for my entry. I appreciate it.