It's about time
Huh.
It seems I've been gone longer than I thought! Look at all the cobwebs and dust. Time to get cracking.
Where to begin?
After over 15 years of marriage, Melissa and I finally called it quits. We had enough. Things just weren't working anymore so we decided to bite the bullet and do what we should have done years ago. We bought our first television.
Now, we've had TVs before but they've always been hand-me-downs. Our first was a little model circa 1980 by GE. It was 13 inches and weighed a ton. It blew up one day and we went about 6 years without a TV at all. No, I'm not exaggerating. It really did blow up. OK, no real pyrotechnics, but the smoke did come out. (You know about the magic smoke in electronic components, right? If you let the smoke out, they don't work anymore.)
When we moved to Maine, my mother bought us a 13 inch TV/VCR combo so the kids could watch videos (that's what Grandma's house was for - watching videos. Just ask the kids!). That doesn't really count as a hand-me-down, does it? Well, it still wasn't purchased by us.
Later, my brother purchased some big monster of a TV and gave us his 10+ year old 19 inch and VCR. We were living the high life now! The color was skewed to the RED but wasn't too bad if I tinkered with the settings. Unfortunately, a certain LITTLE BOY figured out how to push buttons and would always reset the color and contrast settings. Regardless, that TV served us well for a few years. The VCR finally died beyond my ability to repair and so the VHS tapes were sent upstairs to where that little TV/VCR still sits. We watched DVDs on the 19 inch, all scrunched up in letterbox form and dark. And Red.
To start the year off right I finally put my foot down and said "we really need a new TV - something we can actually watch without getting a headache." So Melissa gave me permission and we all went TV shopping.
Needless to say, it took far too long and way too many stores to finally come to a conclusion and an actual purchase. But a purchase was made, and now I have a TV that's way too big for my living room.
But it's a beauty! I don't know why they count "p's" when discussing TVs but I sure do have a bunch!
The first video we watched was Finding Nemo. Even with standard cables and nothing fancy the picture quality was amazing! There were so many details That couldn't be seen on our old TV... Did you know the fish have textures? I didn't, not until watching it again on my NEW TV! Ha!
No, I'm not going to tell you the brand, model, or size. I'm sure it can be purchased for half of what I paid 2 weeks ago now, and that model X, Y, or Z, is far better, costs less, and has less calories. Even when shopping, I was tempted by bigger, better, and far more expensive sets. But I had a budget and I think I found a good set that will meet all our video needs (desires?) for the near future.
Can I justify spending so much? Well, I can because I follow that little rule of money: Save up until you can afford to purchase. We know far too many people who are paying for Cable, Internet, Phone, Cell Phone, Car Payment, 2nd Car Payment, Dining Out, and everything else on top of their mortgage in their too big house that they can barely afford groceries. We just don't think that way and instead we actually put money away. I already have $$$ saved up for that replacement car (it won't be "new") that we will have to get within 5 years. The TV is a luxury. A working car is not.
So what if it took us 15 years to save up for a TV? That just shows how high a priority it has been - or low, as the case may be. There's nothing wrong with going without stuff for a while. That's a message our society in general and the credit card companies don't want you to hear.
If I don't post anything else for a while you'll know I'm too busy... um, reviewing movies! Yeah, that's it! I'll start adding some more movie reviews for DVDs to my posts. It may take some time, though, so don't wait up. I'll post right after this movie is done.
Or maybe the next.
It seems I've been gone longer than I thought! Look at all the cobwebs and dust. Time to get cracking.
Where to begin?
After over 15 years of marriage, Melissa and I finally called it quits. We had enough. Things just weren't working anymore so we decided to bite the bullet and do what we should have done years ago. We bought our first television.
Now, we've had TVs before but they've always been hand-me-downs. Our first was a little model circa 1980 by GE. It was 13 inches and weighed a ton. It blew up one day and we went about 6 years without a TV at all. No, I'm not exaggerating. It really did blow up. OK, no real pyrotechnics, but the smoke did come out. (You know about the magic smoke in electronic components, right? If you let the smoke out, they don't work anymore.)
When we moved to Maine, my mother bought us a 13 inch TV/VCR combo so the kids could watch videos (that's what Grandma's house was for - watching videos. Just ask the kids!). That doesn't really count as a hand-me-down, does it? Well, it still wasn't purchased by us.
Later, my brother purchased some big monster of a TV and gave us his 10+ year old 19 inch and VCR. We were living the high life now! The color was skewed to the RED but wasn't too bad if I tinkered with the settings. Unfortunately, a certain LITTLE BOY figured out how to push buttons and would always reset the color and contrast settings. Regardless, that TV served us well for a few years. The VCR finally died beyond my ability to repair and so the VHS tapes were sent upstairs to where that little TV/VCR still sits. We watched DVDs on the 19 inch, all scrunched up in letterbox form and dark. And Red.
To start the year off right I finally put my foot down and said "we really need a new TV - something we can actually watch without getting a headache." So Melissa gave me permission and we all went TV shopping.
Needless to say, it took far too long and way too many stores to finally come to a conclusion and an actual purchase. But a purchase was made, and now I have a TV that's way too big for my living room.
But it's a beauty! I don't know why they count "p's" when discussing TVs but I sure do have a bunch!
The first video we watched was Finding Nemo. Even with standard cables and nothing fancy the picture quality was amazing! There were so many details That couldn't be seen on our old TV... Did you know the fish have textures? I didn't, not until watching it again on my NEW TV! Ha!
No, I'm not going to tell you the brand, model, or size. I'm sure it can be purchased for half of what I paid 2 weeks ago now, and that model X, Y, or Z, is far better, costs less, and has less calories. Even when shopping, I was tempted by bigger, better, and far more expensive sets. But I had a budget and I think I found a good set that will meet all our video needs (desires?) for the near future.
Can I justify spending so much? Well, I can because I follow that little rule of money: Save up until you can afford to purchase. We know far too many people who are paying for Cable, Internet, Phone, Cell Phone, Car Payment, 2nd Car Payment, Dining Out, and everything else on top of their mortgage in their too big house that they can barely afford groceries. We just don't think that way and instead we actually put money away. I already have $$$ saved up for that replacement car (it won't be "new") that we will have to get within 5 years. The TV is a luxury. A working car is not.
So what if it took us 15 years to save up for a TV? That just shows how high a priority it has been - or low, as the case may be. There's nothing wrong with going without stuff for a while. That's a message our society in general and the credit card companies don't want you to hear.
If I don't post anything else for a while you'll know I'm too busy... um, reviewing movies! Yeah, that's it! I'll start adding some more movie reviews for DVDs to my posts. It may take some time, though, so don't wait up. I'll post right after this movie is done.
Or maybe the next.
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