Yet another manifestation of this new chapter in our lives.

I’m not much of a gamer.

Though I’ve owned every Nintendo console since the original, I’ve played each one less and less leading up to the last console, the Gamecube, which I probably play once every 6 months. So when the new Nintendo came out, the Wii, I decided that there was no reason for me to drop the $250 (plus $50 for a 2nd controller) to get one. Well it might also have something to do with Sarah being “in the family way” and money being tight.

Anyway, I was in Seattle on business, staying with my cousin Vikas. He had purchased a Wii for Sumedha (his wife) for Valentine’s day, but decided to give it to her a week early. I’m sure that wasn’t just so that he could play it. Either way, since I was there, I got to play it… and I LOVED IT! So much so, that Vikas said that if I could find one before I left Seattle he’d buy it for me.

I couldn’t. He didn’t. Lucky man.

So I’ve pretty much been moping around the apartment, trying to trick anyone I can into buying me a Wii. Got pretty close when Cathie-mom was in town for the shower… but no dice.

Coupled with my Wii-malaise, I’ve had some stressful days of work. Sarah suggested (probably mostly to get me out of her face) that I go down to the exercise bike (which is in the basement of our aparment building, in the laundry room, down the hall from the mail room) and work out some of my stress. So I did.

Well, I went downstairs, anyway. I usually check the mail before I ride the bike and hopefully find something interesting to read. On this day, I found something *very* interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I skipped the bike altogether and ran upstairs (elevator-ed upstairs, techincally) to show Sarah what I received.

Backing up a bit: Every six months or so I receive $12 check in the mail for some of the acting work I did in LA. Since that is money I technically earned *before* we got married, Sarah lets me keep it for my very own. Sometimes, however, this backfires on her.

Like it did this time. The fine folks at WB sent me a check for $275! Just the right amount to cover a Wii and sales tax!

JUBILATION!

This was on Monday.

Since then, I’ve probably spent about 24 hours calling stores, bidding on eBay, and bribing children trying to get my hands on one of those stupid game systems…

Still with me? Here’s where I tie this all in to the (im)pending SLP.

There’s a store in town called Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM). It’s huge. It’s like 4 buildings. They have any kind of furniture you can imagine. Can you imagine a couch? or a table? or a credenza? Whatever you’re imagining, they have it. They also have huge appliance and electronics department.

What can you find in electronics departments? Wiis.

What can you find in furniture departments? Cribs.

Where did we go first? Furniture.

Where should we have gone first? Electronics.

After looking at cribs for an hour and a half, we popped into the electronics department (which was in another building), to discover that the last Wii had *just* been purchased, that “there’s a kid walking around here with the last one right now.”

If we had gone to the electronics department before we went to look at the stupid cribs I would have had my grubby paws on a Wii last night!

So, for the first time, the wee one, that screaming little person, got the better of her old man.

Tyrannus. Tyrannus Gupta. That is she.

coda

I found one today. I win.

Whaddya think of that, baby Gupta?