Making It Up As I Go Along #361

MONDAY...
— Trouble in the early hours. I get to sleep okay but wake at 1:15 and lay in bed awake for about two hours. So work is done on less than 4 hours sleep today.
— Work goes alright though. Phil back helps and it’s not super busy today either.
— Drug store after work for some needed items... including birthday card for the pop.

TUESDAY...
— Not a bad day at work. I still don’t sleep great Monday night but better than Sunday night, so a bit better energy.
— Stay up night... a bit of a couch nap but then some movies and such to stay up with.

WEDNESDAY...
— Slept much of the day before work. Slept in until 10:30... Back to bed for my nap at 2:00... up for good at 3:45.
— Thai for supper tonight... work goes pretty good. It’s the quietest time for me in a while... not a tonne in and Phil there to share the load.
— Do the gym tonight... listen to music on my Blackberry while I bike.

THURSDAY...
— Wake up moment... while I try to nap ironically enough. I wake, sort of perked up, twenty minutes into the nap, and I decide to check the blackberry. Sure enough an e-mail asking me to check on a friend who has some dealings with a helicopter company that just lost a chopper. He’s fine, and in fact was a part of the search and rescue for the lost, but it slaps you in the face to see how quickly things can change. I’m fairly somber for much of the rest of the day.
— Work goes alright. Not too too busy and I get to the gym again as well.

FRIDAY...
— Up earlier than I want because the furnace people call and ask to move their appointment up. I figure I’m up now, may as well.
— Lazy after they’re gone and then decide to get to Future Shop in the evening to check out TVs... and... I buy one. Never did I expect to spend that kind of money on a TV. Ten years ago I paid less than a tenth of the cost for the TV that’s currently sitting in the living room. But these are the times we live in... and it will wind up being really good when all is said and done. Installation... wall mounting and all... will be done on the 23rd. Hockey playoffs will be heavenly this year! And the baseball season... my God the baseball season!

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. My back is touchy... probably from the hauling of the TV up over my stairs alone.
— Turned the corner on winter as I can no longer see the sun setting on the horizon. It goes behind the building on back of mine again now. In winter, it sets on my horizon... summer it goes behind the buildings.
— Childhood memories come back tonight as Clash of the Titans is on Turner Classic Movies. I remember seeing this in cinema when I was nine... and of collecting the stickers and poster from cereal boxes after that.

SUNDAY...
— Lost in softball yet again. Nice day outside though. Sun and around 9 degrees. After ball, I go out with just the shorts on rather than putting track pants back on over them.


The Two Year Quest
The next time I write here, my world should be turned upside down. Such life altering claims are usually saved for births and deaths... lottery wins, or moves to new countries. But my world will be turned on it’s ear due to an installation of new technology. On March 23rd, I’ll have access to...

My new HD TV.

I’ve been waiting about two years to get a big screen HD television. Two Christmas’s ago, my main gift from my parents was money to go towards such a purchase. Well, two years later... it has happened.

On Friday I drove over to Future Shop. A sale on a Sony television had me thinking it’s time to look seriously at the TV. There, I walk through the isles of televisions. Men jumping off of cliffs with camera crew jumping after... Tigers roaring from the bush... exploding cars causing heros to dive for cover. These are the images shown again and again as far as the eye can see.

The Samsung TVs stand against the far left wall. This seems to be the row of royalty. You pass by in awe. The crispness of the buggy as it jumps over sand dunes. The mystical water falls dropping into the Amazon. The intimidation felt by such greatness leaves this isle near empty. People scurry by, glancing in the tone of unworthiness while they move on to pause at more humble brands such as Toshiba and LG.

I find the Sony seen in my e-mail flyer. It looks good. I search for reasons to walk away... to extend my wait another two years... but can think of none.

A salesman stops to talk... here we go, I’m further into this process now than in any other time. I ask the questions and understand the answers. I ask of the comparison. What makes this one less than those Samsung giants? He speaks of the price difference and tells me it’s not worth it. Stick to the Sony.

But then a turn. I speak of needing the installation done. Of needing to get the HD cable box as well. Of even getting the PVR box that will allow me the privilege of stopping time. To pausing live TV and wandering to the washroom or fridge whenever the desire, or kidney, needs.

And with this talk, suddenly the salesman speaks of the unthinkable. The Samsung... it may be an option after all.

The TV may cost more, but the deals can be offered in the add ons. Suddenly, the deal on the cable box and the installation. The deal on the wall mounting and cables... this all brings the difference in cost to a minimal amount.

I think how it’s a bit of a game. Future Shop are offering me these deals on the extras as long as I get the more expensive television. Get the sale TV and those extras deals disappear. But still, when you’re told that greatness is within your reach, it’s hard not to grab on.

So we wander over to the Samsung isle once again. Empty... others stand back, plastered against the LG televisions, looking towards us with mouths agape. A child is shushed by her mother.

I stand and look. Beholding the images of Africa and the bergs of ice sliding off of the edge of northern glaciers. I can think of no reason not to give the okay to this purchase. I struggle for it. I look for a way to justify a continuation of my wait. But nothing comes to mind.

The salesman than picks up the remote and shows me extras... menus. Menus from all over the world. If I want to make enchiladas, the recipe is only a TV remote click away.

Now I don’t cook. The last time I followed a recipe was when making chilli about twenty years ago. But this option, followed in close order by the exercise and stretching suggestions given for soccer players... gotten by another simple click of the remote... and I’m in. Samsung royalty is coming home.

This may be enough to keep me based out of my house for at least another year. Wall mounting this great device in my living room... how can this not make the place feel like home?

There is one final test. One great test to see if I’m worthy of such a wonderment entering my home. All along I thought the installers would bring it with them. But my salesman tells me otherwise. It’s mine to bring home... now!

He aids me in getting the television into the car. It barely makes it in with the back seats down. And I’m left wondering how I’ll manage to get it from the car, up the six steps to my front door, and then up the dozen steps to my living room.

I must shift about the great box on several occasions. Trying to get in the best position for leverage. I muscle it up the outdoor steps. I drag it into the front door enough to be able to shut the door behind it.

I wonder if I’ll leave the television there for the next week. Remaining boxed and ready for installers to help lug it up the stairs. But I push on... tipping the box to be able to slide it upwards. Able to muscle and slide it up a stair at a time. Pushing and heaving, nobody said the path to luxury would be easy. I have images of reaching the top step, then slipping and having a great tumble backwards with the box tumbling down on top of me. But I make it. Summit the monolith like crate and slide it in towards the kitchen just to make sure it doesn’t find a way to push back down over the stairs.

And here I wait. The great television remains in it’s box, awaiting the installers. They’ll arrive next week and, if all goes well, will turn my living room into a holy place.

Just in time for hockey playoffs!