Adventures in TV Shopping: A Short Story by Heather B.
It all started Wednesday morning when my year-old TV screen turned to a lovely shade of pickle juice green during a Kick Max premix. I hate shopping for electronics. Hate it with a passion. I am convinced that this is one of the reasons God made men. I love, love, love shopping for girly stuff like shoes, clothes, and makeup. But shopping for electronics is so not my thing. Every time I make a major purchase, it is a huge ordeal. I bought and returned several computers before I found one that did not have any issues. Same story with the TV I bought last year and the DVD player I bought last year. I was definitely not looking forward to TV shopping. Not to mention, my plate is full now. I do not have time for TV shopping, so this was not a welcome diversion from my Clutter Max project.
I had a budget of $200.00. I just bought a digital camera and need to save money for the Cathe Road Trip as well as upcoming preorders! I was determined to stay below $200.00 and not get into debt or dip into my savings over this unplanned expense. I wanted a 15" LCD TV. I did some online research and found a Sharp with 5-star reviews that I wanted, but it was $100.00 over my budget.
I went to Wal-Mart and found a 15" Polaroid LCD TV for $198.00. I did not buy it. I wanted to read online reviews first. They were not good at all. People complained about the viewing angle from the floor. I decided to take a field trip to Wal-Mart to see for myself. Yes, I got down on my knees in the store to see what Cathe would look like from down there! The employees at Academy are used to me doing tuck jumps in the aisles to test new workout shoes, but the customers and employees at Wal-Mart are not accustomed to my antics. LOL! I got some strange looks, but it saved me from a bad purchase! I walked over to the next aisle and saw a 14" RCA TV for $80.00. That is less than I paid for the same model last year. Hoping that I bought a lemon last year, I decided to give RCA another whirl. I could not bear the thought of watching IMAX3 in pickle juice green! I love Cathe, but I have my limits!
I happily hauled my purchase upstairs to my workout room last night, plugged it in, and was so frustrated when I realized that it was a lemon. It did not turn on immediately, the picture was not good at all, half the stations were in black and white or not viewable at all, and it made a hissing noise when I turned it off. I think it was possessed! That TV was dusty when I took it out of the box. That particular Wal-Mart is being renovated. The sound kept going out this morning. I could not do IMAX3 without Cathe’s cuing, so I decided to take a quick trip to another local Wal-Mart. I bought another TV, returned home, hauled it upstairs to my workout room, and was ready to scream when it was even worse than the other one. It sounded like Rice Crispies! I sat in my workout room full of junk TVs and reviewed my options:
(1) pull out my old 13" RCA TV that was made in 1991 and does not connect to a DVD player
(2) deal with pickle juice Cathe
(3) deal with hissing Cathe or silent Cathe (depending on the TV’s mood at the moment)
(4) deal with snap, crackle, and pop Cathe
(5) throw ‘em all out the window with my scale, give up on Cathe, and return to classes at the club
(6) give up, send the white flag up the pole, and comfort myself with cheesecake or peanut butter pie
(7) go to Circuit City and hope for success there (as Best Buy had nothing I could afford)
No. 1 was tempting because I still have Rhythmic Step, Leaner Legs, the Intensity Series, and the Body Blast Series on VHS. I love Cathe too much to give up on her, and I adore IMAX3, Body Max 2, and others that are on DVD only. I went with No. 7. I returned to Circuit City today with the intention of getting an old-fashioned CRT TV. (I had just been there last night. They had one of the 15" Sharp LCD TVs I wanted in inventory, but it was selling for $300.00). I definitely wanted a different brand than RCA! I jumped for joy when I saw that the 15" Sharp LCD TV I had my heart set on is on sale this week for $180.00. What an answer to my prayers! The price dropped $120.00 overnight! I returned one of the TVs to Wal-Mart, rushed home, hooked up my new Sharp TV, and previewed part of IMAX3. The LCD monitor takes up much less space, and the picture and sound are amazing. Even the Hardcore Series looks and sounds great on this TV. I played part of IMAX2 (which I have on VHS). The IMAX2 music rocks on this TV! This story has a happy ending. I got the TV I really wanted, got a much better TV than I have ever had, and paid less for it than I would have paid for the low-quality budget model at Wal-Mart. I also got some bonus workouts today from hauling all those TVs up and down the stairs. The last TV to return is in the trunk of my car, so I am off to the other Wal-Mart to take care of that. I am so happy to have this issue resolved, and I am looking forward to IMAX3 later tonight!
Blessings,
Heather B.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).
