For our eyes only
Thursday, August 23, 2007

Last week, Hoen and I decided to get this small 20 inch LCD TV at Best Buy. It was for the upstairs floor supposedly. Hoen noticed that I hardly ever touch the TV in the basement because what's the point? I am always upstairs. Furthermore, I have been carrying food from the kitchen to the basement because Hoen wants to eat while watching TV. Tip toeing over 2 flights of stairs with hot soup on your hand? Not so fun. So his pity paid off and we got the small TV to keep us company upstairs. Not too big that it will disrupt normal conversation but big enough to serve as both dynamic wallpaper and TV. But a stop at The Mart last weekend changed our plans. We saw this 42 inch LCD monitor (which is the size Hoen wanted. Me? I'm fine with 30, 32, whatever) and after clarifying with the sales person that this came with an ATSC/QAM turner and some other HD specifics, we decided to buy it right there and then, unplanned. It was even supposed to be delivered in 2 days! Hoen was ecstatic. We would cancel the small TV and just have this in the basement instead. I was cool with that especially with the really good price that came with it. But, as sigurista as Hoen is, he called The Mart again the day before delivery and realized that that sales idiot didn't know what he was talking about. We asked him right off the bat "Your tag says MONITOR. Does this come with a tuner or no?" "Yes, yes! It does abidi abidi da da da blah blah blah..." WHATEVER. We cancelled the order after talking to the manager who failed to come up with a satisfying alternative. So we decided to re-check Best Buy and saw something on their website. It was an even better model, a little pricier but still very good. Hoen triple-checked with the nearby branch and they had it in stock! We went to the store to check it out ourselves. The website price was lower than their in-store price but they honored it so we were happy. We got it and swore we had asked every little question there was to ask. We placed the TV inside the car and drove it home as clouds started turning charcoal gray and news reports sounding more ominous than ever. Since we drive a Civic coupe, the TV had to be lodged in the back via a rope, thanks to my Girls Scout knot-tying skills. The drive home was so suspenseful as it had started to drizzle. 5 minutes after we got home, there was a Tornado Watch and Thunderstorm Warning....serious Nebraska ones, ok? So there we were in the basement... no electricity, Pascal candles lit, Visas and passports in folder, newly bought TV inside the box, rubber shoes on our feet prepared for anything. We prayed for safety and had some potato chips. It was only then that we realized- we may have a nice big TV but we didn't have a radio and an emergency light inside the house! Haha! We felt silly over having this "luxury" and yet we lacked all those emergency gadgets. I am so buying those right away! That night, we did the assembling and installation ourselves. We had to rearrange the furniture into this awkward set-up because of the instant purchase. We had to move the old TV to our living room for now since it's practically empty. Hoen loves the TV. It's a wife rival again. But then again, isn't every Wii game out there to destroy our marriage? Here it is. Pardon the wires, we still have to get the long ones and keep them together at the back. We refused to spend for Best Buy's labor charge just yet because this one was enough investment for us.

Sabbatical Rationale

It has been a loooong time since I've tapped on any house update. Not that there hasn't been any, it's just that I always seem to forget to blog about it. I have also \taken a break from doing too much around the house because the last couple of weeks have been both hectic, exciting and relaxing. You see, after I had painted our Master's bathroom, I swore off painting for at least when it's terribly necessary. We haven't seen a couch we absolutely have to have yet so no living room furniture yet. We got busy with our Omaha Fil-Am's Basketball League every Sunday and hanging out with our friends whenever we felt like it. But for the most part, we fell in love with a new gym.

It's called Lifetime Fitness and we can't wait to call it our second home. Bigger than a Walmart and with 2 storeys at that, Lifetime has hundredssss of cardio and weight machines, huge yoga and pilates rooms, 3 lapping pools, 2 outdoor and indoor waterparks, 2 basketball courts, 2 racquetball courts, 2 wall climbing studios, a sauna, a jacuzzi and steam rooms. And if that's not enough, it has its own cafe, salon and a Childcare Center that takes care of kids 12 and under for free for 2 hours each day. They have dance classes, martial arts classes, hip hop classes and what-not. Joen and I may have signed up at Fitness Premier just last May but we can't help but want to avail of LF's amenities. What's more, Friday basketball practice is held there.


Pros and Cons. Lifetime costs a lot more than Fitness Premiere and is 15 minutes away from our house. Fitness Premiere is 5-7 minutes away and their treadmills are TV-equipped so you can watch any channel you want right in front of you. With Lifetime, you have to have a tuner to tune in to the audio part of whatever's on their how many TVs. FP's machines are cleaned every half hour while Lifetime's isn't. The amenities of FP are a far cry compared to Lifetime but maybe that's what we need now(??) AMBUT. We have to decide tomorrow because our free pass ends today. All I know is that everytime I enter the place I become more alive and inspired to get my body moving. Tonight, I am playing Ball Girl to Hoen as he practices some hoops. I love fetching his balls for him!

Anyway, this may not be a house update but I guess I just wanted to point out what we've been up to while taking a break from house-setting. With all the rain, Hoen hasn't even run the sprinkler hoses in the last 2 weeks and it's been hard to mow a rather moist ground. I am sooo not ready for Fall Weather yet but with temperatures starting to drop in the 70s and 60s, hello scarves, jackets and closed shoes!