Bravo Bravia

About a month ago our expensive, 52" Toshiba Regza LCD HDTV developed a wide multi-color bar down the middle of the screen.  It wasn't some phantom change in one of the settings.  It was just plain "broke".

This really pissed me off because the TV is only 5 years old and was their top-of-the-line model.  I really expected this TV to become obsolete before it broke.  So much for paying extra for the name brand that will last forever.  Conversations with multiple 'techy' friends confirmed there was no fixing the TV.

For the past month we've had to compromise and watch the same shows (gasp!) while we looked at different models, compared prices, and decided which features we thought we'd use and which we wouldn't.  For instance, the rage now is internet-enabled TVs or 'smart' TVs.  Our friend Joe P has one.  He's a super 'techy' guy and loves all kinds of gadgets.  But Spouse & I decided we did not want to pay the considerably higher price for an internet-enabled TV.  We find it very easy to stream movies from my laptop by popping the TV's USB cable into my laptop.  We really just want a good, clear picture and decent sound.

So after an exhaustive online search we ended up buying at 50" Sony Bravia LCD HDTV.  

Although the screen is 2" smaller than our previous TV, the total size of the TV is about 6" smaller because the new TV has a much smaller bezel/frame.  The new TV is also thinner, about 1/2 the weight of the previous TV, and less than 1/2 the cost.

Swapping out the previous TV for the new one as very easy, especially when compared to the ordeal we went through when we got rid of our old behemoth box TV 5 years ago.

So domestic bliss has returned to our household since I can once again watch all my HGTV shows and Spouse can once again watch all 3 home shopping channels and reruns of The Sopranos.

Life is as it should be.

Sitcom or Reality?

Let's play a fun little game called "Sitcom or Reality?" Here's how it works: I'll describe a situation and you tell me whether its a plot from a sitcom or the reality of my life.

Ready? Here we go.

'Mike' and 'John (not their real names) finally decide to enter the 21st century by replacing their 20-year old, boxy 19" TV with a big, sleek hi-def flat screen.

Actually, the boxy 19" is being replaced with their existing boxy, extremely heavy 32", which is currently in their 3rd floor family room. The sleek, new flat screen will replace the 32" extremely heavy TV in their 3rd floor family room.

Being the 'organizer' that he is, Mike tells John they must first move the 19" boxy TV from the TV stand onto the floor of their main level TV room so they'll have a place to put the boxy, extremely heavy 32" that's coming downstairs from the 3rd floor.

With me so far?

So they move the 19" onto the floor, then go up the 2 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor to get the boxy, extremely heavy 32". Okay, here's where the funny part begins. When they go to move the boxy, extremely heavy 32" they realize it is WAY too heavy pick up!!! (Insert uproarious laughter here.)
As John begins cursing, Mike tries to think of a solution. Too bad they didn't buy those shoulder strap thingies as seen on TV when they saw them. But Mike had figured they'd never use them. When would he or John ever need to haul a refrigerator or a heavy TV? Oh, that's right. They've done BOTH within the last 2 years!
John suggests it would be easier to remove the window screen and shove the boxy, extremely heavy 32" out the 3rd floor window and buy another TV for that room.

But then, Mike thinks he's got the solution! He remembers that when they had to move those 2 (yes, 2) refrigerators they'd bought a hand truck, which really helped a lot. Since Mike had worked in a warehouse a thousand years ago he as all too familiar with how to use a hand truck. So Mike and John go down both flights of stairs to the storage closet to get the hand truck.

Okay, here's where its about to get really hilarious again... When Mike finally wrestles the hand truck out of the storage closet, he finds one of the tires is flat!!! (Insert gut-wrenching laughter here.)

John becomes just as deflated as the tire, while Mike scratches his chin (not really, but that phrase conveys a thoughtful attitude) while trying to think of a 'Plan C'.

"We can still use the hand truck, even though one of the tires is flat and the other is very low." Once again drawing on his past hand truck experience, Mike continues "It will be harder to roll, but it will be easier than trying to carry that monster." Just like the Hardy Boys, they nod in agreement and carry the hand truck back up the two flights of stairs.

They slide the behemoth off the TV stand and onto the hand truck, then pad it with a blanket to protect the screen. Mike pushes down on the hand truck while John lifts from the underside to get the weight onto the (flat) tires.

Okay, here comes another crazy-funny part... Before they can even start to move the awkward TV, the hand truck's (flat) tires get caught up in a scatter rug!!! (Insert boisterous belly laughs now!)

This time it is Mike that begins cursing, since it was John's idea to buy that stupid little scatter rug (that Mike felt didn't match) in the first place. They struggle for what feels like hours to free the (flat) hand truck tire from the rug. "Finally!" Mike exclaims.

The duo gets the unstable TV across the room to the top of the stairs. Mike says that he'll continue 'driving' the hand truck, what with all his hand truck experience and what not, and suggests that John go down the stairs backwards in front of the TV to stabilize it. John looks at Mike with a 'hello, NO!' look on his face, but realizes he is sorely lacking in hand truck experience, so he silently concedes.

They begin the decent down the stairs, slowly, one at a time, and are a little relieved that it is going well so far. Mike decides to bolster John's confidence by making occasional encouraging remarks, such as "That's it... you're doin' great."

John responds with a not-so-encouraging "Shut up." They continue their decent, slowly, one stair at a time. When they get to the bottom Mike can't help himself, and exclaims "That was great! We're half way there!" John groans.

Another throw rug is kicked from the hallway into a bedroom to prevent the hand truck from becoming ensnared again. They glide down the hallway, turn the corner, and stop at the top of the second stair case they must navigate.

"Its not going to fit", John says in his ever-so-charming 'glass-is-half-empty' way.

"Its got to fit", Mike responds. "This stair case is the same size as the one above it that we just came down." But as they began their decent onto the top stair, it becomes evident that somehow John was right, and they are going to have to pull the hand truck back up onto the landing.

"We're gonna have to put it on a blanket and slide it down the stairs", John laments.

"WHAT??? Slide it down the stairs???", Mike asks incredulously. "Don't you think that would be kind of like sliding a gigantic boulder down the stairs?" There's silence for a few seconds until Mike comes up with 'Plan D'.

"Let's turn it around a quarter turn, so its longer than it is wide. It will fit down the stairs if we do that" he says confidently. "But you're going to have to hold the side so it doesn't tip over, because its going to be much heavier on one side than the other." John grumbles but agrees to try it.

Okay, prepare for another hysterical part here... After turning the TV a quarter turn on the hand truck, Mike is unable to push the handle down because he's backed up against a bookcase - the very bookcase that John never wanted put in the landing to begin with!!! (Insert wild guffaws here.)

So, after sliding the bookcase out of his way, Mike gets the weight of the TV back onto the hand truck and he and John begin their decent down the second stair case, slowly, one step at a time. This time Mike resists the urge to utter encouraging comments until they get to the last step.

"Only one more step and then we swing 'er around to the left" he says. And just as the hand truck drops from the last step onto the floor, the TV starts twisting. Mike's eyes become as big as saucers as he realizes there's nothing he can do. He can't reach the TV because he's still up on the stairs, behind the hand truck.

Fortunately, John scrambles and practically slaps the TV to keep it from tumbling off the hand truck, onto the floor.

"We're done with the stairs. Now let's slide this thing into the TV room on the blanket", John recommends. So they roll the hideously heavy TV onto the blanket and scoot it across the wood floors, careful not to scratch them. Once in the TV room, they muster up super-human strength, just like the Incredible Hulk, to hoist the TV up onto the TV stand.

By this time both mens' clothes were several shades darker and practically dripping with sweat. But they weren't done yet! They still had the sleek, new 52" flat screen to haul up two flights of stairs. Fortunately, it was a mere fraction of the weight of the boxy, extremely heavy 32" foe that had them glistening, and not in a good way. The documentation says the flat screen weighed 79 lbs, but it felt as light as a feather after their previous ordeal.

Without incident they climbed both stair cases and placed the sleek, new, 52", hi-def temptress onto its stand. Thank god the cable guy was coming the next morning to switch out the cable box for a hi-def one. He would have to connect the TV to ensure everything worked properly.

So there you have it! Now its time to play the fun little game. Leave a comment and tell me if you think this is a sitcom or reality.

Crush du Jour: Damon Danilo

Weekend salvaged

Fri evening Jim & Barb officially rescheduled Saturday's block party due to the weather forecast.
But Fri evening turned out very well because our Fri night dinner with 'the usual suspects' was held at Walt & Tom's house, rather than a restaurant. We didn't know until the birthday cake was brought out for dessert that it was Tom's birthday. So the 'surprise' was on us instead of Tom. We had a nice group show up and a delicious dinner. When we got home Spouse watched the presidential candidates debate while I watched 'Burnt Money' on DVD. It was good.

Sat morning Spouse & I walked over to the Blue Plate Diner for breakfast. Owners Mark and Jim, who are also our friends, were there and we talked with them until our food arrived. Spouse had a large omelet with hash browns and I had Belgian waffles. Then we ran a few errands.

Shortly before the Straight Eights car show was due to start at 2:00, he headed into Rehoboth under sketchy skies. It hadn't rained all day so far so the car show wasn't cancelled. We had a great time looking at all of the lovely vintage beauties. Most were the same as last year, although a few were missing, and there were a few new additions. Just as we had completed viewing at all the cars and were looking around for Rick & Nick, we started feeling rain drops. Suddenly we saw car owners run from their conversations to put up their convertible tops. It was sort of comical. We weren't far from where we'd parked so we just ran to our car and headed home. The rain lasted less than 5 minutes, and Rick & Nick later told us that everyone dried their cars off with towels and the car show resumed.

As Spouse & I were relaxing and channel surfing Spouse stopped on the ShopNBC channel. Lo and behold, they were featuring a fantastic deal on mattresses! We watched the presentation and recalled to each other the prices we'd seen while mattress shopping 2 weeks prior. That day's special was $999. for any size, with FREE shipping, and free set-up of the new bed and free removal of your old bed, so we knew this deal was not to be beat.

So we bought it.

The Serta Bellfield Pillowtop Mattress and Split Foundation should be delivered in about 3 weeks. Its an inner spring mattress with a memory foam pillow top. Its not the TempurPedic mattress I wanted but its less than 1/2 the price. Spouse wasn't as keen on the TempurPedic mattress because he found it difficult to roll over, and also heard from some people that it made them hot at night. So I decided to compromise on the mattress, especially since he compromised on the LCD HD TV.

I also compromised and agreed to 'upgrade' to a king bed. Initially I didn't want to do this because we have 10 sets of queen sheets as well as a queen comforter and bed skirt that I absolutely love. But the king mattress was the same price as the queen, and Spouse really wanted the king, so I agreed. Our queen comforter is oversized so we can probably still use it on the king bed. We have 3 other queens that can use the 10 sets of queen sheets.

Hopefully the king will reduce the motion transfer. On our current bed when Spouse rolls over I bounce all over the place. I tell him I feel as though I'm on a blow-up raft on a stormy ocean.

Sat evening Barb & Jim invited us to join them and a few neighbors for dinner. Jim had made a giant cauldron of Portuguese stew and had grilled up some hamburgers and hot dogs. We ate and hung out for a few hours with some of our neighbors and had a really good time.

Sun morning Spouse & I relaxed with our morning coffee and then got started on the house cleaning. I hate doing it, but I always feel so good once its done. A dirty house makes me feel irritated, and a clean house makes me feel happy and carefree.

Then we drove to Dover with the top down to shop at Value City Department Store. We love this place because you can find great name brand merchandise at close-out prices. We had a gift certificate worth $40. so we bought a set of 600 thread count sheets in king size for $39.99. We also picked up a king mattress cover marked $19.99 that rang up at $4.50 - 75% off! Now we'll be ready when our new bed arrives.

Despite the gloomy, rainy forecast, it only rained a few times and for short periods of time, so our weekend wasn't a wash. It turned out much better than I expected. Now, if only we could find a way to make them last longer.

Crush du Jour: Digo Padovan

Weekend miracle

Well, this weekend sure was a LOT better than last weekend!

For a change, we had no real plans or obligations. It as a 'free' weekend to do what we wanted.

Sat morning as I was making the coffee I heard Spouse yell my name from the TV room where he was watching ShopNBC, a home shopping channel similar to QVC and HSN (Home Shopping Network).

"Come here and see this TV!" he suggested. Now, this was the same kind of thing that got us into trouble the previous weekend; him making me watch a detailed presentation of a big HD TV, getting me excited about it, and then saying its 'too expensive', and 'everything on TV is crap so why do we need a big TV to watch crap'. But I cautiously watched the presentation with him and decided I was not going to act interested unless he seemed interested.

I'm not sure if this miracle was from the heavenly baby Jesus or what, but Spouse actually began to talk about the features of the TV he liked, which by the way was bigger and more expensive than the one we'd seen last weekend. Then he suggested we go to some retail stores and compare prices.

I thought I was having a delightful dream. I mean, this couldn't be the same Spouse! But rather than wake myself from this lovely illusion, I agreed to see if Wal-Mart or K-Mart could beat the price. It took less than 30 minutes to review the offerings at both stores, and our conclusion was that the one we'd seen on ShopNBC was the best TV at the best price.

So we came home and ordered it: A 52" Toshiba Regza HD TV.

Can you believe that? He went from the Grinch who stole Christmas to Santa Claus himself, in the span of one week!

In typical Spouse style, he immediately had buyer's remorse and began saying things like "I hope we didn't make a big mistake by ordering that TV", and "I wonder if its going to be too big". In typical Mark style, I reassured him that the TV seemed wonderful to me, and that if, by some wicked twist of fate, we didn't like it, we could ship it back within 30 days for a refund. As the day went on he seemed less concerned about it, which after 12 years together, I knew would happen.

Later that day we bought some brackets at Lowes and put them up in our storage closet so we could hang our beach chairs and gardening tools on the wall. That night we had pizza for dinner and talked about the myriad of possible ways we could invest some of the proceeds from the sale of our house in VA. Spouse said he found it romantic, the 2 of us sharing a pizza in the dimly lit pizzeria, talking about our financial future.

But what I found romantic was when he woke me up in the middle of the night for some quick, hot man-love! I realize that not everyone (cb) likes this, but I sure do! Maybe because its unexpected. Maybe because you're in that 1/2 asleep, 1/2 awake state. I don't know, and I don't have to know. Okay, so maybe it wasn't particularly romantic, but it was good. And then, back to sleep again.

Sun we went to the craft store to buy some paints. I have 3 framed paintings but do not like them, so I'm going to reuse them by painting over top of them. I've made art before. Here is a series of geometrics I did a few years ago for my office.

Here is a series of landscapes I did several years ago for the office/library in our former house in VA.
When I finish my new geometric art for 1 of our guest bedrooms, I'll post a picture of it.

Then Sun afternoon we met Rick & Nick at the beach. It was pure heaven. The sun was shining brightly, there was a gentle breeze, the humidity was low, the water temperature was warm, and the waves were rough. We had a fantastic time!

Maybe weekends like last weekend help me better appreciate weekends like this one.

Crush du Jour: Matt Hughes

Frustrating

As I think back on this past weekend, the words frustrating and tense come to mind. It wasn't a 'bad' weekend per se, but it certainly wasn't one of our better ones.

I felt all weekend like Spouse & I were "out of sync", "on different wave lengths", not "on the same page", and this was frustrating.

We've done really well about living frugally since we moved here, knowing that we had not planned to keep our house in VA and therefore remain financially exposed if, for some reason, it didn't stay rented or needed some expensive repairs. So we postponed several purchases that we knew could wait until things were financially different for us. But with the settlement on the VA house this coming Fri, we've been talking about some of the postponed purchases and decided to do some shopping.

We went to 3 mattress stores and tried out a number of beds, as well as got helpful info from the salespeople. I am more sure than ever that what I really want is a TempurPedic memory foam bed, even though it is the most expensive brand. We sleep for about 8 hours every night, so there's no question about whether or not it would get used regularly. Yet Spouse remained unconvinced it is worth the considerable expense. Its not that he doesn't like the bed; he just doesn't want to "spend that much" for it. I don't understand this. You spend more time on your mattress than you do in your car, yet you'll spend 10 times more money on a car than you would your mattress?
And its not that he's waiting for the mattress to go on sale, because they don't. 2 different retailers both told us that TempurPedic does not allow stores to price the mattresses less than what they sell for on TempurPedic's website. They never go on sale, and they are exactly the same price regardless of where you buy them. Spouse's indecision was frustrating to me since I am not undecided at all.

Another purchase we've been putting off is a large, flat screen hi-def TV. To give you an idea of our TV viewing habits, we typically watch TV every night from 7pm until 10:30 or 11pm. We have a 20-year old 19" TV (free) in our TV room, and a 7-year old 32" TV for which we paid $350. in our family room. Spouse has no desire for a larger, hi-def TV. He says "everything on TV is crap, so why do we need a big, hi-def TV to watch crap?" I remind him that although it may be crap, that certainly doesn't stop us from watching it for 4 hours every night. I'm not asking for a huge, 60" TV. I simply want a 37" or 42" hi-def TV. I believe it will make TV watching better and more enjoyable, especially the nature programs we enjoy and the design shows I enjoy.

This weekend we saw a deal on a 46" hi-def 1080p LCD TV on sale 1 day only for $1,299. It was actually larger than what I had been looking for, but thought the price was very good. It would return to its normal price of $1,499. the next day, so a decision needed to be made. But once again Spouse would not agree. He felt that it was still too much money to spend on a TV. The conversation eventually was reduced to his complaint that the HDMI cable was not included, and so I found myself frustrated yet again.

Another possible purchase we've been discussing ever since we moved here 18 months ago is the small vacant not adjacent to our property. The lot is the same depth as our lot, but very narrow. We've discussed the possibility of purchasing it and building a garage (for our use) with an attached living space that would be rented by the week during the summer. There are many non-year-round homes in our seaside town. We are both interested in this possible venture, but the mood became quite tense as we discussed the price for a potential offer as well as the possible circumstances of the sellers. It absolutely escapes me why he would concoct all these various possible circumstances the sellers might be under when he has absolutely no knowledge of them.

Spouse thinks that if we are to make an offer, it should be for the price we feel the lot is worth, regardless of the list price, even if its only 50% of what the lot is listed for. I asked him why he thought the sellers might accept an offer of 1/2 the listing price. Rather than answer that question, he rambled on and on trying to justify his price. I told him there was no reason to convince me of the lot's value, and repeated my question about why he thought the sellers would even entertain an offer of 1/2 the listing price. The conversation did not end well, and I felt so frustrated I said calmly "Fine, let's do nothing. We won't decide on a bed, or a new TV, or the lot. Let's just decide to do nothing!"

Spouse left the house and I sat on the sofa watching the 19" low-def TV. An hour later Spouse returned (from K-Mart) and we decided to go out to eat and then go grocery shopping. Though not quite back to normal, we'd both calmed down and were pleasant to each other. Eating out and grocery shopping are 2 activities we always do together, and really seem to strengthen our relationship. Eating out gives us a chance to talk about whatever is on our minds, and grocery shopping is like a team-building exercise for us; the goal being to shop for the week in an economical manner.

(This isn't us - photo snagged from Google.)

As we drove home from the grocery store Spouse asked "Do you still wanted a divorce?" I never said that I wanted a divorce this weekend or at any other time. That question is Spouse's way of acknowledging the unpleasant conversation that might have led others to shout "I want a divorce!", and checking to see if I am okay now.

In the past I've occasionally answered the question by saying "I'm not sure yet. Let me see if your life insurance is paid up first." This insinuates that, rather than a divorce where our assets would likely be divided in half, I might prefer that he have an "accident" that would result in his untimely death, whereby I would get everything. We both know the steps in this 'dance'.

But this time I decided to say something a little sweeter: "No, I love you too much to give up over something like this." After a short pause he responded in kind: "Good, because I don't want a divorce either."

We will certainly talk about a new bed, a hi-def TV, and the adjacent lot many more times. I believe we both know its not a matter of if, but when. For some reason he's not ready yet, and I can live without those things until he's ready. Its certainly not worth fighting over. As anyone in a long-term relationship can tell you, being in a couple involves compromise. You've got to pick the important battles and not sweat the small stuff.

When your love is deep and your commitment to each other is sure, you know you'll recover from unpleasant conversations and return to being "in sync", "on the same wave length", and "on the same page" again.

Crush du Jour: Tom Everett Scott