Dreamy TV

I went shopping on Saturday with my mom. We started off at a few garage sales. I found some blinds for my bedroom and the spare room for five bucks a piece. After that my mom asked me if I wanted to go check out TVs because I had mentioned that a few places had them on sale this week.

"That'll be the ultimate sticker shock, " I laughed. "From looking at three dollar items to thousand dollar stuff."

Man I hate electronics shopping. I stand there and stare at all the different sizes, colours and brands and I have no clue. The ever so helpful sales people have a clue though. They know they can drown me in specs and technical terms and eventually I'll cave in and take their word for it.

I could have done more research and actually learned about what I should be looking for but I could hardly be bothered. It's just not that high on my priorities. I needed a TV. I wanted a modest sized LCD panel to hang in my living room or possibly the spare room. I don't watch a lot of TV or movies so I don't really care about the slight differences in picture or sound quality. I just wanted something functional and affordable and I was not going to let anyone talk me into something I didn't need.

But there I was in Best Buy at the end of a long afternoon of hopping from store to store, and I was looking back and forth between four different screens, two of which were out of the price range I had in mind, trying to figure out which one looked better. Even though they all looked about the same I tossed a few options out purely based on my unsubstantiated opinions about the brands. Aside from that I was lost.

One of the sales guys spotted me and took me in under his wing. He told me what he thought I should get and I trusted him. He was cute and I liked the way he talked with me. Yes. That is how I made my decision about my TV. That is how I also ended up buying the wall mount, fancy dancy cables and extended service plan and spending about $200 more than what I thought I was going to.

How'd this happen? I think I have an idea. I hate the experience of electronics shopping, so I instead decided to turn it into something like shopping for a guy. The first place I went to was Leon's. An older guy caught me there but didn't have too much to say. Then I went to Visions. Mmm. That place was nice. All the guys were in suits. I almost got something there but I guess there was still something missing from the total package.

The next place I went to was The Brick. I hate The Brick. That place makes me feel dirty. Every time I walk in there the guys just look at me like I'm their next big fat commission cheque. The sales guy who pounced on me there tried to dazzle me with his technical knowledge but he wasn't interested in what I had to say or what my needs were. He seemed kind of desperate so I felt bad about walking away. Finally when I couldn't take him anymore I lied and told him I had to go look at chairs, which is the equivalent of telling a guy you can't see him tonight because you have to wash your hair.

Best Buy was the last stop. I was tired and overwhelmed and then along came Richard (I think that was his name, oh well, let's pretend it was). He was a cutie all right. He had the glasses, good shoes a sweet and honest face and a hot pair of cargo pants. He told me about how he was working on one of his last shifts because in two weeks he was getting shipped out by the military. I also learned that when he first moved out he had buckets for chairs in his living room (I didn't care at all how ridiculous and made up that sounded). He said over and over that he wasn't going to pressure me into anything but he knew that I didn't want to be there anymore than he did. He wanted to be at the beach or the gym. Yeah, suddenly I wasn't in a drab electronics store buying a TV, I was in the sun playing Frisbee on the beach with Richard. And while I was handing over my credit card and chatting about Starbucks we were grabbing drinks somewhere.

At the end of it all he walked me and the TV to the door and waited with me while my mom brought the car around. Then he loaded it into the car--just like any nice guy would do. Then he shook my hand, bid me adieu and we parted. See, I didn't buy a TV. I spent $1300 for a 20 minute date with Richard and he gave me a TV. Sweet huh? I know I have about 2/3 of my readers shaking their heads in disgust right now. *Shrug* I'm just glad that chore is over. Go ahead and shame me now.