AnimeSugoi

Patty’s so kawaii with her reindeer horns and red nose ^^

I hope everyone will have a Merry Christmas, even if it is just a day to give thanks to someone. Give thanks or at least a “Merry Christmas” to those who helped you, family, friends, or maybe that neighbor you never talk to but says “hi” to you every morning before you leave. In Japan, Christmas is basically a way to say thanks to those who helped you during the year, especially your senpais. So everyone still goes to work, which is good I think as they spend a ton of money on Christmas gifts. I too spent much this Christmas. For I was able to buy one of the most wanted and least available Christmas gifts around, I believe some of you know what I am talking about. I will tell you the story of this “rare” acquisition that might give you a bit of a laugh when you read it lol ^^.

For those of you who guessed what I was able to acquire or for those who wonder, I was able to buy the “Wii” before Christmas. Lol, amazing isn’t it. I actually bought the Wii as a gift for my dad’s birthday. Why for his birthday you ask? Well his birthday is actually five days before Christmas, the 20th, and I always forget it because of Christmas itself. So I was determined to get him a birthday present this year but I didn’t know what to get him. He has a bunch of computer equipment, lots of business pants and shirts, and a ton of pens, so those were out of the question.

Then I thought “Hmmmmm….the “Wii” might be the answer,” for he wanted to get one for the family when it first released. Unfortunately I only thought of this at the beginning of December when the Wii shortage was happening all around the world and Nintendo wasn’t going to do anything about it. I hear some people even went a whole state over to see if they had it but came back empty handed. Well I called around to the local Wii suppliers each week and to no surprise was the Wii out of stock. A local anime store also sold the Wii but at 400 USD that included the system, one controller and nunchuck, and two $50 games. If you do a comparison, with that price and what I could get at a normal retail store, I would actually be spending 50 more dollars than I am supposed to but they say it’s actually a loss on their part because they buy it from other retailers. Well they had it in stock and I went to buy it right after work but by the time I got there they were sold out, as it was first come first serve, so I ended up buying a couple of figures instead because I was there.

All hope seemed lost but after looking up a few gaming blogs, I learned of Nintendo’s solution to the Wii shortage. They were going to offer “rain checks” to people who buy the Wii upfront at participating Gamestop’s, even the local news announced this as it was a pretty big move on Nintendo’s part. This offer was only valid for a couple of days and you actually wouldn’t get a Wii until January. One of those valid days so happen to land on my dads birthday, so I intended to go to the local Gamestop and wait in front of the store to open and get a rain check. That was one backup plan. I also read that Nintendo was going to do another push of Wii’s to many big name electronic/game stores a few days before my dads birthday on a Sunday. I called up the local Circuit City to see if they would have it and they said they would but the sales clerk suggested that I go early in the morning, like 5 am, and get ready to wait in line but don’t expect to get one as it might sell out before I could get it. Circuit City was a bit far from where I lived and I didn’t want to drive so far, not get a Wii, then drive back home so I decided the Gamestop alternative was better as it is a 5 minute drive from where I live.

Well a few days before my dad’s birthday and after the Sunday Wii push, I drove a friend home from work because she was sick and when I drive back home I happen to pass by Circuit City and decided to get a gift card for my friend and perhaps a Wii. My brother was with me and he wanted to buy a couple of new manga from Border’s which were near Circuit City so thinking I probably missed out on the Wii I went to Border’s, where he and I bought a couple of new manga releases. I decided to walk to Circuit City as it was a cool evening, which is about a couple of blocks away from Border’s, to see if I was lucky enough to maybe get the one or two Wii’s they might have for sale. When I went to Circuity City I noticed my friend working the front and decided to ask him if he had any Wii’s in stock. He said probably not but his co-workers suggested they radio a person in the back to see if they did, the result was a maybe. Well I decided to move on and purchase the gift card, only to return back to the entrance and my friend telling me they have eight in stock. I was shocked and proceeded to check how much cash I had on me, but the end result was $20 short, even when combined with what my brother had on him. I asked my friend to borrow some money but he said he had none, I was getting quite frantic at this point as they were right there in front of me but I didn’t have the cash for it, I counted a few times to make sure lol. My friend and his co-workers kept asking me if I had a credit card which I kept replying no to and they even suggested that I sign up for a Circuit City credit card to pay for the Wii. I suddenly remembered that I the mangas me and my brother bought, if returned, would give us enough cash to get the Wii. So I said I would come back with the money and they said they can’t promise me that the Wii’s will be there when I return. Me and my brother walked briskly back to the book store and in my mind I kept saying “Please still have it. But it’s OK if it’s not as I have the Gamestop plan to rely on.” Well we returned the books to get the cash back and I drove to Circuit City and boom they were all still there. I quickly counted the cash and put it down and a few minutes later I had the Wii in my hand, which is quite heavy lol. My friend congratulated me and I thanked him for his help with a handshake. I probably should have given him a hug or something but we’re men lol.

Anyways, the day before my dads birthday I told my brother to gift wrap the Wii as he insisted that he had mad gift wrapping skills compared to me, which is a bit true lol. I had picked up a chocolate ice cream cake for my dad with a chocolate shell and chocolate shavings that day as well, my dad likes chocolate lol. The cake was a bit expensive at $24 but it was no comparison to the Wii’s $250 price lol and it’s nothing compared to the Wii prices online that range from 400-1000+ USD.

The day had arrived and my dad had to leave for work around 11 am so we decided to celebrate before he left. Here’s the kicker that might give you a laugh. My dad actually knew what we got him, I was dumbstruck ^^. He told me he found the receipt on the floor of his room where my brother gift wrapped the Wii. I snapped at my brother for this, literally snap lol as I kept snapping my fingers at him for his carelessness. Well my dad was happy and we had some cake before he left.

We opened up the Wii and I had it hooked up to the TV and the sound system, unfortunately my dad had to leave so he wasn’t able to try it out. The Wii initially comes with Wii sports so me and my brother played bowling, tennis, baseball, boxing, and golf though only one at a time as we only had one controller. I later bought another controller, nunchuck, and charging port which cost me around $100 lol.

But we’re happy and my dad is happy too, the first time he played Wii bowling he scored 150 lol. I intend to leave the Wii to my dad and mom, as it might keep them active and youthful if they play it when they retire. That was another reason why I got the Wii. But the second reason as you probably guessed is so I can use it lol, the first is a present to my dad. I actually bought the game Bleach: Shattered Blade as well as I am a Bleach fan and feel I need to give back in some way. I was a bit disappointed by it but thats for another time.

I hope that you enjoyed reading the story and maybe got a few laughs from it, I do every time I think about it. If you have any suggestions for what Wii game I should buy I’m open to suggestion. If you have a Christmas story as well then please share it with us. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ^^.