I envy people who can walk into stores and buy TVs just because they want them. I wish I could be the type of guy who could see a TV and buy it on the spot just because I wanted it. Unfortunately, I’m the weird kind of person who refuses to buy a new TV until my current one no longer works.
And when I say I don’t replace a TV until it no longer works, I mean the TV has to be completely useless. I’m the person who kept a TV where the speakers only occasionally worked. When normal people have a TV and the sound doesn’t work, they realize it is a sign that the TV needs to be replaced. Not me.
Through extensive testing, I “discovered” that by hooking up a portable DVD player to the TV I could take an otherwise useless TV and turn it into a giant monitor on which to enjoy some of my favorite movies. It didn’t bother me that the sound needed to be supplied by the portable DVD player.
I know this type of behavior is not normal, but I can’t help myself. I hate to part with anything that actually works. I don’t care if the thing doesn’t work as intended. If there is some value left in it, I will find a way to keep it around until I absolutely must replace it.
Of course, my being this way causes problems with my kids, especially my teen son. This might explain why my teen son was angry with me in early December.
“Why don’t you just admit that we need a new TV?” my teen son asked about our main TV.
“This TV is fine,” I said.
“The TV can’t do anything like modern TVs,” he said. “And it weighs a ton.”
“We can watch TV on it,” I replied. “And stop being dramatic. The TV only weighs 93 pounds.”
My son said some nasty words under his breath as he left the room. I know he was disappointed, but our TV worked and that was good enough for me. Maybe it lacked all the bells and whistles of modern TVs. But it worked as well today as it did when we bought it back when my teen son was in second grade.
I was happy to maintain the status quo, no matter what. Then the unexpected (as far as I’m concerned) happened. The TV in my bedroom finally died after giving me roughly 15 years (the last 2 without sound) of service.
Like it or not, I had to venture into a store to buy a new TV. Of course, I did lots of research in advance. While I may not be the guy who buys a new TV on a whim, I can at least make the sales people think I do it all the time.
“I want the best TV you have,” I said to the salesman who approached me (he flashed a big smile). “I can spend about $300. However, I’m willing to go as high as $350 for something really nice.”
The smile on the salesman’s face disappeared when he realized I wasn’t spending big bucks. He was polite as he walked me from the main showroom area to the place where they keep the lesser TVs.
“I think you’ll find what you’re looking for here,” he said as he walked away.
I found a great TV ($289 plus tax) that has built-in streaming, web apps, and weighs only 9 pounds. It is amazing how great the picture quality is compared to the 93-pound behemoth it replaced (now the master bedroom TV). The way I see it, I will not need to buy a new TV for awhile.
With any luck, that won’t happen until my teen son is out of the house.
