Jun
9
Monday June 9th
Filed Under General
We got the Wii Fit this Friday. Technically it was my wife’s Mother’s Day present, but they weren’t out until the following Wednesday. And then like the Wii itself, they were hard to find. No one sold them online, and every store I called was out of them. Finally on Friday I tracked down one at a WalMart about 20 minutes away (there are 4 closer ones, hard to believe how many damn WalMarts there are now). I hopped into the van and drove to the store, half expecting them to be out of stock by the time I arrived. Much to my surprise, they still had six. I briefly considered buying more than one to auction on eBay, but my luck I’d get stuck with all of them.
Yes, I realize I went against my own advice by giving my wife exercise equipment for Mother’s Day, but after reading up and watching some demos online, I thought it would be good therapy for her MS. Besides weakness in her arms and legs, loss of balance is another problem that people with MS have to contend with. The Wii Fit has many balance games which I thought would be good for her.
After we opened it, my wife was the first to try it. In the first part, a little cartoon balance board guides you through the initial analysis of your center of balance, your weight, and your BMI. The information provided was very revealing about my wife’s balance issues. After her both girls registered and got their weights and BMI information. Then it was my turn.
When I stepped onto the board, the cartoon version of the board let out a little “Oh!”, as if surprised by the added weight. After a few questions it revealed my weight and BMI. “That’s overweight!” the little voice said as my WiiMii bloated up to more accurately reflect my appearance. How fun, a video game just called me fat.
I did the yoga and strength training exercises, and I have to say that thing can really kick your ass. The board tracks your balance as you hold yoga poses and perform strength training exercises, so you can see your balance shift as you try to keep your balance within a certain threshold. The only downside to the Wii Fit is its still a game, so most of the features are locked at first, requiring you to progress in the games to unlock more features.
Saturday we were invited to a surprise birthday party. Well, not just a surprise birthday party, a surprise 40th birthday party. A surprise, Star Wars themed 40th birthday party. It was the mother of a friend of my eldest daughter. We didn’t know the family that well, but I was intrigued by the prospect of a Star Wars birthday party so we went. We didn’t dress up or anything (I told everyone I was dressed Jedi casual, it seemed clever the first 5 or 6 times I said it), but pretty much everybody else did. There were a few Darths (Vader only, no Mauls or Sidiouses), a few Luke Skywalkers, a Princess Leia, and two Queen Amidalas. I was hoping there would be a few members of the 501st there, but no one that die hard was invited. My wife was a little overwhelmed, but she managed.
This is why I hate politics. I have no problem with sensible political debate; I find it healthy and enjoy reading about both sides of the argument. I don’t take the political stance that one side is “good” and the other side is “vehemently evil” and must be opposed at all costs. But when it devolves from healthy political discourse into good vs. evil arguments, you end up ridiculing a candidate’s teeth (which apparently aren’t even his original set). And this type of attack isn’t limited to one side of the aisle. If it’s not teeth, it’s a flag pin, or a wife’s senior thesis, or some other asinine issue not actually related to the politics at hand.
That’s about as screedy as I get here. I follow politics, I just try to stay away from the mud flinging aspects of it. Politico is probably the best site to get your political fix without having to wade through all of the partisan krep, just as long as you avoid the comment threads.
Well, that’s enough for one evening. See you Tuesday.