Well, I lost the most recent TV battle with hubby.
I’ve mentioned, oh I don’t know, maybe 20 or so times in this blog, how important a TV is in our household. In case you missed any of the posts you can read some (here, here & here). As an outsider you probably think it’s absurd that I talk about electronics so much and, I can assure you, that as an insider I think it’s far more absurd than you do!
I have to take a teeny, tiny piece of responsibility for the most recent misstep but, it’s amazing how quickly things spiraled out of control. Before I knew it, there was Googling, trips to Costco, CNET reviews, and then the ultimate losing proposition…. The-Trip-To-Best-Buy (this must be said in the most ominous voice possible)
I’d like to walk you through the most recent events so you can see exactly where I went wrong… and, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.
Hubby & I participate in an office football pool. We had a great end to this past season as I wound up winning the “suicide” pool and hubby wound up winning the overall, full season pool. As a couple we got a nice envelope with our winnings at the end of the regular season. So, mistakenly I say (this is where I opened the proverbial can of worms) “Hon, do you think you’re going to buy yourself a present with some of your winnings?”.
Now… I’d like to take a moment to go step-by-step through the things that were actually going on in my head when I said this.
- Hubby works hard.
- Hubby just won a good amount of money and wouldn’t it be nice if he “rewarded” himself with a new present.
- Yes, we have bills and we have household projects on the long term to do list but, most of the money will go in the bank.
- He’ll probably buy something like a video game or a new blue ray DVD. Maybe even a nice bottle of scotch?
But alas, these suggestions never actually came out of my mouth. All I said was “new present”.. and, all he heard was “new present”.
Hubby didn’t respond right away, but he mumbled something like “hmmmmm..buy myself something, I hadn’t really thought about that”. And…I think this is the exact moment where I started to lose control.
The next thing I know, hubby is emailing me links to new TVs from work. New TVs? I still don’t think there’s anything wrong with our existing TV! (you can read about it’s supposed “blurring” problem here). So, I’m like.. “Whoa dude… slow down. What happened to a new video game or DVD?” And, he’s like… “Huh?? You never said anything about a video game”. And I’m all, “well, I may never have said anything but, that’s sort of what I had in my mind when I mentioned you should buy yourself something”. And, he’s like “oh, well that’s not what I was thinking at all…. so, did you look at that link I sent you?”.
And at that moment, I could feel it all slipping away. Here I was, the one who planted this seed in his head… this was ALL MY FAULT!
So, as we enter the ring, I’m prepared for our battle…and for 2 weeks we dance & we weave. I hear about nothing but differences between LCD & LED TVs, recaps of industry debates over how to light LEDs… side lit, back lit, white lights, soft white lights, refresh rates, megahertz, Samsung, Sony….
AAAAHHHHHHHHH…. Just make it stop!!
The tape measure comes out.. he measures, he re-measures. 55 inches.. 60 inches…. $1500 … $2000. My world is spiraling out of control.. and I realize that I’m beginning to tire. He’s wearing me down. I keep swinging but it’s like I never touch him, he just keeps coming back at me.
Then it comes. He hits me with the knock-out punch. The TV he finally decides on, costs FAR more than the money he won in the football pool. Can somebody please tell me how “buying yourself something with your winnings” went from a token item to taking money out of the bank to ADD to his winnings to buy a new TV?? All to solve a “blurring problem” that I swear I cannot even see?
Then, as I’m swooning from this punch.. he reaches out with the lightest of touches, and with a fingertip, he sends me falling to the ground in slow motion. This lovely gesture came via another email outlining his well thought out argument about how he’s “earned” this tv. “I’ve worked extra hard lately, I won the football pool, I got a bonus at work this year blah.. blah… blah… blah….” [can you feel the heartstring tugs?]….But he’s not done yet…. “I know I’ll never be truly happy with my current TV, but I guess, if you’re totally against this, I suppose the one we have is good enough” [he’s no longer tugging, he’s moved onto daggers through my heart] Then, as I fall to the floor, I’m wrapped in amazing warmth as he gingerly covers me with this blanket of guilt. So cozy and yet so heavy. And, as I try to hang on to my senses, and I try to get back up, I realize that it’s time to admit defeat and I whisper to him …
JUST BUY THE FRIGGIN’ TV…. I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!
And that, my dear blog readers is how I lost the TV battle with my hubby.
on another note, football never looked so good. I am as happy as can be.
😉
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Can you sell the blurry tv to recoup some of the savings withdrawal? Or is it not blurry enough for that. LOL! B/c in my house, that would be the back end of this match. It’s too blurry to watch but not so blurry we should sell it. Maybe just put it in another room, like the bathroom.
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hmmm 52″ tv in the bathroom over the jacuzzi tub, now why didnt I think of that??
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Just don’t let him suck you into the a new Blueray player, Monster cables or HD channels for cable.
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lol we already have the high def channels and the blue ray player. And as a little tip from me “the hubby” never buy monster cables, quality cables can be had online at a fraction of the cost 😉
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Dawn… thanks for the tip, but as you can see, it’s far too late for that! He may be winning the battles but I promise you I’ll win the “war”! 😀
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@ Rod, because a faulty bracket over a bubble bath means your wife’s next hubby is enjoying your non-blurry big screen.
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Nota, come now, I may not be mr fix it but I don’t mess around when it comes to mounting a television properly. And, should the unthinkable occur, I would go to my maker happy.
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Nota ~ The original “agreement” was actually to try to sell the other tv.. but, the faulty bracket is starting to sound like a reasonable alternative… 🙂
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Boys and their toys…and the woman who fall for their sh*t every time!
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