Wii can do it!

Heh. Corny, I know. But I couldn't resist. It's completely true, and something I'm wishing I'd done a long, long time ago.

Last year for Christmas I bought Boyfriend a Xbox360 seeing as how he's a gaming fanatic. He was over the moon with excitement, and I have to admit it's been one of the best purchases I've made since I got out here. It's so much more than a standard gaming console, and it gives me both my alone time for writing, and time with Boyfriend to kick butt together. I've never once regretted spending the money, and I doubt I will anytime in the near future.

Boyfriend's been trying to find a way to ensure I stay involved in the gaming scene with him, so that we don't start ignoring each other. He is always on the lookout for co-op games so we can play (hello Halo, Borderlands, Need For Speed) and loves to play with me. Hence one of the reasons I don't regret the purchase, heheh. That being said though, he's been talking for a while now about getting me my own console. For what, I couldn't even begin to fathom, but he was. I never really took him seriously, until he started talking about the Wii. Then I started thinking about it too. Which, for us, never leads to anywhere cheap.

I've played with the Wii before, years ago, and found it mildly amusing. I couldn't see the rage behind it, and couldn't justify spending the money. I've also admitted now, both to myself and out loud, that years ago I was a quiet, shy, introverted person who hated getting up and doing anything that could potentially make me either feel or look stupid. As I creep closer to 30 though, I'm finding I care less about what other people think, and more about having fun and living life. And if that means I look like an idiot hopping around in my living room swinging a tiny plastic controller in the air, then so be it.

Target is running a special for the holidays on a red Wii and controller set, with two games. I LOVE the color red. Half my closet is red. I now own a pair of patent leather red heels. My costume was red. My piercing is red. See a theme? So when the Wii, in red, popped up, it was a done deal. Grabbed the card, hopped in the car, and to Target we went. The package included Super Mario Brothers, and Wii Sports. We got Wii Play as well, for the extra full size controller we needed. All in all, not cheap. But...worth it. So worth it.

I've been talking about signing up for the gym again for a while now. It'd cost me about sixty between the two of us, every month. The likelihood that we'd make it to the gym more than twice a month? Slim. Very, very slim. So...sixty a month, for a year, would be $720. Hot damn. The Wii just paid for itself, three times over. So really...can I complain? No.

You ask, how did the Wii pay for itself? It's a gaming console, versus the gym. No comparison. That'd be where you're wrong. If you haven't played Wii Sports, specifically the boxing, then I suggest you do so. Soon. Three rounds, about a minute to a minute and a half each, and you're jumping and hopping and swinging and laughing and feeling like a kid again in the first game. And if you go three or four games? You've broken a sweat, and your heart's pumping and you can't wipe the smile off your face even if you tried. And I haven't even touched Wii Fit yet - which, by the way, will be my next purchase.

I'm back to wanting to eat healthier, be active, and be happy. The Wii has sparked that need in me again, and I'm grateful for it. An hour in front of the tv, playing Baseball or Tennis, with Boxing to mix it up, and I've been active all of a sudden for a whole sixty minutes, without the torture or the self esteem issues that being in the gym can raise. It's all around a win-win. Like I said...

Wii can do it!!