It all started Saturday night as the launch of the Wii drew near. At 9:30 pm we drove by Best Buy and Target, both of which revealed a precarious situation. People were camping out for the precious Wii (which I failed to pre-order) and my hopes for a Wii were endangered!

After failing to convince Stacie that camping out might be necessary to get a Wii, we decided that an early morning would be all that we needed. We woke up today at 5 am sharp and made it to the local Target by 6 am. I hopped into the line (which had grown since the night before) and Stacie made a Starbucks run.

Someone one the internet got their hands on how many Wiis each Target would be receiving on launch day, and according to that data, this Target would get 81. The guys in front of me were saying they’d counted about 70 people in front of us, and I wasn’t too worried because there were some adults with young children. The plan was for them to pass out tickets at 7 am, and if you received one, you could buy a Wii when they started selling them at 8 am. Well 7 am rolled around and they began to pass out tickets. As the moment of truth drew near, I started to get worried. The guys in front of me were already into the late 70s. Would I get a ticket?!

Turns out I did get a ticket, and it wasn’t just any ticket…it was the LAST ticket! Number 81 baby! I would take a picture for you, but they took it back and destroyed it after I bought a system. There was a guy taking pictures of the line and my very exciting #81…you just have to find his website. They let us in at 8 am, but being the last in line, we didn’t get to the counter to purchase until almost 9:30 am. I picked up the system, an extra remote and nunchuck, Zelda, and Monkey Ball.

I should post pictures, but I’m currently too tired. Most of the afternoon has been spent playing Wii Sports, which is really awesome. It’s much better than I expected, and some of the sports are really spot on. I put an hour and a half into Monkey Ball, and I gave it a chance…but it’s pretty terrible. In fact I’m putting it on Ebay to try and cut my losses. I haven’t even had a chance to try Zelda, but I have very high hopes for that one.

Overall I am a Wii Believer, but Monkey Ball has shown me that developers will certainly have a learning curve. They need to master the programming of the motion technology first so that it behaves properly, and then they need to find unique gameplay experiences where it works well.

There are yard sales and garage sales, but it seems the "ebay sale" has not become a part of our lingo yet. If it does, it will come to mean what a yard sale or garage sale does, except all done on ebay. I’m not one of those people that is constantly selling on ebay, but instead I sell a bunch of stuff all at once very rarely. Since now is one of those times, I thought I’d share my listing with you and the stories attached to each item.

1) 90 Used Tennis Balls in Great Condition

You may wonder why we have this many tennis balls to begin with. Originally we bought them on ebay for Stacie’s classroom to put on her chair legs so they would slide around nice and quietly. Literally a day or two after we got them, someone went through all the classrooms and put sliders on the feet of everyone’s chair. That’s nice of them, but now we had a box of tennis balls and no use for them.

2) Winegard Squareshooter HDTV Antenna SS-2000 Amplified

Originally when we moved into the townhouse I didn’t realize there was an antenna in the attic, so I got this guy and had it put up outside. About 6 months ago though they started to redo the roofs, and our antenna was "illegally" mounted. I knew it would have to come down, but "how" I wasn’t sure. I was hoping the roof guys would just take it off for me. One day though the next door neighbors were having their satellite dish moved, so I paid the guy $20 to just take ours off (because by then I’d put a new antenna in the attic).

3) Nintendo GameCube Console Indigo w/Controller/Component

I know, selling videogames can be quite shocking! The reason I’m selling it though is because I have a ton of AMEX reward points, and one of the best ways to renew them is for giftcards to Toys R Us. I did that today, and plan on using the money to buy a Nintendo Wii. The nice thing about the Wii is that it plays gamecube games, so everything in that listing I will no longer need. The only downside of this plan is that Toys R Us is the only place I can get the system, and who knows when they’ll have them in stock.

4) Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP Classic NES w/Case

What Nathan, two videogame sales in one post? Yup. I decided to sell this system and get Stacie a pink DS Lite. The DS can play old game boy games, so that makes this system unneeded. I’m hoping it fetches a premium for being a "limited edition" version. The DS can also talk to the WIi…for what reason I’m not sure, but it could come in handy.

5) Firefly PC Remote Snapstream Media Beyond TV USB

The least exciting of the listings, but oh well. Part of my HD recording solution was to buy Beyond TV to schedule and record my shows. For whatever reason they had to bundle this remote with it. Because I use the Snazio box downstairs to watch the shows Beyond TV records, I don’t need this remote. Not very exciting, but there it is.

This all reminds me of great ebay buying and selling of the past. Hopefully other people will be motivated to start this new trend of having an Ebay Sale.

Back when I interned at the ad agency I had the opportunity to look at a lot of comic books that we advertised in. There was one in particular that caught my attention called "Rising Stars." The jist of the story is that a town is hit with a meteor or something, a bunch of kids are born with special powers, and as some start to die, the abilities of the others grows stronger. This leads to bad ones trying to kill the others, and the good ones trying to protect them, something like that.

For the last week I’ve been browsing Ebay trying to find a good deal on all 25 or so issues, but then I found THIS. Just two months ago they came out with a 600+ page hardcover book that has every issue in it. SWEET! I already ordered it and can’t wait to read it. At the ad agency I think I only got to read the first 8 issues or so. I’ve never been into comic books, but maybe that will change?

UPDATE: Turns out it doesn’t come out for another month or two I think. I’ve looked at a ton of other bookstores and they all say 4-8 weeks, and Amazon sent me a mail saying it will ship in September. Oh well, at least I’m on the list.

That’s right, the world wide phenomenon known as “Treat Your Mother Right” came from an even greater piece of entertainment. In the year 1984 Mr. T created a VHS tape that would change the moral and ethical character of teenagers everywhere. Not only are those of us here at the Blarg excited to have discovered this new finding, but we are even more thrilled at the prospect of OWNING one! Yes, I found it on Ebay. I have purchased my own copy that will someday help shape the moral fiber of my children.

Little Johnny: Mom, you’re ugly!
Me: Little Johnny, treat your mother right!
Little Johnny: Sorry Mom, I love you!
Me: That’s right sucka head foo!

No, we aren’t getting married three times, but it sure feels like it. Stacie and I have been working on registering this week, and that alone is a full-time job for a couple days. Other than finalizing that, Stacie went to downtown L.A. to see if any good deals could be had there, and some were. We’re looking for candle holders, and it looks like ebay might have what we need. I went to the tux shop today to pick up a brochure. The guest list process continues as slowly as always. We need to finish that so we can order invitations maybe this weekend.

If you’re thinking about getting married in the next 5 years, you might as well get engaged now. You’ll never have too much time to work on stuff. Even if you’re single, you might as well get engaged to some make believe person and get to work, but that’s just my advice.

Unlike all you sad Junior Highers and High Schoolers, I didn’t have to go back to school until this last week. My classes seem ok…not too hard, but not that exciting either. One of my classes is called Adolescent Development, so I’m going to learn all about you guys, haha. I just bought my books online used and saved $90 over the bookstore, which was sweeet.

I was bored so I sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay. I sold my old cell phone, and all my dreamcast and n64 stuff. I know I know….”nathan, how could you sell videogames!?!? ahhhhh!” Truth is I haven’t played them in forever, and they just take up space. Who knows, maybe in 30 years I’ll regret it…but they’d all be broken in 30 years anyways, haha. And in 30 years they’ll all be perfectly emulated on a PC.

I’m still sick, but not quite as bad as a day or two ago. I’ve come to accept that colds come on quickly, but never leave in the same fashion. I figure I’ll be carrying around some sniffles for at least another 4-5 days. That’s how it has seemed to work in the past.

Ok, I’m going to go mail my Dreamcast, and then sit at Quiznos in the rain reading my book.