My Favorite Valentine

I sure love my man!

   Yesterday was an interesting but fun Valentine's Day. I had been given the day off, but Gary had to work. Anyway, he wanted to take me out to dinner in the evening, so as I was thinking about where I would like for him to take me, I realized I hadn't planned anything for him! I knew for quite awhile now he had been looking everywhere for a Sega CD. He told me the story about his childhood Sega CD and why it was so special to him. Unfortunately he was unable to hold on to it though so over the years, he didn't have one. Anyway, I decided I was going to find him one. He had been trying to get one over Ebay but was outbid the very last minute, we had traveled out of the city to search, but still no luck. So, I started calling around. Finally, I found a place listed in downtown LA. Making this my last attempt, I called the store and discovered they had one! I was thrilled. It was even better knowing the store had moved from downtown LA to the Burbank area. So I ran a few errands then headed over there.

 The store is called Gameland. The owner, Zane, was a very nice man. He had such a great collection. So, I let him know I was the one who called and he disappeared for a few moments. He then came back, a little sweaty and out of breath, with a first generation Sega CD. He hooked it up to the television with an old Genesis...and it didn't work. Frustrated, he continued at it. It took maybe half an hour of trying, mumbling, sweating, and apologizing repeatedly. I wasn't in any rush, and I was browsing games, so I wasn't upset nor was I impatient. Besides, where else was I going to find this? Another ten minutes passed while he was dropping things, scrambling around, apologizing more, before he finally said it just wasn't working. You see, every time a new system comes in, they test it before adding it to their inventory. He was home from work when this Sega CD came in and he assumed his employees had tested it. He tried to explain how bad his store must have looked because I had been waiting for so long, but I was cool. Besides, he was trying very hard to help. He could have just said, "Sorry, lady, it doesn't work," within the first few minutes. But nope, he was determined. At this point I asked if it was the only one the store had. He said it was the only first generation, but he had a second generation in the back. So, he retrieved the second generation. It was in the original box and packaging. The only difference between the two is the second generation has a different look and was made more for the second generation Genesis. Because it was in the original box with all the parts and wrapping, it cost a little more, but he quickly gave me a large discount to make up for the fact the first one wasn't working and I had been waiting. So, I bought it.

The owner called me the greatest customer ever and helped me out to my car. I hit traffic on the way home so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it home on time to surprise Gary. However, when I noticed his truck wasn't in the parking lot, I actually speed-walked/jogged to the apartment just in case he turned a corner and saw me with the box. I had no time to wrap it, so I placed it on top of the dryer and closed the laundry doors. Moments later, Gary came home while I was "browsing" on the computer. I greeted him and he instantly began talking about calling Game Dude (in N. Hollywood) to see if they had finally received a Sega CD and asked if I was interested in a trip there if they did. So, he called the store and was informed they still didn't have one in their inventory. A little bummed, he hung up the phone. I then asked if he would "shut off the dryer" real quick since the clothes were probably done. So, he did. I heard a gasp and I peeked down the hall to see a huge grin on his face. Boy was he happy! It was like a kid during Christmas, lol. Even better, I then discovered the second generation (the one I purchased) was the same one he had as a child...so it all worked out!

Anyway, he immediately went to work on setting it up and was thrilled to know it worked perfectly (the owner of the store tested it before I left so I knew it worked). Wanting to visit this store to buy more games, we headed back down to Burbank and Gameland where Gary added more to his collection. Zane seemed pretty happy we came back to give him more business.

We finally headed out to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, where I ordered the delicious Chipotle Chicken Pizza and Gary had the Hawaiian Pizza with pepperoni. We also had the Sesame Ginger Chicken in won tons for an appetizer.

Sesame Ginger Chicken appetizer

Gary's Hawaiian pizza

My Chipotle chicken pizza

 So, we had a great day and a great evening. I sure love my man!

 In other quick news, we canceled our cable and instead bought a Roku (which streams television shows) and a Hulu Plus account. So we can watch all of our shows and save about $90 each month. Works for me!

Okay, time to do stuff. Bye!