Oui, oui! We have a wee Wii. Whee!

The last Whee in the title was pushing it a bit, wasn't it? One of my greatest weaknesses as a writer is a profound fear of the Delete key. Once I think of something, I am so reluctant to chuck it in the bin. Oh well, that's why we all need editors.

Which has nothing to do with today's post.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling the effects of having had a bit too much wine. I know I had too much wine because I remember thinking that black Russians would be the perfect way to end the evening. While they are effective at ending the evening, they aren't exactly the perfect way to do it. And certainly not when judged from the perspective of the next morning.

But the night before, before I moved the wine from just right to too much, Caroline told LK and me that we absolutely had to get a Wii. She had played on one over her holidays and she was smitten with the game console. I don't always do what Caroline suggests. For example, last night I ignored her and opened that last bottle of red, and I didn't even ask her about the black Russians. But with the Wii, her suggestion made sense so it was off to the mall this afternoon to get myself a Wii.

It probably strikes a few people as odd that a 60-year-old is splurging on an interactive video game console. The fact is I love games. My very first job in this industry that gave me my career was reviewing computer games. So I have a great affinity for them. So much that I believe a Q-bert machine in New Jersey was finally retired with DKK as the top scorer.

But even more to the point is that I have been thinking about buying a Wii for a while, and Caroline's rave just clinched it. It's been getting great reviews, and is clearly now the console of choice among gamesters. But what impressed me the most was the program Wii Fit, which is a very popular fitness and exercise regimen. That meant buying the Wii wasn't some supercilious exercise in rampant consumerism but vitally important for my health.

But somehow, when I told Linda about buying the Wii when I picked her up, she didn't see it that way. She laughed and told me that I had bought more toys for myself in the four months since I retired than I did in the past five years when I was working.

I'm sure she's wrong. But I couldn't make much of an argument in this instance.

The store was out of stock for Wii Fit, and won't get anymore until February. But I bought the console anyway and picked up the Sports pack which has tennis and bowling and some other games. They may not help me get fit, but Caroline said they were great fun, and I can always get the exercise program next month. We'll see.