Today was another job hunting day for me. I have been unemployed and not in school for the last month. I am broke, in debt, and I have about enough money to make rent and $25 left over for food. For food at the moment, I have a bottle of mayo, 2 cans of tuna, and a loaf of bread. I also have a few cans of soup.
I took my resume to a few places, and Toys R Us was one of the places I took it to. I filled out a form, and dropped it off, then figured I would check in electronics for the GameCube demo disc. It turned out that they had them, but they were keeping them behind the counter. They were giving them out to people who bought GameCube games. I was a little bewildered at this policy, but kept my mouth shut, as I knew it was a pretty damned good deal. So I asked if I could buy the disc seperately, knowing that I wouldn't make rent if I bought a game. The girl said no, as the disc would ring it at $0.01, and the manager said that it could only be given away with a game. I walked over to the GameCube section, held the $40 Resident Evil in my hands for a few seconds, then left the store.
My willpower didn't even last long enough for me to walk out of the parking lot. I went back into the store and picked up the last copy of Resident Evil and put it on the counter. A new girl was behind the counter this time. I informed her that I would like a demo disc with the game, and showed her where they were kept. (Toys R Us employees don't keep up with gaming news in this town). To my surprise, when she passed it through the scanner, it showed up as $14.99. Knowing I had a chance at making rent, I asked her if I could have just the disc. She called the manager (again... hehe), and the manager said yes this time. I passed over the money to pay for the game, and walked out of the store, just as the other lady was coming back to the till. I could tell that she was kind of miffed that I had gotten away with just buying the demo disc. I didn't want anyone to take my disc away, so I said thank you and hurried out of the store.
Walking home sounds very simple, but I decided to save the $2 I would normally spend on bus fare and walk home instead. That involves a walk of about an hour down a hill, and then up the other side. Today was also a very hot day. By the time I got home, I was parched, exhausted, and VERY eager to try out Soul Calibur II. To my surprise, I discovered I had left my key inside the house.
So I did the onyl thing a man in my position could do. I went to the store and bought donuts with the $1.50 I saved by not taking the bus, went into Dairy Queen and drank water out of the tap until I gave myself a headache, then walked to the school to use the computers.
My roommate usually comes home around 2AM. I figure I only have about 5 hours to wait and reminisce about my video game addiction that has led me to spending $17 on a demo disc that would have fed me for over a week. As it is, I can probably roll pennies to last me another week or two, but if I don't find a job soon, I am going to have to see Welfare or the Food Bank. Or both.
God I wish I had my GBA with me right now. So anyways, does anyone else have a story about their videogame addiction leading to circumstances that are somewhat "less" than pleasurable?