According to the November 3, 2011 entry into Triumphs & Tribulations XII, I was really “feeling myself”. I was 1 ½ weeks removed from my 27th birthday, where I was still in a jovial mood after being treated to dinner at Fogo de Chão by one of the cuties from church. I had just received midterm feedback on my Enlisted Performance Report, where I was trending towards a firewall 5. I was starting to find my joy again after laboring through the events of the Long Hot Summer of 2011. It was a good time to be Juan. On that particular day, I stopped at the Waldorf, Maryland Best Buy on my way home and though I only intended to just look around, I ended up making an impulse purchase. About 10 minutes later, I walked into my apartment with a brand new gaming console. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: my Nintendo Wii experience.
How I first came across this moment? It started during that visit to Best Buy. Sure, I had seen the Nintendo Wii on several occasions before that…in stores and even in Japan. But I never really paid it any attention. My focus was always on the PlayStation 3 in terms of gaming consoles. That particular Thursday afternoon, I was watching one of the other customers play Wii Sports tennis. I was intrigued and I think she noticed because she invited me to join. I did and we played a Best-of-5 match that I actually dominated. On the strength of that quick match, I was convinced that I needed to be a Wii owner.
What it meant to me then? As I mostly played Madden, NCAA Football, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PS3, introducing the Nintendo Wii was a change of pace for me. I actually loved the Wii from the moment I owned it. For the first month or so, the only game I owned was Wii Sports but honestly, that’s all I needed. While I was in a GameStop in December 2011, I discovered the physical fitness benefits of the Wii. I ended up purchasing EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer and Wii Fit. The results were a boon as my winter cardio, which traditionally took a bit of a dive with the colder weather, got better. Pretty soon, I was using the Wii exclusively as an exercise tool. It was always good to me.
What it means to me now? I haven’t played a Nintendo Wii since 2014. When I returned from South Korea in 2013, I decided that I didn’t really need it in my apartment down in Opelika…mostly because I was going to be spending more time doing my exercising in the fitness rooms of Hilton-brand hotels than I would at home, given the travel-heavy schedule I enjoyed as an Area Facility Operations Specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. So I gave it to my father as something to have in his home when he hosted my step-nieces and step-nephews. I last played with them. Though I dominated them on the games—and why wouldn’t I considering I bought them and was well-versed in the gameplay—it didn’t feel the same as it did in late 2011 and even the early part of 2012 up until I bolted for South Korea. Nevertheless, the Nintendo Wii experience was a great time for me. It was a sneaky good electronics product to have.
