...because we all have our motley moments!


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!

We have a Wii. That's just fun to say. Anyway, we're not big gamers. I mean, I can usually beat my nephew at Mortal Kombat, but I can't get into all this Halo/Call of Duty/World of Warcraft stuff. The Wii, however, is for those of us who are not gamers. You don't have to memorize combinations of buttons to press together at the proper time. If you want to play tennis, swing the remote around like a tennis racket. If you want to play golf, use the remote like a golf club. There's a game called Smooth Moves where you play all these silly mini-games and you have to use the remote different ways, like as an elephant's trunk or a steering wheel. You can also download old Nintendo games cheaply, like Super Mario World, which is definitely the best of the Mario games. It only cost me $8. 
I got a game called Wii Fit for Christmas. It's kind of a game/workout program. There's yoga, strength training, balance games, and aerobics. I really like the yoga and I'm surprisingly good at it. The balance games are fun - there's a ski slalom, ski jumping, and a game where you hit soccer balls with your head and dodge cleats and panda bear heads. The aerobics is good, too. You can do step aerobics or run or hula hoop. Wii Fit will do a body test if you want it to, which can be rather disconcerting, as it will tell you your BMI and your weight. It keeps track of weight loss and how often you exercise. One of the best things about the Wii is that it gets you up off the couch and moving around. 
Another feature of the Wii are the Miis. You can go to the Mii Channel on your Wii and create your own avatar. It's amazing how like you they can look. We have lots of Miis on our Wii - one for just about everyone who's ever played it. There's one for me, one for Todd, my nephew, his friend Tanner, several of our friends, my mom, and my dad. The one my dad made looks so much like him it's uncanny. This Mii has the same color hair, the glasses, the nose, everything. Many games use the Miis; like when you're bowling you'll see different Miis in the background or if you're playing baseball they'll be on your team or on the opposing team. I like running with the Wii Fit. It's not a long distance and Miis run by you, waving and smiling. They even cheer you on and are waiting for you at the finish line. It's really neat to be running along and pass by my dad. I know it's not real; I know he's gone. But it feels good to see him. Today I was running a longer distance than usual and I didn't see him. I was sad. Where was he? Had the machine malfunctioned and deleted his Mii? He was there, though, clapping and smiling for me as I approached the finish line. 
I really don't know how to end this. I could tell you I'm not crazy, but you may not believe me if you've ever spent any real time with me. I could tell you that this month marks a year since my dad died, but I don't want to be a downer. I just wanted to share my happy moment - playing a fun game and seeing an old friend. What's better than that?

10 comments:

Pam said...

Wiii - I have wondered if the Yoga is fun, but mostly I have wondered how crazy I would look doing it :). I think it is really cool that your dad made a mii before he left. It is just another great way to keep his memories alive.

Donna said...

Wow. Seeing your dad's avatar every time you play must be weirdly soothing, yet bittersweet at the same time. I hope it reminds you of the fun times you had together playing games, joking around, and generally reveling in each other's company.

It sounds like the Wii is a lot of fun! I have only played once, but have busted a gut laughing at other people jumping, jerking, swinging, and punching at the air around them as they play...it's so funny looking!

Anonymous said...

I liked watching my wedding video and seeing your dad walk across the screen. It made me smile.
Sorry that Jeremy's Mii is so ridiculous!

Liz said...

Lori, I love Jeremy's Mii! It is so very...Jeremy. I can see him running toward me a mile away.

Bryssy said...

Ha! My mom has a Wii and the Wii Fit game and we have had a lot of fun playing it. I keep trying to master the tightrope. It's hard! My other favorite is doubles tennis, THE Princess and I play that together.

Liz said...

Yeah, the tightrope is tough. I'm not too good at the one where you're the penguin and you have to catch fish on the iceberg, either.

Jason and Fawnda said...

We have a wii as well and I beat Jason at Boxing and now he won’t play me anymore :) We also have smooth moves and love it. Wii Play is fun too and it comes with an extra remote so that it a bonus! I also really like the DDR (Dance Dance Revelation)
I think that the Mii of you dad is a neat way of preserving his memory.
Fawnda

Maria said...

You had me laughing and crying. I can relate to the missing your Dad thing.

Have fun with your WIIIIIIIIIIII!

Rachel said...

You've definitely made me give the Wii a second thought, but I'm still afraid that if I bring a video game into the house I will never leave again. I mean, seriously, you see how bad I am with Facebook!

That's very cool about your Dad's Mii character. What a neat way to preserve a memory!

hgrenier said...

Our friend Darryl Barker was lying in the hospital in a comma for the third week in a row after a horrible car accident... We had a previous double date planned before his accident, and after almost a month of little sleep and practically living at the hospital we decided to keep our date... after going out to eat with our friends we tried to go to a bowling alley but it reeked of old cigarette smoke and was outrageously expensive... then we realized that we had bought a wii a few months earlier and it had the bowling game on it. we moved to date to our house to laugh at each other play... and while we were choosing our characters one of us picked one and after we clicked on it the mii named showed up as Darryl... he had created that mii only a month earlier... We all stood there in silence, until my husband sadly and quietly said, "I need to change that..." and we all sadly and quietly said, "no." I think it was the very next day that Darryl went to be with the Lord.

Thanks for posting this! It's been a year now for us as well...