MetLA

You know when you just get through life with a subpar piece of technology just because it's old habit? Like our TV - it's 10 years old and beginning to age. And our VHS player won't eject tapes without the help of a slender, electrocution-inducing object like a letter opener. But the most glaring culprit was my alarm clock. I think I got it in the early 90's, maybe... I've had it so long I can't remember. It's was hard to set the alarm (holding down two buttons at once while pressing a third, clearly beyond my tactile facility), the stations barely came in (but the upside was I discovered KPCC over KCRW), and worst of all, it failed to go off more times than I feel comfortable telling you. Every once and a while (especially after it didn't go off), Kyle and I would remark that we needed a new one. This became a running joke of procrastination - funny how you can let things like this slide month after month. And to think they sell these newfangled contraptions, oh, EVERYWHERE. There were many times we came back from Target, loaded with toiletpaper and toothpaste, saying "crap, we forgot to get a new alarm clock. We finally went to Target one day on a virtual mission to get the clock. I wanted one with two alarms so we could avoid the whole reset-it-for-the-partner-while-still-half-asleep thing that had tripped us up in the past. Kyle just wanted to wake up to KROQ for a change. And lo! At Target, we find the perfect dual alarm, dual wake-up station clock by Sony. What a gem! So far, it's working like a charm. I think, like TiVo, it's saving our marriage. That's kinda sad.