If everything had gone according to plan I would have satellite radio by now, but you know what they say. I believe it is something about the best laid plans not working out once you take the cat to the vet. My cat is not the sole reason for the change of plan, although she is a good scapegoat because she is fuzzy and cute and I could never be mad at her! The original reason I decided to give up on the satellite dream is because I couldn't get any customer service.
Of all the people in the world who need help buying electronics, I am probably in the top ten. The problem I have is that I am only interested in the end result. I don't care how it works as long as it works. This stance does not serve me well when I actually have to buy an electronic device. When I needed a receiver a few years ago I went and bought the cheapest one available because I only need the basics.
I brought it home, plugged the speakers from the seventies into the output jacks, plugged the turntable from the seventies into the input and plugged the receiver into the wall. In mere moments I was enjoying a Beatles record. The instruction manual for the receiver is still in its plastic bag. If I ever need it I have it, but, you know. I'm not going shopping in the home theater section any time soon.
So when I tried to figure out XM radio I was out of luck. I read the literature at the store. I visited the web site. I visited the web sites of all retailers authorized to sell XM products. And I had no idea what I needed to buy. There are receivers and tuners and stuff, and certain products stand alone and certain products need an additional product in order to work. All I wanted to know was: what can I plug into my existing receiver at home to give me XM? I browsed the "home systems" sections of all these sites and I could not figure out exactly what I needed.
Maybe I should have tried harder but since I have zero interest in electronics, researching them is unpleasant and boring. The Monday after Christmas I decided to call some 800 numbers for assistance. I figured it would be better to get help from XM professionals than the kid at Target. And since my parents had been very kind with the requested gift card, I could run right out and buy XM as soon as I knew what to buy. The first 800 number was the general number. I pressed the correct buttons and got a live operator. I told her what I wanted. She recommended one product and then suggested I call the product assistance 800 number. Super! Duper! The help I needed!
The line was busy.
For hours.
Sometimes I didn't even get a busy signal, I got the all circuits are busy recording. Obviously I was not the only confused consumer calling the first business day after Christmas. I thought I would call back later in the day, after I got home from the visit to the veterinarian. It was supposed to be an ordinary vet visit because the cat just needed her yearly checkup. Well, guess what! My kitty cat had a bad tooth that needed to be pulled and the price was almost exactly what I had planned to spend on XM radio.
I never did call XM back. Once there was a monkey wrench in the plan I started thinking about why I wanted XM. I wanted it for baseball. First of all, I have a baseball team in town. Last season I didn't miss a game on the radio (except for one day game I forgot about) until I went on Iron Maiden vacation in August. Even though they stunk last year, they are my stinky team. Do I need all games available when I have a local game several days a week?
And then there is that rumor that this is the last season for the Twins. What if that is true? I should listen to my team while I still have one. As for all the sweet, sweet, commercial free music I wanted...I will just play records instead. Plus one night I was browsing the radio dial and found AM 740 out of Toronto. They were playing Bob Hope comedy bits and music from the '40s and '50s! That is what I wanted to hear on XM! I might have a substitute (after nightfall) until I decide to get satellite.
I don't mind putting it off though, because I do have ways to fill the music and baseball gap. And I finally took my cat in this week to get her tooth pulled. I got home from dropping her off a little after nine and I left to pick her up at one-thirty and I moped the entire time I was home alone. It wasn't even five full hours and I was wandering around all lost and sad. "I'm going to work on the site but first I should chase the kitty...oh." On the other hand, I have not moped once since I decided to skip XM. The cat is worth every penny not spent on satellite radio.