Falling Behind
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: My Life
There was a time when I considered myself a surfer on the wavecrest of things nouveau. (Just consider when I had a Beatle haircut in a virtual sea of crew cuts.) Anyway, I used to be the "new-thing guy" in the neighborhood.

Whether it was age or the pressures of life or both, my scissors seemed to have dulled a bit on the cutting edge and it appears that I am often playing catch-up to fashionable trends.

A case in point:

I used to get many of my videos from one or more of the noted rental chains that blanket our land. Often, I would even purchase an interesting tape or DVD from my local electronics outlet, grocery store or yard sale. In the case of rentals, I had more than one bad experience with returning the movie just a wee bit after it was due and finding how financially painful my tardiness could be. For this and some other reasons, I have not attached myself to one of these companies and instead have chosen to, in many cases, go without.

In my travels, I have met a great many people with widely varied backgrounds. It just so happens that I learned that one of my acquaintences is an employee for a relatively new internet video rental service that I cannot name, but we will refer to as "Netflix". While I had heard of this service for some time and had even had several employees who had sung its praises, I had not really investigated it, but I was curious. I mean how could a company deliver DVD's in a couple of days, let you keep them 'til the cows come home and even provide you with the packaging and postage to return the darn things? After seeing all the popups on webpages referring to this service, I was sure that it was some scam, tantamount to all the free Viagra ads or offers to have the former prince of Botswana send me $28 million dollars if only I would provide my bank account number. Seriously, home boy ain't no fool!

One day in casual conversation, my friend explained how the company functioned and assured me that it was a legitimate, thriving enterprise with milliions of satisfied customers. "Okay already. I'll make the leap." I must admit that my earlier fears were unwarranted and I have found Netflix to be an easy, inexpensive way to get DVD's. I wish I had started sooner!

Now, I just wish I could figure out if this iPod thing will really take off.