I have the most incredible luck. Luck enough to get me a free GameCube.
My friend Graydon (also departed FF member G-Dawg, if you remember him) has been saving for a Wii for a while, and the last thing he needed to do was sell his GameCube. He first offered it to one of my other friends (who incidentally is also named Sam), who has no game systems. Greedy as I am, I wanted it to replace my broken GameCube, to use with the GC screen that's finally been shipped to my house, and because I miss my GameBoy Player.
Today was all-AFK-day for me, and the two were over at my place for a politics project. We kind of battled it out and Graydon decided to sell the GameCube to not-me-Sam, because I already have a bunch of consoles and stuff. I have a Wii, which plays GC games.
After they left and six o'clock came, I had to go to sit for a nice family we know. I knew that Alex has a GameCube, but not Super Smash Bros. Melee. I brought the game, my memory card, and a third controller over. Alex played the 'Cube pretty much the whole six hours on a smaller screen while Abby idled and watched a movie--an incredible instance of an argument-free session. Lovely.
When we reached my house, their father and I had just engaged in a gaming conversation (everything gaming, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and PC games... I knew what to say mostly for the first category, of course). By this time I had resolved to not be so selfish and get my old GameCube repaired, despite its junky appearance. Somehow or another, he mentioned that Alex mostly only plays the PS2 and that the GameCube almost never sees light, pretty much only when I am around. And that the Wii was a candidate for a Christmas present for Alex--I confrimed its goodness. So he offered to GIVE me the GameCube, no money involved. Thinking of how you don't miss your water till it's gone, I realized, of course! The Wii plays GameCube games.
No problems here at all. I get what I want (without paying!!!), Graydon sells his GameCube, Sam gets his GameCube, Alex and Abby won't ever miss their GameCube, just, wow. I'm sizing up all the possible situations that would not have resulted in this conclusion--Jack could have had more to drink at whatever party and been unfit to drive me home. We could have stayed on the topic of the strange goat-like creature that crossed the road before us too long. I could have not decided to bring Super Smash Bros. Melee at all, and the GameCube wouldn't have come up in conversation.
Now... what do I do with the old one?