Geek Squad
Jennifer Flaten

Contrary to what you've heard, I'm not a geek, really, I am not or so I've always thought and will maintain until the day I die. Even with all the evidence to the contrary.

Even if I were to admit I was a geek and that is a big if, I would say my geekiness ranks very low on the geek meter for which I have a patent pending.

Okay, okay the only reason I am not a full-fledged geek is I don't have the money for all the fancy gadgets. This explains why I am in a constant state of phone envy.

Anyway, my descent into early stage geekdom started simple enough. For their birthday, the children received a game system. Don't worry; the game wasn't from me.

Yes, I am still the reigning queen of "no you can't have that it's too expensive" In case you are wondering I mutter that phrase to myself about as often as I say it to the kids, sometimes more.

Obviously, the game system came from outside sources, namely a loving and more solvent relative.

I have resisted the lure of a game system for a while now. Not because I think, there is anything wrong with them.

No, mostly because I know that if there is a game system is in the house I will end up spending an inordinate amount of time in front of the glowing screen on one quest or another.

Therefore, I try to limit my contact with the "box of distraction" as I like to call it. I barely get my day-to-day stuff done now, mainly because I am physically incapable of putting down a good book; someone must poke with a sharp stick to do my chores.

Imagine, what if I added a glowing and dancing hedgehog into the mix. I would never get anything done.

Besides, it would be unseemly for the kids to awaken one morning and instead of their Frosty-Os, all ready and waiting, they find me slumped over a hot controller.

After successfully setting up the "box of distraction" and refereeing umpteen arguments about whose turn it is-leading me to contemplate engineering a "mysterious disappearance" of said machine-I took a moment, a rare quiet moment, to peruse the two inch thick instruction book that accompanied the machine.

While, I read the installation instructions and got the machine set up immediately for game play. Otherwise, it would have been mutiny on the bounty. I decided to find out what else the little devil box could do.

Turns out the little box can connect to the internet and then allow me to get movies from my online movie service.

Hmm, that sounds nice. Maybe then, I would actually watch the movies instead of letting the discs languish on the counter.

I've had a couple of unwatched movies so long now that the discs will probably disintegrate when I pop them in the DVD player.

Please note, that movies rented specifically for the kids gets immediate viewing and returned post haste. The kids are keeping me in good standing with the movie folks.

Without them, the movie rental men in black would be knocking on my door demanding their movies back.

With copious amounts of little kid help, I followed the instructions to set up the streaming movies.

Can you guess the first thing we watched? Yes, that is right an episode of Shaun the Sheep for the kids.

Apparently, I am a geek, but only for the kids.