Come on momentum, don't stop now.
I woke up today and was perusing one of the Free Criagslists around my region when I came across a fifteen minute old post that said something along the lines of "NES and SNES" in the title. Not too old, cool. Usually by the time I click them and email and stuff, they're gone or I email back and forth and don't end up with free video game stuff.
It didn't have a location listed but I knew the general area would be at least an hour's drive for me. The listing said that the person was cleaning out their house when they came across their NES, SNES, 2 SNES controllers, 7 SNES games, but no adapters or AV cables so they weren't tested. The post said that the stuff would be thrown out by the 1st and the classic game preservationist inside me, coupled with the fact that the post was quite fresh, pushed me to email the poster and in a gamble, I left my phone number.
I got a call about five or ten minutes later and when I found out where the stuff was, I was right, give or take about an hour plus change away. I told the person on the phone that I could be there at noon, but that was a problem so we scheduled a pickup for later in the evening. Since I had basically just woken up, it slipped my mind to ask what games were in the lot and forgot to ask if the person could hold it for me.
Just as I was thinking of calling back, I get a different call. Since I wasn't sure of who it was, well, once more, I was hopeful that it was one of the places I applied for work for. Turns out it was. So, tomorrow I have an interview for a seasonal data entry job. However, unlike the staffing agencies that have given me only sparse responses, I have a much higher hope for this place because two friends of mine work there. My hope is that knowing someone on the inside can help land me a more permanent position there. If not, I hope that at least the position is long enough for me to finish my federal employment training program.
So right before I left to pick the stuff up, I noticed the post was gone. I had a nagging feeling that the person may have given the stuff away but I was feeling zealous and decided to not call and leave to pick up the stuff anyway. About twenty minutes from the location, I called to remind the person I was coming. Voice mail...
...crap...
I kept driving though but right as I contemplated turning around, I got a call confirming that the stuff was still there. After getting off the phone, I breathed a collective sigh of relief from all the gambles I took so far.
As I knocked on the door, I wasn't expecting much. Bring on the busted systems and sports games!
The person invited me in and directed me to a near empty milk crate with the stuff sprawled around it. It was clear that the person was prepping to move or something. As I looked at the NES and SNES, they were pretty dirty. Ugh, maybe I shouldn't have been so impulsive.
The person then handed me the stack of games, the ones I notice immediately were a black cartridge and one with a rather plain looking green forest label with yellow title text.
I kept a straight poker face and started to hurriedly put the stuff in a bag because I knew I had already done well. Somewhere along the line, a Game Gear was produced and offered to me so I took that as well. I helped the person root through the various AC Adapters and found mostly phone chargers so nothing that I could actually use. They had indeed misplaced the AV Cables and AC Adapters. I thanked the person and took the stuff to my car.
After I popped open my trunk, I decided to take a closer look at the cartridges. Here's the contents of my epic find:
- A dirty SNES
- A dirty SNES controller
- An InterAct SNES Pad
- A used and dusty NES
- A black Game Gear with a missing battery cover
- Itchy and Scratchy for the Game Gear
- Super Columns for the Game Gear
- Sim City for the SNES (as are the rest of the games I'm listing)
- Killer Instinct
- Super Punch Out
- Super Mario Kart
- Secret of Evermore
- TWO Secret of Mana (the gem I spotted immediately)
- Chrono Trigger
I drove like mad to Pat's and cleaned and tested the SNES games. They all work and they have saves at various points in each of the respective games.
Un-freaking believable. Apparently, there's merit to impulsive decision making. Not only did I just get a pile of awesome stuff for free for my collection, I just saved a whole lot from the fate of the dumpster. The systems still need to be cleaned and tested but for obvious reasons, I'm not going to be bummed if they don't work.
The best part about all of this is that the person I got all of this said that their kids would probably be upset that they were giving this stuff away or throwing it away, and then that they didn't care. Now that's good parenting!
So there we have it, a good day for classic vidya games and a half decent full time seasonal jerb lined up.
It didn't have a location listed but I knew the general area would be at least an hour's drive for me. The listing said that the person was cleaning out their house when they came across their NES, SNES, 2 SNES controllers, 7 SNES games, but no adapters or AV cables so they weren't tested. The post said that the stuff would be thrown out by the 1st and the classic game preservationist inside me, coupled with the fact that the post was quite fresh, pushed me to email the poster and in a gamble, I left my phone number.
I got a call about five or ten minutes later and when I found out where the stuff was, I was right, give or take about an hour plus change away. I told the person on the phone that I could be there at noon, but that was a problem so we scheduled a pickup for later in the evening. Since I had basically just woken up, it slipped my mind to ask what games were in the lot and forgot to ask if the person could hold it for me.
Just as I was thinking of calling back, I get a different call. Since I wasn't sure of who it was, well, once more, I was hopeful that it was one of the places I applied for work for. Turns out it was. So, tomorrow I have an interview for a seasonal data entry job. However, unlike the staffing agencies that have given me only sparse responses, I have a much higher hope for this place because two friends of mine work there. My hope is that knowing someone on the inside can help land me a more permanent position there. If not, I hope that at least the position is long enough for me to finish my federal employment training program.
So right before I left to pick the stuff up, I noticed the post was gone. I had a nagging feeling that the person may have given the stuff away but I was feeling zealous and decided to not call and leave to pick up the stuff anyway. About twenty minutes from the location, I called to remind the person I was coming. Voice mail...
...crap...
I kept driving though but right as I contemplated turning around, I got a call confirming that the stuff was still there. After getting off the phone, I breathed a collective sigh of relief from all the gambles I took so far.
As I knocked on the door, I wasn't expecting much. Bring on the busted systems and sports games!
The person invited me in and directed me to a near empty milk crate with the stuff sprawled around it. It was clear that the person was prepping to move or something. As I looked at the NES and SNES, they were pretty dirty. Ugh, maybe I shouldn't have been so impulsive.
The person then handed me the stack of games, the ones I notice immediately were a black cartridge and one with a rather plain looking green forest label with yellow title text.
I kept a straight poker face and started to hurriedly put the stuff in a bag because I knew I had already done well. Somewhere along the line, a Game Gear was produced and offered to me so I took that as well. I helped the person root through the various AC Adapters and found mostly phone chargers so nothing that I could actually use. They had indeed misplaced the AV Cables and AC Adapters. I thanked the person and took the stuff to my car.
After I popped open my trunk, I decided to take a closer look at the cartridges. Here's the contents of my epic find:
- A dirty SNES
- A dirty SNES controller
- An InterAct SNES Pad
- A used and dusty NES
- A black Game Gear with a missing battery cover
- Itchy and Scratchy for the Game Gear
- Super Columns for the Game Gear
- Sim City for the SNES (as are the rest of the games I'm listing)
- Killer Instinct
- Super Punch Out
- Super Mario Kart
- Secret of Evermore
- TWO Secret of Mana (the gem I spotted immediately)
- Chrono Trigger
I drove like mad to Pat's and cleaned and tested the SNES games. They all work and they have saves at various points in each of the respective games.
Un-freaking believable. Apparently, there's merit to impulsive decision making. Not only did I just get a pile of awesome stuff for free for my collection, I just saved a whole lot from the fate of the dumpster. The systems still need to be cleaned and tested but for obvious reasons, I'm not going to be bummed if they don't work.
The best part about all of this is that the person I got all of this said that their kids would probably be upset that they were giving this stuff away or throwing it away, and then that they didn't care. Now that's good parenting!
So there we have it, a good day for classic vidya games and a half decent full time seasonal jerb lined up.