Frozen Fingers

We've been on the lookout for more choices in our home movie watching. Installing an Apple TV helped as we can now stream from our ipad. When our cable provider is behaving, streaming works. When the data streaming gets jammed by the kid down the block gaming, the ubiquitous "loading" symbol appears.

Netflix lost its allure as sometimes we really didn't want to wait a few days for the mail to deliver flicks. Directv has current movies we can watch, but I have to set my watch and calendar to their time. It's 7:00pm and that movie will start whether you're ready or not!
...
Enter "Red Box" to our neighborhood. It seems like a great idea. Affordable? Yes. Two minutes away? Yes. And you can start/stop the movie anytime you want.

BUT...and this is a big but...did Red Box ever test market this idea in Minnesota when the wind chill is minus 20 degrees outside? There I was, standing next to the Red Box outside Holiday gas station instructing the person in front of me how to navigate the screen. My hat is over my ears and my hoodie is holding some of the wind at bay. Thank God for the longjohns and polarfleece gloves.

My instructions worked and the young, charming man left, movies in hand. We exchanged a few grumbles about the weather and commented about the people inside the WARM store. Do you think Red Box ever thought of having these contraptions inside a warm building?

As I was about to flip through the movie choices, an older man came up and asked if he could go ahead of me and punch the "return" button so he could get rid of his movie. No problem. BUT now I've been standing there in minus 20 degree wind chill for the past 12 minutes and I'm really wondering why I'm even there.

Clenching my teeth, I am determined to find a movie for us to watch. I soon discover gloves do not work on these sensitive TOUCH screens. Yep, I have to go gloveless so I can flip through all the movie titles. On a normal day that wouldn't be a problem. BUT, when it's this frigging cold it's finger numbing! I forget about reading the specs and who's in the movie. With a little ingenuity I figured out I could remove my glove, punch a button and put the glove back on, which I did again and again. Over the course of "forever", I managed to navigate through the payment choices, and too many "no thanks" punches to remember what they were.

I swear, I'm going to buy the cheapest gloves I can find and cut the tip off the right pointing finger of my right glove. I'll keep it in my glove compartment just for those frigid Minnesota days when I have to stand in front of the Red Box.