UPDATED: The Great Wii & Wii Fit Contest (wheee!)

As most of you know, I'm a New Yorker, and thus by nature exceedingly jaded. This is not to say that I'm a negative person, but rather, that it takes a lot to shock me. Crazy lady on the subway doing a one-woman rendition of Romeo and Juliet? Seen it. Guy in studded leather chaps roaming down the streets of lower Manhattan? YAWN. And so I'm here to tell you that when Nintendo recently contacted me and asked me if I'd like to become a "Brand Enthusiast" for the Wii Fit, I suddenly morphed into...well, a participant on Extreme Home Makeover, basically. You know how they start getting weepy, fanning their faces, praising various deities, and all that? THAT WAS ME. You see, becoming a Nintendo Brand Enthusiast is awesome for many reasons. For one thing, I get to spend a year learning about their various products, including the Wii and Wii Fit. (And the DS Lite! Which appeared in my mailbox --along with some games--from the generous folks at Nintendo like a magical surprise! Which it was!) For another, Nintendo will be throwing a Wii Fit party at my apartment for me and some friends very soon (more on that shortly). AND ...I also get to give away a Wii andWii Fit on this here blog. And just in time for the holidays!

I know.

I KNOW.

I can tell you firsthand that the Wii is fabulous; we've had one since the summer, and are hopelessly obsessed. We (NERD ALERT!) often talk about our Saturday night plans to go bowling and play tennis...when in fact we are actually talking about Wii bowling and Wii tennis. (What do you want, people? We are geriatrics trapped in the bodies of people in their late twenties.) I'm not even going to get into what I actually mean when I suggest to J that we go for a drive (cough, EXTREME MARIO KART WII RACING, cough).

Here are our Wii Miis; it's uncanny, right?

In addition, I just started working out again (by which I mean "for the first time since college"), and am thrilled that I'm going to get some time learning how to work the Wii Fit into my routine (by which I mean "one day a week that I actually exercise"). I'm exceedingly uncoordinated (shocking, considering that I'm a former gymnast), and thus live in fear of the balance board...



...but I'm excited to give it a shot all the same.

So, I know what you're all thinking: "Metalia, when do we see videos of you falling off the balance board? And perhaps MARGINALLY more pressing, how do I win this Prize of Awesomeness?" Easy peasy:

• To enter, leave a comment on this post between now and December 15, 2008 at 11:59 pm E.S.T.

• But wait! I'm going to make you work a little for this awesome prize. Your comment must tell me: How would you work the Wii and Wii Fit into your life? (How would it move you? What would you use it for? In short, WHY YOU?) Feel free to be creative with your responses; while a comment addressing the question is perfect, poems, links to videos and/or illustrations would be great, too(but are in no way a prerequisite).

• After the comments are closed on Monday, December 15th, J and I (aka, King and Queen of Wiiville) will sit down and read through each and every comment, and select what we believe to be the top five comments. Our criteria will include, but not be limited to: originality, pertinence to the contest question, humor (where applicable), and all-around awesomeness. We will take this responsibility very seriously. Perhaps almost as seriously as we take our Mario Kart races.

• We will then place the top five comments in a comically large hat, and select a winner at random.

• The winner will be announced on or before Friday, December 19, 2008. (I wanted to do this before Chrismahannukwanzaakah time, yo!)

Important: PLEASE LEAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

The Fine Print

The prize is one Wii and Wii Fit with balance board.

The contest is only open to US residents (sorry, my Canadian lovelies!) The prize cannot be given to a relative AND I INCLUDE MY FUTURE SISTER-IN-LAW IN THIS CATEGORY, NEWLY-ENGAGED LITTLE BROTHER!

Nintendo will be handling the fulfillment of the prize, so the winner must be willing to provide his/her real name, address and phone number. And winner, I solemnly promise not to stalk you. Or steal your identity, and flee to a tropical island, where I will drink fruity, rum-intensive drinks on your dime. Swearsies!

The prize will be shipped within two weeks of Nintendo receiving the winner's contact info.

Yes, I think it's safe to say that this is by far the most awesome thing that I have ever given away here (no offense, lip gloss!); I'm so excited about this contest, and CAN'T WAIT to read your responses.

Good luck, everyone!

UPDATE: I indicated that if the comments reached 200, I would kick in a prize of my own. The prize is a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble to the first runner-up. There is also another "prize" that I'm kicking in, which will be revealed later on in the week, after we choose the finalists and pick a winner. (Ooh! I am shrouded in MYSTERY.)

Also? Damn you people. Your entries are awesome, and you're making it REALLY, REALLY HARD for us to narrow down the finalists.