A Chance Encounter at the Thrift Store

The other day I remembered the unfortunate demise of my Nintendo DS Lite, which as been out of commission for a few years now.

My lovely black paperweight with HK skin 

Well, life went on as it normally does after that. I usually spend my free time over the summer volunteering at a thrift store and I went in for my next shift a couple days later. We don't usually get many video game related donations, which is pretty much expected since it's so easy to just sell or trade in old merchandise. However, when I got there I was pleasantly surprised...

Could this be the best donation ever?

During my shift, someone donated a DS loaded with Pokemon Pearl, along with a couple other games. As soon as one of my fellow volunteers showed it to me, I knew it was fate. It was a bit dirty--scratch that, it was pretty filthy. It took an hour, a razor blade (for the dirt in the edges), a handful of cotton swabs and a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol, but I got it as clean as possible. I cannot put into words how excited I was when I charged it up and saw that it works just fine. 

This just goes to show that wonderful things can be found in the most unexpected places. Check out a thrift store near you and see if you can get a good deal.