Dammit! Damn you old TV!

So I have an old RCA TV. Not really vintage old, but 80s old. Similar to this TV in the pic, but probably older because it doesn't have the different buttons for numbers. In fact, without being hooked up to cable, it only goes up to channel 53 - which really sucked because here in Philadelphia, America's Next Top Model is on channel 57 - the first season I had to have a friend tape it because I didn't have cable and couldn't access that high of a channel through my TV!

But that's another story. The story here is, I lost my remote a few months ago. Now, the remote isn't extravagant - gigantically huge, yet the only options are channel up and channel down, volume up and volume down, mute (which really just makes it really quiet, not mute) and power. The TV itself has only the same options, except the volume buttons don't work.

Summary? Without the remote I can't change the volume. It's stuck on a very low volume that I can only hear in absolute silence and psychic concentration. One day the power went out and the TV came back on with excessive volume. I gave the TV buttons a try and low and behold! The volume down button worked! But curses, volume up doesn't work, and of course I lowered the volume too much. I've tried pulling the power cord while the set is on in hopes of recreating the high volume but alas, it doesn't work.

Super summary? Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is on and I can't hear it!! Augghhh! Dammit it to hell... until I decide to invest in a HD TV or move (really planning on the moving part) I refuse to buy a new TV. For now, I suffer.

I guess it's not so bad... I bought this TV 8 years ago for $20, and even at the time it was probably 20 years old, so it's not like a financial detriment. Just annoying.