Melissa's Place

United Wii Stand
It’s Tickle-Me-Elmo all over again.
Or the era of the Cabbage Patch Kid.
Today marked the release of the newest gaming system, the Nintendo Wii.

Normally I would sleep through the excitement and hub-bub, especially after a late night of dancing. However, this morning, I woke up with one thing on my mind. I was going to hunt down this intensely coveted thing and bring it home for Mark for his birthday in two days.

Now, a student of mine, (we’ll call him Jack), told me this week that all the stores were ordering TONNES of Nintendi Wii’s and that I shouldn’t worry about pre-ordering them. They wouldn’t sell out.

Then yesterday, I phoned Best Buy at noon and they ALREADY had people waiting in line to buy a game system. So I knew Best Buy would be a competitive place to look.

On the website, it said Zellers opened at 10am. So when I woke up at 10:30, I rushed to have a shower and drove off. I remember saying to Mark, “If I can get two, should I get one for Matt too?” I laugh now at my own naivety.

Zellers was not open at 10:30. The sign said the mall opened at noon. A few people were standing outside of The Source, in the same mall as Zellers, but they were uncertain about whether the store would even be open on a Sunday, let alone when. So I phoned Mark, who was still in bed, and he said he thought I should try Canadian Tire.

Canadian Tire does not cell the Nintendo Wii, I soon found out.

So I drove to Best Buy. I arrived six minutes after they opened, and they were already sold out. I didn’t even bother to go inside.

I drove to Zellers again. They were now open, but all sold out too. In fact, there were 32 people on the waiting list who apparently wouldn’t all get a Wii in the next shipment.

I walked to The Source. They don’t sell the Wii.

I phoned Mark again. He said Rogers was selling the systems too.

I went to Rogers. They don’t sell the Wii.

I went to EB games. There was a line up about 40 people long. They were letting people in one at a time. It was there that I actually got within ten feet of one, as someone exited the store carrying their prize. They’d probably been in line since six in the morning, so they deserved it. I felt slightly jealous just the same.

I went to the end of the line and who should I see there but Jack. Jack and I and his family stood for a few minutes and chatted about the silliness of it all. Neither Jack nor I had pre-ordered a Nintendo Wii. Neither Jack nor I had a coat on. Neither Jack nor I stood a chance in hell of getting our hands on a game system today. After a minute or two, I forfeited, said a casual good-bye and went home.

I wonder what I ever did with my cabbage patch kid.