Christmas Journey II - Signs and Portents

There are some who are strong believers in fate, astrology and even the occult. Others simply call these warnings nothing more than simple quirks of random chance, as the individual is the one who controls their own destiny. Now as for myself, I may lean toward fate every once in awhile but I believe we our given an opportunity (fate) and our choices distinguish the end result… however I am quick to take heed and never dismiss those multi apparent “co-incidences’.

Today’s journey did indeed lead me down the path of the occult as I was looking to purchase a boxed set of the Harry Potter series for Ryan (on Blu-Ray). Some may question whether my son was truly the recipient of this gift or if it was a simple ploy of the father to further his Blu-Ray collection using the son as the excuse. Nevertheless, regardless of what my wife says, the joy on Little Ryan’s face will be genuine come Christmas morning. Research is the key to any good purchase and knowing where to buy can save you a few extra bucks, which in this case turned out to be a Five Spot as Target Online was slightly cheaper than Best Buy. The lowest price was $104.95 and with Price in hand I prepared to leave the house towards the destination of Best Buy. Note to reader: Best Buy is notorious for price matching and since I am able to accumulate points that I can redeem for $5 Best Buy Reward Bucks, it made sense to purchase at this retail giant, that is, provided they would price match the Target’s ad.

Prior to my leaving I received a call from my step father Cliff who asked if he could bring Pepe (my Mom & Nonnie’s new cat) over for a check up. I said sure but when he asked what my cross streets were I realized he had dialed my number by mistake instead of the Cat Care Clinic… where Pepe’s pungent air production could be treated. Was this a portent of things to come? Or was it simply a mistake by a kind elderly man who simply pushed the wrong buttons?

Regardless, I vowed to not be swayed from my quest and left the house but this distraction caused me to forget the $100 Best Buy gift card… hmmm another sign? I arrived at Best Buy, parked my car in a semi-full parking lot and walked toward the store. To my horror I saw not 1, not 2, but 3 people walking out with the Harry Potter Blu-Ray gift set. Time stopped as this took me back to the Vizio 50” Plasma fiasco on the day after Thanksgiving. Let’s see Cliff was with me (1), we got the $100 Best Buy gift card then (2), Best Buy was involved (3), we saw 3 people walking out with those TVs (4) and we ended up getting my Mom a cat (5). If the display stack was empty my déjà vu would be complete. Time began to move forward as I hurriedly moved into the store. As rushed as I was, I still had time to say hello to the Best Buy greeter and thanked him for welcoming me to Best Buy and let him know that if I indeed had questions, I would not hesitate to ask. As I walked to the display area passing many other Blu-Rays, none of which I planned to purchase today, my eyes widened as the product’s intended spot was empty.

Many thoughts went through my head at this time: Why me?; Should I not have filled up Kovu’s water bowl?; Did I have time to run over to check Wal-Mart or Target knowing I would lose out on my Best Buy Rewards bucks? Then one final thought went through my head, it was from my fortune cookie last night “Ask and you shall received”. I turned around and there he was with his back to me a short pudgy Best Buy employee. I tapped him on the shoulder and said “Excuse me, Do you have anymore Harry Potter Blu-Ray gift sets”. He turned around and in his hand was the exact object I was looking for. He said “Congrats, you’re in luck, this is the last copy.” I thanked him and hurried to customer care to complete my Price Match transaction, she was very pleasant and helpful. She even provided me with a copy of the receipt my mother lost for an item we purchased that same fateful date.

I began to ponder that very question as I ordered lunch. My meal came to $3.62 and I handed the girl $10.02 and she gave me back $6.40… the EXACT amount my wife needs to board the BART transportation system!!

Christmas Journey I – The Journey for Lindsay’s Leapster

With coupon in hand, I journeyed to Toy ‘R Us, as they are the world’s biggest toy store. Upon arrival I was greeted by a very friendly employee name Misha. She asked if she could help me. Since I wanted to hurry through I showed her my coupon and told her I was looking for a Pink Leapster and a couple of games. She told me no problem and took me to the spot where the Leapsters (regularly priced at $69.99) were kept. Unfortunately only the Green ones were there even though the computer stated that 9 were on hand. We tried to call Fullerton but they were busy. While waiting for her to check the back and perusing games that were not priced at the $18.74 web price, a nice lady told me she got her daughter an L-Max Leapster (same thing BUT it can also be plugged into a TV). Toys ‘R Us priced this at $89.99 BUT she said it was on sale at Leapster.com for $68 and all the games were $18.74. Most likely the regular model would ALSO be on sale. I thanked both her and the Toy ‘R Us lady named Misha and hurried home.

Arriving home, I unpacked the car and gave Kovu his bed. He immediately wanted to move it. I used the technique Travis taught us in class and said “Drop It” firmly… he complied then ran to show me the new piece of grass he pulled up… but I digress. Anyway I went to Leapfrog.com and saw that the basic game was the $59.99 price BUT the games were in fact $18.74. This seemed like a good deal to me, especially as I would get free shipping on orders $50 or more. I clicked to add the game to my cart and saw they were out of stock on the pink one… grumble, grumble. On a whim, I checked the L-Max (in pink) and almost wet my pants… $53.99. I clicked as quick as I could but was again thwarted by the evil out of stock notice.

Checking the Toys ‘R Us site, I had resigned myself to pick up the base pink game for $59.99 and a couple of games. However, while the pink game system WAS in stock and the games WERE priced at $18.74, none of the ones appropriate for Lindsay were in stock (and I didn’t 2 versions of DORA). I told Ryan (who was home by now, we were going to go to the other Toys ‘R Us. He expressed less than positive enthusiasm because Mireblood was helping him kill Advisor Rhat’rhork, an illusive Sarnak he needed to complete a quest (relates to Everquest II, an online game).

I sent my wife a call to gather her thoughts but she was unfortunately not there. Checking Walmart, Best Buy, and Fry’s all came up nil and just as frustration and the realization that I needed to get SOME work done today started to sink in, I struck GOLD. At Amazon.com they had the PINK L-MAX game system for $53.99 with FREE shipping. The games however were overpriced like the Toys ‘R Us store, but I was now on a roll and purchased JUST the game system without a second thought. Remembering that the Leapfrog website had all the games I wanted AT the cheap price, I acted and am now thoroughly happy with my purchases.