So there I was, shopping in the local Circuit City. I had wanted to buy the Gladiator DVD, as it was at least three of four bucks cheaper there than anywhere else. Then again, the closest Circuit City is 25 miles from my front door, so the cost of gas alone makes the savings nonexistent. I have tried to explain that to Julie, but she just does not seem to get it.
“Let’s just get it here.” I will say at store A.
“But, it is cheaper at store B.” she will reply.
“Yeah, but store B is twenty miles away! The cost of gas in my suburban costs more than the money we will save!” Guys, you can’t win. It is not that it cost more or less somewhere else. It is a ploy to get you to that other store. Want a perfect example? Julie will often buy a pair of shoes, and one of the first things she will mention was how much the sale was, and how much she saved. “They are regularly $49.99, on sale for $19.99! I saved $30!”
Don’t you just love this logic? My reply is “No, you just spend $19.99 plus tax. Your SPENT money, you did not SAVE money. True, you may have spent LESS than you would have without the sale, but you did not SAVE anything!”
You can’t win, guys, so stop trying.
Back to Circuit City and Gladiator. Now, Julie would rather rent the movie, while I actually want to own some DVD’s that I can play at my leisure. Also, one of the only reasons she agreed to go to Circuit City in the first place was that it is right across the street from Michael’s, a huge Arts and Crafts store. She would suffer Circuit City, I would suffer Michael’s afterwards.
Here is the catch. She knows, KNOWS, I will want to look at the Mac stuff at Circuit City. She also knows that I will first find the Gladiator DVD, then, as if an afterthought, say “Well, since we’re here, may as well take a look at the Macs and stuff…” and start to mosey over that-a-way. Following true to form (I am nothing if not predictable) I take a stroll down the “Mac Lane” as I like to call it. iMacs, iBooks, and low-and-behold, they now have the Cube! Well, howdoyalikethat?
But of course, she knows I won’t buy any hardware today. Heck, I have a new printer, new G4, monitor, keyboard and mouse, digital camera, and speakers. She knows all this, so she knows I won’t buy anything. She knows I will look desperately for something, ANYTHING, I just HAVE to have, but she knows there is nothing there I can convince her of that I need. But there is always the SOFTWARE AISLE!
Usually, in a store such as Circuit City, they will have rows upon rows of software, but one small end-cap of Mac items. But I was optimistic. In the hardware aisle, where all the Mac’s were, I noticed something I had not seen in a long time. PEOPLE. There were a LOT of people looking at the Mac’s. A LOT. And many of them actually had Circuit City employees helping them, and TRYING to SELL them an Apple Macintosh! Very strange.
So it was with a lot of hope that I would find SOME Mac things over in the software section. And, thankfully (or not…) I did. However, there is no one section for Mac titles. It is all mixed up with the PC titles. And many times, the box is not clearly marked, so I would have to actually pick up a box, find the system requirements for the game, and hope to find Mac versions of some of the games.
There were a lot of Mac games, but many more children learning titles. Most, in fact, seemed to be hybrid CD-ROMs, learning games which run on both Mac and PC. But the one game I was most interested in they actually had, and on sale to boot! The SIMS!
This is the first game I have actually gone to the store and paid cash for. (Well, okay, you got me there. I paid by VISA, not cash.) Usually, I get review copies of most of the new games coming out. (A benefit of being a writer for a Macintosh magazine for the last five-plus years.) But you know, I really wanted to buy SOMETHING to bring home with me for my Mac, and The SIMS just looked too good to pass up. And yes, the game was on sale.
“Honey” I told Julie “Look, the game I want is on sale! I’m saving ten bucks!”
“It still costs $39.99, though…” she said, but let it go. HA! They hate when you use their own logic against ’em!
So, after arguing with the checkout clerk at Circuit City that there was indeed a sale sign for The SIMS for $39.99, I almost decided not to get the game. The jerk kept telling me “That sale ended yesterday” to which I would reply “Touch cookies, pal, there’s a sign right over the game saying $39.99, and there ain’t no date on that sign”
He even went so far as to try “Oh, this is the Mac version. That is why it is ringing up at $49.99. Only the PC version was on sale!” Now, I did not even dignify to respond to that one. I just gave him my “Don’t even try it, jerkweed” look. He dropped that tactic right quick, made the price $39.99, and I was on my way.
Now, some of you may be thinking I had a good time, that I only (!) spent seventy bucks or so. This is the catcher, guys. (And pay attention all you younger men out there thinking of getting married!) While it is a rare thing for me to spend that much money on any two items for myself, it is not unheard of for Julie to do so. And now that I myself have spent this much money, and it is now MY turn to suffer an hour across the street at the Michael’s, the huge Arts and Crafts store. And after making her spend twenty minutes over at Circuit City, proper penitence is at least twice that at HER store, spending at LEAST the same amount of money. Worst of all, I cannot complain about the price of anything. I cannot even do my bored sign, shuffle the feel, stifle a yawn “I want to leave now” act I can usually get away with in such stores. Sigh…
The upshot of all this? Gladiator is a kick-butt DVD. The SIMS is a fun game, one even my six year old daughter likes to play, and seeing all those new Mac’s being fawned over by potential buyers did my heart proud.
So, if you have a Circuit City in your area, you may want to stop by and check it out. They have a good selection of Mac’s, some really good prices, and they may actually try and sell you something. But if your married, you may want to leave her at home, at least if there is an Art’s and Craft store nearby.
Have fun!
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