I May Just Be The Proud Owner Of A 60Gig PS/3

The Scene: A large meeting room at work

The Players: Your Humble Blogger; a dozen or more co-workers, along with many other development partners and customers on the phone; a cadre of agents working in the background, scouring the face of the Earth in search of a PS/3 for yours truly (it seemed)

The Story So Far: Strike 1 and Strike 2 had already been called in my attempts to land my very own PS/3. I was starting to sweat just ever so slightly.

So there I was, in the middle of a rather large conference call, when I notice the in-basket on my laptop starting to fill up with e-mails bearing subjects like "PS/3s available at Future Shop!" from various and sundry co-workers. As subtly as I could, I clicked on the link provided within one of the e-mails, and began reading about a batch of PS/3s that were available for online ordering while supplies last! In the time it took me to read about the offer, though, the "quantity available" display on the page had already refreshed and gone down to zero. So close and yet so far! Was I doomed to never find true happiness?

And then, about 5 minutes later, another wave of e-mails: "PS/3s at Best Buy!!!!" and off I went again. This time, I barely skimmed the page (just enough to confirm it was the 60 Gig model, and note the price) and added one to my cart. Then I started the checkout, sure that everything depended on how quickly I could get through that sucker!!

Several minutes later....

Let me just say that I really hate bad UI's, and this one was a stinker. I naturally had to create an online account first, including name and address and credit card info, which I was able to do pretty quickly (I type faster, and with better accuracy, than anyone I know who isn't an admin assistant). It was interesting pulling out my wallet surreptitiously, so that I could get the credit card info off it, and yet no one seemed to notice. But I missed filling in my phone number, so after clicking "Continue", it informed me of my omission... and cleared out all of what I'd typed! I'm not sure how I concealed my gasp of horror from the throng around me, but somehow I did. I then managed to re-enter all the data again, requiring one more trip into the wallet, and got to the checkout.

By this time, I'm figuring there's zero chance the unit's still reserved for me, but I'd come this far so I might as well click "Order" and receive the "Sorry, that item is no longer available" message.

Instead, miraculously, I got a "Your order is confirmed. Please keep this order number for your records" message! I could scarcely believe my eyes! I quickly typed up an e-mail to Vicki and my boss (the latter of whom was sitting across from me in the meeting) that simply read "Think I just ordered a PS/3 online from Best Buy!" I had to type it out to someone, just to read the words back in the hope that somehow that'd help it sink in.

When the call ended, and the meeting was breaking up, I said, "Well, that was the best meeting ever. I bought a PS/3 online in the middle of it!" And much laughter ensued. (The fact that I work in a company where the news that someone spent a few minutes in an important meeting ordering a gaming console online was a source of amusement and good cheer, speaks volumes for why I'm still there!)

Since then, I've been congratulated by a few, have thanked those who were sending the e-mails, and gotten somewhat over my disbelief. I don't know when I'll receive the little bundle of joy, as I chose the standard shipping - it was the default choice, for Pete's sake! - and I suspect that could mean anything from a couple days to a week or more (given the holiday volumes of mail). When I got home, I had a confirmation voicemail awaiting me, that I had to call back on to complete the transaction (which I've done).

It was certainly one of the more surreal experiences I've had while in a work meeting. And I may still wake up in the morning to realize it was all a dream, but for now: I've lovin' it!