A Wii for me (well, maybe a little for R, too)

Although the A&R household had always been planning on getting a Wii, the time frame about when we would get one rapidly changed this week from "In January, when we can just walk in and buy one" to "We need one now!" On Friday, I went around to the local stores to see if they had any in stock (not a chance), and by the end of the day we were actually considering camping out in front of the stores on Sunday to get one as soon as they started selling the new shipments. Playing on a friend's Wii sated the desire somewhat, but by late last night we decided to go stand in line anyway.

We were planning on being very casual about the whole affair, arriving at Circuit City at 9 to see how long the line was, maybe checking out Best Buy, and going home if there wasn't a chance that we would get one. R, however, woke up very early this morning filled with nervousness and anticipation, and by 6:30 he convinced me to drag my sleepy body out of bed to go stand in line. After the usual cold shower, I was actually fairly alert and even a bit eager to get a Wii.

R decided to check how prospective Wii owners were faring all over the country, and was dismayed to find that many had arrived hours early only to not get a system. Alas! We raced over to Circuit City, where there was already a fairly sizable line. We were resigned to wait it out and take our chances when we heard another person say that their wife was in line at the nearby Target are there were still more Wiis that people in line. In a flash, R gave me the car keys and I raced over to Target, where soon found myself in possession of Ticket 45 (out of a grand total of 55). I called R, and he walked on over, getting there just in time to pay for the system himself. We went home, set up the console, and by the time we usually would be getting up, we were playing Wii Sports.

I have to give kudos to all the people at Target and Circuit City that lined up this morning. Everyone was nice and willing to help each other, all recognizing how ridiculous it was to be lined up this early in the morning to buy something. When the guy first said that there were more Wiis over at Target, I initially suspected that he was just trying to get people out of line at Circuit City, however he was in fact just being a really nice guy. When R left to go join me at Target, people in line were cheering and congratulating him. As we were finally in the store, lined up to buy our Wiis, someone actually gave another person in line the extra Wiimote he had grabbed (there were only a few), since the second guy was getting this system for his kids and needed the Wiimote more. All in all, there were many sparkling examples of altruistic behaviour this morning. Good job, people. You all kick ass!