I wrote this while waiting in line for the iPad 2 last week.
This is the ridiculousness. I'm #196 in line for an iPad 2. They tell us that they'll have enough. That I'll definitely be getting one. That is all I wanted to hear. That is all I want.
I drank a bit last night. Not to excess, but enough to make me exhausted. Despite my intention to stay awake til 1am and order them online to avoid the release-day lines, I valued some quality sleeping time instead. I passed out around 10:30pm consciously deciding that trying to force myself to order an iPad at 1am would be an unneccisary waste of effort. I could just order one online in the morning.
Then morning rolls around. I roll over in bed and launch the Apple Store app - an app I've really only used to schedule appointments at the Genius Bar so far. I tell it that I want an iPad. It says, "Great, that'll be 2-3 weeks".
2-3 weeks? Are you serious?
I'm normally a very patient man. I can rationalize waiting for most things. A new game coming out? It's okay; a month after release Amazon will likely have it in a GoldBox deal for 50% off. I can wait a month on that bet. Late to be somewhere? No sense in getting all worked up about it now, the car I'm in or the bus I'm waiting for won't be getting here any sooner if I'm stressing about it. And if something happens a little later, no big deal.
I don't know if Amazon Prime has set my expectations for 2-day delivery for all online purchases too high, or if Apple has the marketing ability to send me back into the mindset of a 7-year-old weeks before Christmas. Whatever it is, 2-3 weeks isn't cutting it. I wanted it and I wanted it NOW.
I start thinking tactically. How can I get what I want as soon as possible. I could just order it online. Fuck the wait; I wanted the first iPad when it came out but I decided to wait. I could wait another few weeks and get exactly what I want without another thought.
This is the cool, rational, planning me. This me makes sense.
But the 7-year-old yells "THAT'S STILL THREE GODDAMN WEEKS AWAY".
He's a cranky one.
The alternative is to go to an Apple store, wait in an epic line, and hope they have the model & accessories I want in stock. That spawns all kinds of other questions. How early should I try to go stand in line to secure my spot? What if they don't have the version I want? What if the line doesn't move fast enough (I'm supposed to grab dinner & a movie with my girlfriend tonight)?
BUT YOU HAVE TO GO THATS THE ONLY WAY I CAN GET IT NOOOOWWWW.
Or, I could go in next Tuesday morning. The Apple store is right by Kathryn's place and if you get there when they open they might have just gotten a new shipment...
TUESDAY IS NOT NOW I WANT IT NOOOOWWWW
And so, here I am. Like a tired mother giving her kid whatever he wants if it will just stop him from kicking and screaming and give me a moment of peace for once. A block away from the Apple store (that's how long the line is), seated on cold concrete, typing on my laptop.
And I've still got an hour to kill.
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