My very awesome parents gave me a Nintendo Wii for my birthday. We’ve wanted one for a while, but either their unavailability or buyer’s guilt (“we should spend money on the baby“) had prevented us from purchasing one in the past. I was so excited when I unwrapped the Wii that I held it above my head and cheered in victory. It reminded me of when Kyle and I got our first Nintendo twenty-two years ago.
The game that comes with the console, Wii Sports, is fun, but I mastered all the games very quickly. I set my sights on the Wii Fit – you know, one of those games that promises to make you a “better person.” Of course, this game was even harder to acquire than the Wii itself. Normally, with so much on my plate, I’d forget about something like a video game. But for some reason, this game stuck in my craw. I wasn’t going to let Nintendo and their cleverly crafted Wii Fit shortage get the best of me.
I started calling around to different Target and Best Buy stores, asking if the game was in stock and when they planned on getting another shipment. I called about 15 stores every morning, and the surly worker on the other end always said, “uuuuh no Wii fits in stock, uuuuuuh no I dunno when we’ll get more thank you for calling Target/Best Buy.” Until Saturday. I convinced Mike to call our local Best Buy, as I was pretty certain the switchboard operator recognized my name. She told Mike that they were expecting a shipment of Wii Fits the next day. Yes!
My brother advised me to arrive at Best Buy about an hour before the store opened. When I protested, he said that most likely there would be employees outside handing out vouchers. I got there at 9am on the dot (please, no one tell my boss I can arrive at Best Buy an hour early when I am perpetually 35 minutes late to the office), and was dismayed to see 14 people already in line. I took my place at the end and sat down with my magazine. It helped me pass the time, but I wish it had been about 100 pages longer. The second I looked up from the magazine, the video game nerds swooped in for the kill.
The guy to my right was in his late 30’s, and he kept trying to talk to me. Because I am always polite to new people, I smiled and nodded my head as he told me about how he and his brother drove all over looking for the Wii and Wii Fit before they found out about this location. “We came all the way from South Orange County!” I replied back, “you drove more than 75 miles for a video game?!” He looked at me with a solemn face, “YES.”
The guy to my left interjected, “I live around here!!! I didn’t have to come from far!!!” I looked at him and said, “Yay?” Then the guy on the other side of him said, “I have so many Wii games and I had to buy a new coffee table and my new coffee table has drawers and lazy susans and all kinds of secret compartments for all my wii games and controllers!” He was so proud. I said, “wow, a new table, huh? Did your wife make you get it?”
“Oh, uh, I’m not married. I want the Wii Fit because I hear it drives the ladies wiiiiild. Does it drive you wiiiiild?”
I started to think that maybe I didn’t want the Wii Fit. Having to witness nerds trying to flirt was much more painful than I ever could have anticipated.
Fifteen minutes before the store opened, I realized that no one from Best Buy had handed out vouchers like my brother had predicted. I started to get nervous. In my vast queue experience, there is usually a place-holder, and then people that swoop in to join them, cutting the line. If there were only 15 games and someone cut, I would be the first loser. Sure enough, a car pulled up and a girl hopped out and found her friend, who just happened to be ahead of me. I watched her carefully. She tried to pretend she was just keeping her friend company, but then she slipped under the rope (Best Buy had us corralled) when she thought no one was looking. She was wrong. The nerds around me started to fret. My nerds. I couldn’t have that.
I screamed, “Where are your manners, bitch!” The entire line went silent and 70 nerd heads whipped my way, including the head of the cutter. “Yes! YOU!!! YOU CUT! NO CUTTING!!!!!!” and I pointed right at her. She stared at me, then slowly walked to the back of the queue. Three Best Buy employees had picked that precise moment to come out to the line. They looked at me and I said, “You have to regulate! Hand out vouchers or secure the line! This is ridiculous!” The employees conferred with each other, and a couple minutes later one of them started walking the line, taking names and handing out vouchers. When they got to me, one guy said, “oh, we know your name – The Yeller!” Very funny Best Buy Dude. Just give me my voucher.
Yelling at that girl paid off. I got my voucher, and exchanged it 20 minutes later for my very own Wii Fit. Shiny.
The lesson? Don’t cut in front of me and my nerds. I’m short but I’m mighty. Mighty loud.
Rebecca says:
Where are your manners bitch? What a line! I intend to use it.
Anna Marie says:
I LOVE IT! You have Nintendo nerds all over California bowing down to you right now. Truly, they are not worthy. =)
Anna Maries last blog post..Recipe of the Week
Midwest Mommy says:
Oh that is too funny. I totally would have done that too. I HATE that.
Let me know how the wii fit goes. I have one (I actually bought three the day they came out but no one I knew wanted the other 2 so I returned them). I was good about doing it in the beginning but now it just sits
Midwest Mommys last blog post..Cahoots! I tell you!
Danielle says:
You crack me up, Crazy Yeller Lady!
Let us know how the Wii Fit is. With all the buzz, I’m curious…
Danielles last blog post..Dmitri
Maria says:
There is nothing quite as satisfying as busting ass on a cutter.
Wii fit! I want to get it after the baby. For when I’m up for playing Wii fit. LOLOLOLOLOL.
Marias last blog post..I like fireworks.
Allison says:
That is hilarious!! I hate line cutters and I’m so glad you stood up for yourself and the nerds!
Allisons last blog post..10 weeks to go…
Jennifer says:
Ew–nerds flirting! I’ve busted a few line-cutters in my day and it’s a great feeling! How is it I have 4 boys and still no Wii? I’m obviously going to have to start waiting in some lines…
Jennifers last blog post..Well I’ve Hit A New Low
Bec says:
Ummah!! Dude! That’s so geeky!
Baby B says:
Baby A and I sat in line at some ridiculous hour in the morning waiting for Harry Potter 7 vouchers at Borders, and there were still 30 people in line ahead of us. We feel your pain.
Oh yeah, then we returned to Borders later that night (in costume), hung out at the celebration, got our books at 12:15 am.
Nerd much?
Baby Bs last blog post..Two Camps, Or Watch While I Attempt To Climb Back On The Wagon
maya says:
Hey- one of those nerds may have very well been my brother. Or could have been since he is quite the nerd.
Love how you called her out.
I hear that wii fit is awesome! but youll probablyuse it for amonth and never look at it again.
ali says:
hahah. the way you wrote wiiiild makes me think of one thing only…the scene in Dirty Dancing..
“you’re wild”
“what?”
“YOU’RE WIIIIILLLLD!”
Baby seriously was such a loser. that’s almost as bad as her “i carried a watermelon”
okay…i think i need some coffee..
(ps. am dying for a wii fit…but i’m terrified to have it weigh me! and put it out there! for everyone to see!)
alis last blog post..memory is a gift. cherish it.
cindy w says:
That is awesome, I LOVE that you called out the line cutter. I could only do that if the husband wasn’t with me, because his British manners would’ve been horrified.
I’m planning to get a Wii Fit after we move. Right now it’d just be one more thing to put in a box.
Oh, and I work in IT, so I’ve been the only girl in the room with like 20 nerd boys a few times in my life. The nerd flirting is so painfully awkward, you kind of want to tell them “dude, no. For your sake and mine, just stop.”
CaraBee says:
All hail the Nerd Queen! Defender of video game queues everywhere!
I am actually quite jealous of your Wii Fit because I desperately want one but the hubby decided PS3 was the better purchase. Um, no.
CaraBees last blog post..Hours Days Months Years
mommybootcamp says:
I love it.. I’m sitting here laughing out loud.. Your blogs ROCK.. Keep us posted on how the Wii Fit is..
Nanette says:
I hate line cutters, too! You, my friend, are most awesome!
Nanettes last blog post..BlogHer preparedness
Anissa @ Hope4Peyton says:
You are so coming with me the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping if I have to tie you up in Wii controller cords and muffle your screams with a bag of Twinkies.
Last year a woman tried to get into Target before opening…all “I’m pregnant and I have to pee!”…NO SHIT, her “baby bump” fell out before she crossed the threshold.
Anissa @ Hope4Peytons last blog post..When post-its are better than boys
Aunt Becky says:
I’m totally (eventually) getting one. And I will cut a bitch who messes with me.
Aunt Beckys last blog post..You Look Like A Monkey, And Smell Like One Too.
dana says:
Way to go, Heather!! I’m such a pansy.
Jimmy says:
I can sadly say that I have waited in line for many video games and system launches. I hate when people cut in line during those times but I never say anything. I don’t care enough in those situations. I will yell at someone at McDonald’s that ruins the single line that the people form with 2 registers open. Yes, there are 2 registers but we devised a way to move the line faster for everyone. Oh and one other thing, I did spend the better part of a day waiting in line for a game while I was out of state before.
Kevin says:
Great blog! Really enjoyed your story of waiting in line with the “nerd herd” and how you told off the line-cutter.
We have a Wii and Wii Fit purely by chance. We had been looking for one for a while but weren’t so die hard as to wait in line in front of the store before it opened. Then, one day, my wife was walking past the video game store in the mall as they opened a new box of the Wii consoles and started putting them on the shelves. She quickly snatched one and took it to the cashier to check out. We instantly liked the Wii Fit and have used it a lot. Our two boys like the balance games.
Oh, make sure you stand back from your TV!
I look forward to reading more about your Wii Fit adventures.
Kevins last blog post..Ahhhh, sweet Georgia…
Susie says:
THAT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD. Please tell me you really called her out as a bitch. LOVE IT!
Susies last blog post..Not Always The Thought That Counts