An Xmas gift to me from the powers of fate.
Most days when I go out shopping, I know what I’m looking for. Sure, there are the times I want to wander around with no particular purchase in mind. And bumming around Akiba can be a great way to kill an afternoon. But on a busy day, I just want a “quick in, get what I want and get out” experience.
My goals today were threefold – plain, white T-shirts, a scanner and a memory card for my PSP. That’s it. Quick-n-easy.
It was the kind of shopping trip I tried to have on Sunday, but things didn’t work out that way.
I was under a time constraint due to having to meet up with Miyoko for Xmas dinner at her parents’ house. (More on that in another post.) I just wanted to hit up Sofmap for a used iSight camera I’d seen there a few days ago, and maybe finally break down and snag a 4 gig memory card for my PSP (which were down to Â¥15,800 recently). Should’ve been a quick trip.
It wasn’t quick enough.
Sofmap didn’t have the camera anymore. Dammit! I know better than to say “oh, I’ll get it next time I’m here” in Akiba, but I’d done it anyways. So I consoled myself with taking a look at used Mac minis.
Yes, I already have one that’s just over a year old, but it’s got a PowerPC chip and not an Intel Core Duo like the new ones. Why does that matter? The Intel-based ones can run Windows apps right alongside Mac ones. Very slick.
I took a look at what they had and found one I liked enough to part with the cash for it. I took the box up to the counter and the staff began to hunt for the machine in question. I kept looking at my phone (I don’t wear a watch anymore) and wishing they’d hurry up. It was taking them a while, so when I wasn’t looking at the time, I was looking at all the stock behind the counter they hadn’t put out yet.
Hey! An iSight!
I got one of the clerks to pause in her search and snag the camera for me, and I felt better about waiting, but not much. I really needed to go!
Finally one of the clerks came over to me and said, “you want Mac mini?”
Yes, I want Mac mini.
That would be the reason I handed you a Mac mini box while you were standing behind the register.
He then goes into a big sumimasen routine and shows me the tag on the box I’d given him.
It says “iMac.”
I wasn’t pissed at him, because I hadn’t caught it either, but goddamnit! It would’ve been a decent price for a mini and it had the specs I was after.
But I was pissed at whoever’d put the wrong tag on the box.
I paid for the iSight, so I wasn’t leaving empty-handed. Just not as full-handed as I’d have liked. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow…
And what a tomorrow it turned out to be!
As I said above, I was only after three things – plain, white T-shirts, a scanner and a memory card. (I’d seen the scanner during the mini hunt yesterday. Decent model, good price and I’d already downloaded the English software for it.)
My first stop was Don Quixote, a giant discount shop. Home of cheap T-shirts. On my way to the shirts I passed by the poster rack. Hey, I’ve been looking for a poster or two for the living room.
And man, did I find a poster:
Groovin!
I browsed around a bit more on my way to the clothing section, but nothing else caught my eye like that poster did. So I just got the T-shirts and headed over to Sofmap, home of incorrectly labeled computers.
Well, most of the time.
I didn’t expect to find anything good, since I’d just been in the store the day before, but I took a look at the minis just in case. Good thing I did! There was one on display that had better specs and a lower price than the “mini” I’d wanted yesterday. Not only that, but there was an extra Â¥10,000 off if purchased on Xmas day. Hmm, better machine, better price for about $170 less than I was going to pay yesterday.
Gee, should I buy it?
Hell yes, I should. And I did. ^.^
Cool poster, great deal on a new Mac – could the day have any more grand surprises in store for me?
Just one more…
My next stop was Akibaoo, where I normally shop for region-free DVD players and memory cards. Their price on the 4 gig PSP card was cheaper than anybody else’s, so they were the logical choice of where to pick one up.
No, not just logical.
Exceptional!
They’d marked the price down even further than when I’d seen it a couple days ago. Score!
Having learned my lesson, I didn’t think about coming back for it later.
The day’s shopping was complete.
Now, I normally have really good luck when I’m out shopping around for certain stuff. Part of it is knowing where to look for something, and part of it is luck. The luck was absolutely massive today. And I don’t see a streak like that coming along again anytime soon. Just as well, I suppose.
I couldn’t afford another one! ^.^