Switched

NO FUN AND SOME GAMES: So, there are a number of avid gamers in this household. People interested in technology and the latest gaming system, most especially if it's a Nintendo product.

Today, the Nintendo Switch was released.

It was kind of a big deal.

We didn't succesfully score a Switch during the pre-order phase, which was a huge bummer. So, I've had my finger on the pulse of the day of launch sale options. 

I worked all the angles, had all the right browser tabs open at the appointed time(s). Nine p.m. East Coast last night meant midnight to us, and 12:01 meant 3/3, the day of release.

All four of us were working the angles. Imagine the jubilation when my tap tap tapping led to scoring a unit via Walmart.com. We had a Switch, signed, sealed and supposed to be delivered by March 7!  Woo hoo!

This morning we went about our business, and about 8:30 were readying to leave for CJ's ortho appointment when I saw an email letting me know our order with Walmart had been canceled. "

Oh. MyGod. Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?

Last night I was all ready to do the midnight rodeo or early a.m. getting in line thing if I had to, but we didn't 'cause we had ours (hahahaha not really, apparently), via Walmart.com.

I said MANY MANY MANY bad words when I got their ridiculous email.

Do you want to know how you don't want to spend your Friday morning? 

You do not want to spend your Friday morning on the phone with Walmart 'customer service,' trying to get an item you ordered. It is Very Not Fun.

I won't bore you with the details. The bottom line was (of course) despite being 'escalated' to higher tiers of 'help,' there was no real help. I got a $25 Walmart gift cert and many, many 'sorry' statements. Pretty hard to play a game on that platform.

As soon as I resigned myself to the fact that was a lost cause, I weighed my options for scoring the hottest item on the planet on this given day. My last and only hope was Amazon's Treasure Truck. We're lucky to live in a city where a magical Treasure Truck roams neighborhoods passing out amazing things you want so badly. Like lobster. And Nintendo consoles.

Realizing the Treasure Truck often has the hottest, bestest stuff, I quickly texted Kennedy and Christian asking them to be on the lookout for a Treasure Truck text. Meanwhile, I (on my forever awful and unstable phone) downloaded the Amazon Shopping app. It was about 9:45 and I knew that Treasure Truck text notifications go out at 10 a.m. The download was so s-l-o-w! It finally happened and I launched the app, and looked for the Treasure Truck link.

I clicked on it and it said 'today on the truck ...'

OMG. It was the Nintendo Switch. THE. NINTENDO. SWITCH. 

Yes, please. 

I poked at my cell phone screen and tried to order one. 

And it worked. 

Wow. 

By some stroke of luck, I got the unit before the blast text even went out to all the world! 

What's even more amazing is that Kennedy got one too thanks to my frantic/hurried "OMG Igotonefromethetreasure turkc" text. He hopped on ahead of the text, too!

We went to a spot outside Google and Adobe Seattle HQ to pick the unit up.

As an added bonus, the kids each got to shoot an arrow at a gnome to win a Fremont (Theo) chocolate bar. 

After we left there, we went to Fred Meyer and scored the last two "The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild" games for the new Nintendo Switch. 

We met Kennedy in Queen Anne this afternoon, passing off one of the Zelda games in the middle of the street via opened car windows while barely moving. It might have looked a bit sketchy at the time, but he was happy the 'deal' went down.

Shortly thereafter, the kids got their system all set up, much to their delight.

Overall, today was one of those 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times' days.

Meanwhile, in my back seat. ...