Apple; Making Adults Feel Like Kids Again.
A Second can seem like an eternity.
It was late afternoon that Friday in March. The weather was warm, there was a slight breeze coming up from the ocean and sun was starting to fade as we got closer to 5pm.
Nation wide, Apple was to release its newest version of the IPAD2 at 5pm sharp. No sooner and no later, would the sale of this magnificent product go on sale.
Like many others, I got off work early that day only to most certainly wait in line for my new gadget. I thought I would give myself an hour before release time, thinking that would easily put me towards the front of the line. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong.
101, 102...112, 113. There I was. Staking my place, 114th in line. Certainly no where near the front and by 5pm, i was nowhere near the back. I was no right in the middle of it.
I could not see the front from where I was, but I could certainly tell when the doors opened, as the line took a big step forward and everyone almost instantly became a backpack to the person in front of them. As I inched forward to the finish line, I was approached by 2 of the 20 or so gentlemen keeping this "event" in check. "Which I Pad were you going to purchase today sir." I quickly and eagerly stuttered the words, "Uhhh... Thu..thu..the, Thee The Black, 32 gig WIFI only model." Whew. There I said it.
The young gentlemen followed a line down the paper with his pen and came to the only box left in the "32 gig black WIFI only" section that did not have a check mark in it. The young man stopped, looked at me, and repeated once again the model and type that I requested. The second in which it took to process the question he had asked me, to the time I spewed out the simple answer of "That's the one", seemed like an eternity. We're they out of those models? Did they no longer have it in black? Would I have to pay more or less money for another model that I don't really want, but there is no way in hell I am leaving here without an IPAD2 since I have been waiting in line for over an hour and I have been waiting for this day for over a week now and......
"OK SIR. Here is your Ipad Guarantee Sheet. Congratulations and Enjoy"
When the voices stopped.
Upon receiving that piece of paper, I was confident the end was near. After waiting in like for almost 2 hours at this point, the front of the door must be close right. Once i turned the corner, I realize how wrong i was. If you notice in the picture to the left, the turn I made was at the very far left edge of the building. Clearly I had some time to kill.
At just after 6pm, the win had picked up, then sun was going down and I was freezing. I politely asked the people being and in front of me to "save my spot" as I needed to get a jacket. I knew in my mind that I clearly had enough time to walk home and back to get that sweater before I got to the door, but for some reason I ran. I ran like I've never ran before. I can't explain the excitement that was running through my body that day. All over a piece of metal with glass and plastic parts inside of it. Even though my car was parked 1/2 a mile away, I was back in line, snug as button, in a shade under 3 seconds.
There was definitely a buzz around us all as we slowly inched our way to the door. Everyone was laughing, people were making new friends and the people coming out of the store with new IPads were receiving applause! Life was good! Then, all of the sudden, a sudden hush came over the crowd as everyone turned to look at the back of the line. I like to compare the moment to sitting on the doc of a lake at dusk and hearing the millions of crickets stop singing there songs, all at once. As I turned around, I quickly realized that the line behind me had gotten dramatically shorter. So much so that there were only 12 people behind me now. Me, being the naive newbie Ipad buyer that I was, instantly thought that all those people simply got fed up with waiting in line.
We all know, that was not the case.
Is there a ride at the end of this line?
"Whatever you do, don't waist your money on the added stuff they are going to try and sell you! Take the scratch resistant screen cover. You can get that on-line on EBay, for like 6 bucks." Before I replied to my new friend I made in line, I thought to myself, "Wow, I barely made it. I was almost cut off from the rest of my platoon! The sea of people, that were once clinging on for dear life in line behind me, were now gone. Had the sharks got em'? I wondered as I turned back around to respond to my new friend.
"Six bucks huh!? Yeah, no worries bro. I'm here for one thing and one thing only. I'm not wasting a moment of my time with the bells n whistles. Just gimmie' my IPAD!"
It wasn't long into our accessories discussion that I soon realized that I had just barely made it. I was one of the few lucky ones that would get an Ipad today. Had I hit one more red light, gone down another street or searched for a closer parking spot, I might not be here right now. My quest could have been over before it even started. That wasn't the case though. I was here. I made it. I had survived. With just a six people standing in front of me before I too could enter the store, I realized, I had made it.
Next In Line.
As I took another step closer to my goal, It felt as if my chest was going to explode. I felt like a kid on Christmas. Remember that feeling you would get when you were just a young lad? We would wake up at the crack of dawn and run so fast to the Christmas tree to see what Santa had brought us, that our little feeties would barely touch the ground. Ok, Ok, I am 32 now and I still act that way on Christmas morning, but that is an entirely different blog.
I made it! I was next. I waited all this time to finally be first in line. Doesn't that sound strange? Anyways, it was my turn. I gazed back to the soldiers behind me. My head held hi. I felt as if they were looking to me as there leader. I was sure that at any moment they would all get down on there knees and bow to the almighty Chris. "I brought you this far my soldiers, the rest of the journey you must take on your own."
And with that, I was in.
Talk to the hand.
Just like a kid on Christmas, i felt as if i was sprinting into BestBuy, feverishly looking for that magical apple Christmas tree. My heart was pounding harder then ever now. App after app after app flew through my head. Which would be my first download? How will I organize my folders? Will I be the only one i personally know with an IPad2? If so, who will I face time with?
As the thoughts raced through my head I nearly slammed into a bunch of people waiting in line for god knows what. Who were these peons and why where they in the way of the almighty Chris? Don't they know who I am? Don't they know why I am here? As I eagerly tried to pass get around these people, a gentle, but firm hand, planted itself on my shoulder and began speaking in English. I looked at the hand I replied back. "How can I help you today good hand?" An honest chuckle bellowed out from the hands owner and replied, "The line is over hear."
"WHAT?" Wait. There must be some sort of mistake. I am here for the IPad2. I just waited in line for two and a half hours for it." To which the voice replied, "Yeah. The line is over hear." With a faint, but manly sigh, i took my place, yet again, at the back of the line. It wasn't very long before I realized that this line was very short. It didn't wrap around the entire store like I imagined it did upon first glance. No sir, this line was merely 20 people in length and was moving at a much quicker pace.
Turning machinery into art.
One after another they rejoiced. Each one expressing there own version of bliss and accomplishment. Some dancing, some screaming and others just simply held there new Ipad close to there chest and exited the store with a smile so big, it belonged on the moon.
Throughout this quest, my friend Ivet and I were texting each other status updates of our place in line, along with photos of our progress. It was through these photos that i saw I was clearly winning the Ipad race as I was inside the store, just steps from the finish line, while Ivet's photos were showing her progress, outside the store.
With just two people in front of me now, I found myself gazing at the wealth of accessories already available for the IPad2. If you remember earlier in the story I mentioned that "I was here only for the goods." Accessories smeshories right? WRONG!
The team that Steve Jobs has around him, building these spectacular products, is simply amazing. I honestly can't find the right words to express the genius's I consider him and his crew to be. Steve Jobs is not only the face behind apple, he is the brains. He alone has changed our computing lives, by injecting creativity into these amazing products. The new IPad2 Cover for lack of a better term, is Brilliant. I ask you this. When has a cover for ANYTHING looked good. The answer. NEVER!
Apple has revolutionized the way we find information, the way we capture memories and the way we connect with each other. Apple has turned a clunky piece of machinery and turned it into a work of art. A computer that is now proudly displayed in homes and not hidden away in some dark room. Computers as thin as a small book, that can be read as a book, sitting right there on your coffee table. Proud. Powerful....
NEXT!
As I'm sure many of you can attest, there are moments in time that seem to slow down to a crawl. By that I mean those present moments when everyone around you seems to be moving in slow motion, whatever noise has been polluting your eardrums is now gone and in the moment you feel like a god. I don't know how to explain it any better than that, but we've all had those moments in which we seem to conquer time and truly lose ourselves in that exact moment, instead of just droning through the day like usual. However, in that moment, right there in BestBuy, as everything around me slowed to a crawl and I could hear nothing but the beating of my own hear. In that exact moment i gazed up from ground and at the exact moment of making eye contact with the BestBuy customer service rep, I heard it. "NEXT!"
At 32 years of age, there are protocols you are supposed to follow, being that you are a man. When that one word so eloquently flowed from the mouth of that young woman, which pierced my eardrums as the song of angels, manhood went right out the window. From where I stood next in line, to the counter where my golden ticket would be cashed, was quite possibly 5-8 yards away. I didn't causally walk to the counter, like every other adult in the store was. No. Not me. When she so sweetly beckoned "NEXT", I was at the front of the counter before the (T) in N-E-X-T had left her mouth. I yelled out a big "YYEEEESSSSSS AAAAAHHHH FINALLY!!", and had my credit card and drivers license out for the transaction.
WINNER WINNER SHEEN DINNER!
Yes! Thank you for that Charlie Sheen! Anyways, as the initial shock wore off that I was finally standing in front of the counter where I would present my ticket and receive my IPad2, I looked around to see everyone in the area flat out staring at me. Did it bother me? Of course not. I was happy. I was excited. I was showing true and honest emotion for something I don't need, can absolutely live without and have no business spending $650 smackers on. I was buying myself something that I wanted. Something for me. Something for all my hard work. I was rewarding myself for being the awesome guy that I am, and you know what. It felt amazing.
Let them stair! At this point i would have broken into song and dance without the slightest bit of remorse.
As i typed in my super secret pin code on my debit card, the was a bit of a long pause. "Was I over my limit? Would the credit card company decline the transaction? Did I not have enough money in my ...." bzzit-bezzz-bzziit-zzeee-zziit-zeeet-bzzz-bzit.. And then the register started to throw up a purchase receipt so long, the customer service rep had to fold it 3 times before putting it into the bag. As I lunged for my product the lady that rung me up went into what seemed like the longest sshpeal about if I was to receive a call to please give her a 10 on customer service and that on my receipt I could enter a contest and win 5 Billion dollars just for my opinion, Blah blah blah. Believe me, that was the short version. In the complete state of shock i was in, I could not be rude and cut her off, when all i wanted to do was be home by now, playing with my amazing new toy. As I turned around, peoples heads once again turned to look at me as If I was so space alien with two heads and a tail. To appease them I dropped to my knees, kissed my new Ipad2, looked up, held it to the sky and said "FINALLY!" Everyone started to laugh and I even got a few rounds of applause for my performance.
Victory was ours that day my friends.
Upon exiting the BestBuy that night, I stopped and texted my good friend Ivet to see how she was doing in her quest for her IPAD2. I mostly wanted to gloat to be honest with you. Part of me didn't want to text as I would have been sad if she went through what I went through and was unable to finish on top. None the less I took multiple pictures with my new Ipad and sent her one proving that night who the victor in the race for the Ipad2 was. Since I was the first to send the picture, I had won. To this day I'm not sure if Ivet even knew there was a race, but there was. The fact that she didn't know about it isn't my fault. Its hers. I'm very competitive!
As I reached the exit doors, i took a gaze back into the store with my shoulders back, my head held hi and the weirdest sense of pride you could ever imagine. Basically I waited in line for hours for a new toy. Big deal right? Well, for some reason it meant the world to me and I was proud. I was one of the few to get the new Ipad 2 while millions of others to this point are still waiting for there's!
This was truly an experience all in its own. I met some great people in line and the entire experience was fun. There was no ride at the end of this crazy line. Just someone standing there waiting to take a bunch of money from me in exchange for a small box. I am not sure that I would ever do it again, as this was the first time I had ever wanted to be one of the first to get the new "thing". I am pretty sure once was enough, but an experience I thought everyone should go through at least once in there life. Waiting in line for my new IPAD2 was much like waiting in line for a concert. Everyone is there for the same reason. Everyone shares the same love, passion and excitement for this one thing. Hundreds of grown-ups, waiting in line, full of excitement and wonderment like children on Christmas morning.
Written By: Chris Petrini | march.2011
**All photos are property of their rightful owners. I do not own these photo and proudly admit that I have taken the time to link up to the original photo, giving its photographer proper credit. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.
**All photos are property of their rightful owners. I do not own these photo and proudly admit that I have taken the time to link up to the original photo, giving its photographer proper credit. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.
