The digital camera saga (Part 3)

When I finally called the Ithaca Target store, a somewhat angry woman took the call and sullenly went out into the aisles to see how many cameras sat on the peg hooks. I found out there were two cameras in the store. Whew! Okay, now if I wait to drive out there on Saturday everything will turn out okay, right? But, what happens if someone swoops in and buys BOTH cameras? What then? And,... Cornell and Ithaca College were starting their Spring Semesters soon, students would be coming back soon. What's a $100 camera to someone who pays $30,000+ per year for tuition? They could drop $200 for two cameras without blinking, for the most casual reason. They could do it as part of a Fraternity prank or make some kind of silly scientific experiment that required two cameras for some reason. Obviously my mind was racing a million miles per hour thinking about how I could get screwed out of getting the camera exchanged.

For three days I worried, until Saturday finally came. I kept thinking about contingency plans. If I couldn't find the camera to exchange, should I buy a different camera? Would I be willing to buy a $200 camera, a $300 camera. I don't even own one for myself. How selfless would it be to buy such an expensive camera for my girlfriend. Anways, at 8:30 that Saturday I started driving down to Ithaca. And it started snowing, just like they had predicted two days prior. But I ignored the reports. I figured if I don't get this done NOW, I'll worry the whole rest of the weekend. This is one of my biggest character flaws. I will do something just to fulfill my will at a given time after procrastinating for a long period of time. I was going to get this thing done once and for all THIS SATURDAY even if it meant risking my life. Which is exactly what I did as I drove down Route 96 to Ithaca, NY.

The snow on the Thruway wasn't bad, but the slush was forming up pretty badly. Then when I got off the Thruway, things got worse, as I travelled farther south. Between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake Route 96 runs through some very rural farm land. Seneca County road crews were not out at 9:30am that morning. The snow was so thick on the road and the farm fields, I sometimes lost track of where the F'ing road was. I started to cry because I was felling the stress. There were NO CARS out on the road except for me. I couldn't follow anyone on the road. It was just me. I worried about sliding, spinning out, going into a ditch it was hazardous. Then I wondered why I hadn't just tried driving to Ithaca the same day I called to see if they had the camera in stock. WHY, WHY, WHY oh Why didn't I just drive on Wednesday rather than stake all my hopes on Saturday.

It took 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to Ithaca (normally a 2 hour drive under safe, normal conditions). I had pee so bad, it hurt. So even when I pulled into the parking lot, I knew I had to find a bathroom. So before I could even go down to the electronics dept. at Target, I had to walk all the way down to the middle of the Mall to the food court where the big public bathrooms were. That was a big relief, but it didn't relieve my anxiety one bit over whether or not the cameras were still there. I hadn't called back since Wednesday. Knowing my luck, someone might have come in that same morning and bought both cameras. When I finally got back to Target, and walked down, I looked around hoping, hoping hoping that the cameras would be there. I just figured, it's now or never. If they're not there, it just wasn't meant to be. I was not meant to have the camera.

I worried, and worried and looked up and down the peg hooks and Voila, there were TWO cameras on the same peg hook. I looked around to see if they had any other NHJ cameras and sure enough they had others there. It was a wealth of cheap cameras whereas Rochester had a dearth of cheap cameras. It still makes no sense to me how they decide what to stock in a given sales region. So now, I thought, should I just exchange the camera? I had been on the Target website all during the week thinking I could just buy another camera, but this camera was out of stock online. I was worried they discontinued it altogether. I couldn't believe how unlucky I was, and how difficult this was becoming. So I decided if two cameras were there the day I arrived at the Target in Ithaca, then I would exchange one camera, and BUY THE REMAINING CAMERA! Why? I figured if this thing was being discontinued, I wanted extra insurance against my girlfriend's camera failing a second time. I was a fan of the camera anyway, I wanted to buy it for myself. So why not get one now before it was gone altogether?! If her camera failed, I would gladly let her use mine as a substitute, and then make arrangements for replacement as time allowed. That way she wouldn't EVER be without a camera unless both cameras failed altogether. So I grabbed both cameras, and went to the service desk to get satisfaction.

I presented my receipt, I presented the new camera, and the old broken camera. The service attendant asked if I had the original box. I said no,.. but knew that based on prior experience with the Henrietta Target store, they need that box more than anything in the world, because they cannot get their money back unless the product is a complete boxed product. The packaging on these cameras is typical peg hook style blister packs with the edges thermally welded shut. You cannot open them without destroying them utterly. However this desk attendant knew exactly what to do, she gingerly cut across the top just enough to wedge her hand in the new camera box, and pull out the new camera. She then got the contents of the old camera in that same box. Brilliant job! She did great, and I wasn't the least bit surprised or angry that I didn't have the box. I knew that they wouldn't exchange cameras without the box.

I then went to the regular checkout counter and bought the second camera. Woo hoo! Almost home free now. I had made arrangements earlier to visit my mother on the way back since I was in the neighborhood anyway. Driving from Ithaca to where she lives was a little hazardous, but nothing like the murderous danger I faced in Seneca County on Route 96. In fact just as I drove out North Lansing, there was a van in the ditch. The roads were way safer and better maintained in Cayuga County. And I made it Mom's house safely and without incident. By the time I drove home everything was back to normal. I had finally resolved the Christmas gift problem once and for all time. Thus ended the digital camera saga.