Best (not) Buy

Hit the land of retail yesterday, looking for a few travel aids. My new palm Z22 needed a cover or case. And I was keeping an eye out for a new laptop bag to fit my wider screen laptop and had sufficient room to travel.

First stop, Office Depot, where I was told "We no longer carry PDAs". Really? Wow..... I had picked out a laptop bag but I put it back, figuring if I was going elsewhere I'd do a bit more shopping.

The nearby Best Buy was the next stop. I asked about PDAs and cases near the MP3 players and smartphones - the young guy was fairly unhelpful. First he told me they did not carry them, which was funny because I had bought my new Palm there (via the internet). Then they were not in his department, maybe in computers, but he was not allowed to go over there. After wandering around computers a while, I found the PDAs, but no cases. Finally, I found something suitable over in cameras - a small flat (and surprisingly stylish) sleeve that maybe fits a thin camera but perfectly fit the PDA as well. I also found a small case for my new camera.

The I went to find a laptop bag. Both Office Depot and Best Buy had multiple display areas for laptop bags. Which was weird and confusing - in both stores I looked through the briefcase and bag area and came up empty - only to stumble upon a second display with different product, near the laptops, where I found something suitable. I was looking for something a bit more stylish and chickish, but I settled on a clunky but practical bag. I spend too much time in basements and electrical rooms, and carry too much gack around to opt for something too nice. Maybe if I find something on sale I can get a bag for dress-up......or get some yoga gack to decorate this one.

Once I made my selections, off to the register, where one poor soul was ringing folks up. As the line began to swell, other blue shirted Best Buy employees walked by the registers, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the customers. There were lots of folks on the floor, but nobody made a move towards the registers or showed any sign of calling a manager to ask for assistance. I said to the woman behind me "apparently, they do not REALLY want our money...."

After a bit of a wait, I finally was able to checkout. So I head to the airport this morning with a new bag. I'm sure it will take me no time at all to fill it up with essential junk, contributing to the scoliosis that no amount of yoga can correct.....