Flushing, NY. 101 degrees. 6 hours on Monday.

I just had to go on a shopping spree in the blistering heat. But my adventure was not for naught. I came back with treasures. Many, many treasures.

First Stop: CitiBank
Money is a good thing, especially when it buys things. I had a couple of checks to cash in, so why not kill two movies made by David Boone with one stone (birds are nice, movies made by David Boone are not)? So I walked about a quarter of a mile from my stepmom's clothing store. I wore slippers, a white T-shirt, brown and crackle-printed jeans, and a stylish haircut. Because that's the way I fly.

I made my way up the stairs where all the bank tellers were and I stood in line. For twenty minutes. Yummy. Thankfully, there were idle parents and naughty children around, so I kept myself entertained at the chaos. When it was finally my turn, I walked up to a old, Chinese woman, who had years of bank telling wrinkled into her forehead. I think I exhanged about two words with her, but that was all that was needed. I was done in twenty seconds. Short and sweet. Just like old, Chinese women bank tellers. (And if you think this is a sexual joke, shame on you.)

Second Stop: GameStop.
This was the only gaming retail store in all of Flushing, so why not check this out first before I hack away at all the secret Chinese stores? Wonderful to note, after walking another quarter of a mile, GameStop's air conditioner was broken. How retail store of you.

My first order of business was to wonder around the store as if I was an interested customer and then snatching all of the DS games I could find. I eyed the Nintendo DS Lite boxes with white "New $129.99" stickers all over them, and I drooled over the thought of wrapping my hands over a new console. Someone stole (I lost) my GameBoy in Mexico when I was young, so I was until today, in a state of perpetual mourning. So much drama.

After reeling in copies of Mario Kart DS, Nintendogs: Dashchund and Friends, and Brain Age, I then meandered over to the PS2 section for some more tantalizing flavors. I picked the cherry-flavored Street Fighter Alpha Anniversary and the pomegranate-flavored Ico. Because I like pomegranates. Like a basket of fruit, I lugged the games to the register. And of course, there was bad news. They had run out of Nintendo DS Lite's yesterday. How retail store of you.

Here I was with about a $300 purchase, regretting wearing pants that were tighter than a geisha in this heatwave, and you have the audacity to place Nintendo DS Lite boxes with white "New $129.99" stickers in my immediate vision and tell me that there are none left! Thankfully, the wealth of stupidity, anger, and regret surrounding me only made me laugh.

Ha, ha, ha.

But it seemed that this was just that kind of day, and being the empathizer that I am, I realized that the GameSpot employees were going through the same thing. Except they couldn't leave the store for "enter random store as long as it has air conditioning" pitstops. I found that it was far better to have a conversation with them, then kicking people in the groin. So opening with "I hate you all," I got into a nice talk about various gaming things like when so-and-so was coming out. Eventually, they urged me to go to KBGames just next door, so I had them keep my basket of fruit on hold.

Third Stop: KBGames
This was a quickie. They didn't have any Nintendo DS Lite's, either. Okay, I lied. This wasn't a quickie. They had a working air conditioner. So, I looked around for about ten minutes without really looking around. And then I left.

Fourth Stop: GameSpot
Whatever. Back into the frying pan, I sweated back to the register. And I purchased the PS2 games. But wait! They had a "special" deal. How retail store of you.

I could purchase one more used game (Burnout: Revenge) for free if I got a suscription of Game Informer. It wasn't particularly a bad deal, since I had Game Informer before, and I just didn't get a new suscription while I moved back and forth from college. So I took the deal and left.

Fifth Stop and More: Secret Chinese Combo
My search for a Nintendo DS Lite continues (expect many "went"s). I travelled to Busy Mall, went to the next-to-last store called GameTopia, but it was closed. I then went to Plaza Mall but the gaming store in the basement was gone. I then went to the shopping mall below Hong Kong Supermarket, but the gaming store had turned into a Yu-Gi-Oh! card store. Yay. Finally, I waddled back to my stepmom's shopping store and I checked the last store. And just like the first store in this section of my life, it was closed.

I was heartbroken. I looked at my dwaddling plastic bag, took a few things out, and flipped through a couple of pages of Game Informer. I drank a bottle of Poland Spring. I wandered around the store. Nothing worked. I had to make a last-ditch effort. I had to not be lazy and complain about the heat. So after twenty minutes of rest, I left.

Ninth Stop: Final Chinese Hei-ya!
I remembered a back outlet on Main Street that was about five blocks up. Fighting through the gauntlet of bickering customers, I found my feet red and almost sunburned. But I only remembered the general location of the store. I went on my memories as I shifted through outlet mall through outlet mall, all liitered with Chinese characters, of which I have little understanding. Then I looked up.

There, above the street, was a sign that said "Games". Aha! Hungrily, I rushed into the mall, welcomed by an air-conditioned breeze. The store was on the left-hand-side and was grievously small. Still, shelves of games lined the store as if it was wallpaper and two SNK arcade machines, complete with chairs, sat in front of the store as focal points. A few customers occupied the seats and browsed the store, so it took a while to find my way to the counter.

After asking for a Nintendo DS Lite, the old woman who knew little English called for her daughter. She looked twelve but I guess she was seventeen. Fortunately, she said that there was one left. Horray! Kickflips and energy fireballs!

But there was a catch. I had to buy three games with it and the DS Lite cost $150 instead of $130. After a little bartering, I was able to get it down to $140 dollars with two games, which actually wasn't bad. The store raises the price of its consoles so that it can sell its games at a much lower than retail. Both of the games were five to ten dollars less so the deal broke even.

Good! The happy DS was mine! Tha happy stylus was mine! The happy emergency stylus was mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! I became an annoying kid right away. All maturity - out of the window.

Tenth Stop: GameStop, Again
Well, not really. I actually picked up a bottle of Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Shampoo with "More Lather". It was ten bucks, but its cleansing power is spectacular and it doesn't irritate the scalp. Anyway, I didn't get Mario Kart DS in the original deal, so I got it here. Finally, my adventure was over and though I sit here right now, with my feet still healing from the blisters and sunburns, I am trying to teach my Siberian Husky Nintendog to "Beg!"

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	bluberry - August 06, 2006 (04:15 PM) I am ashamed. And haha, I thought I was the only one who dove into random stores with AC when I'm out walking on shitty days. Normally I start sweating like a pig after a mile or so if it's blazing, but with frequent pit stops I can last for two or three!