I came, I saw, I conquered...

Last night while I was on the reference desk, trying to stay awake, Mike called to say that he and Hank trekked to a local Target (one which Target.com indicated had the tv we wanted still in stock) and, well, it was out of stock. He was pretty cranky about this development. He said that Hank was exhausted and hungry, so they were packing it in for the night.

Despite my physical deterioration, I sprang into action. Frankly, it gave me some purpose on an extremely slow evening on the reference desk:

"Where's course reserve?"

"Right over there."

That was the extent of my patron interaction for the evening. Clearly, I had some time on my hands. I went back to Target.com, found our tv, and once again did a search for local Target stores that had it. It was still indicating that the store Mike and Hank had just been to had it, so naturally, my skeptical glasses came on. I found the next closest store that claimed to have it in stock, and called over there.

After suffering through several minutes of the automation system, I was patched through to Electronics. A rushed sounding high school student answered my call:

"Can you hold please?"

Sure. So I held, praying that no one would choose this moment to come to the desk. He came back, and I described my query.

"Huh. Let me check for you."

Several full minutes later, which included a full-out "Attention Target Team Members" request for back-up, he comes back on.

"We have one of those tv's left in the back."

Well. Clearly, I now had a mission and I was out to complete it successfully. I told him that I'd be there in just over an hour, after I got out of work, and signed off. I immediately called Mike, and we agreed that I should journey over to that Target location after my shift was over and try to snag that tv.

The tv in question is a Vizio 32" flat screen with 1080 pixels. Everything we were looking for, it got super reviews online, and it was marked down a full $80 this week at Target. I also had a coupon that would earn a $15 Target gift card with a qualifying purchase, of which the tv would be one. I was SO on top of this.

I hung up and glanced at the clock. I still had 45 minutes to go in my shift and I felt like I had ants in my pants. I nervously cleaned the reference desk and kept my hands busy until 7 pm mercifully rolled around. I put on my coat and zoomed out of the building. The Target in question wasn't that far away, but it was raining, traffic was slow, and many, many red lights lay before me. I was determined that nothing would stand in the way of me laying claim to My Future Television Set. I just felt it; he was going home with me.

I arrived at Target and leapt out of the car, faster than a speeding bullet. I made a beeline for Electronics and quickly sized up the situation. The beleaguered high school student was still there, as were many, many other Target shoppers. This one poor kid had a LOT of requests for his attention, and I was only going to make his shift that much more difficult. I stalked him carefully around the department and finagled my way into his view. He recognized my voice from the phone, and assured me he would have someone get the tv. I breathed an audible sigh of relief. I had to wait awhile while they fetched it, and he was all apologetic, but honestly, I didn't mind. So long as that tv was earmarked for me I didn't care if they all went out to a dinner party before ringing me out.

Finally, the big moment arrived and My New Television Set was wheeled out without a lot of fanfare. I made sure that it rang up as the sale price, and me and my tv were released into the wild.

Then came a tricky part. No Target Guy assisted me out to the car, and here's me with this giant television set box and a tiny Honda Civic to stuff it into. By myself. To add to the fun, it was raining. Hard. I pulled the cart up next to the car and prayed for the best. I opened the back door, grasped the box, and...nothing happened. The box was big, bulky, and wet, so it was slippery to boot. I put my gloves on for some traction and tilted the box differently. This time I got a better grip on it and was able to lift it. It actually wasn't that heavy, it was just awkward. I managed to work half of it onto the back set, shoved right and good, and met with an obstacle. Right, Hank's car seat. That required a bit of wiggling, but finally, the tv was resting comfortably.

I hopped in, and called Mike triumphantly on my cell phone. A mini phone celebration ensued. I had a bit of a ride in front of me to get back home, but 25 minutes later I pulled into our driveway, and our new tv was home. We call him Vizio, and we're all very happy.

Mike came out to carry him in, and had him set up before I even got my coat and boots off. We watched a bit of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on AMC, I knitted, and all sighed blissfully.