I ran into a friend we'd arrived with, and he told me that the DVDs are scanning as the sale price no matter where you get them. I fought through the herd of grumpy scary people to get the Blu-rays I had already grabbed once but put back. ARGH! Heading back to the electronics desk, I asked about the AC/DC Rock Band bundle. The first employee gives me a blank stare and asked if I meant "that guitar game". When I told her I didn't, she asked the lady next to her. Lady #2 asked the lady next to her, and Lady #3 asked the manager-type next to her. At last, manager-type knew what I meant, dug around in a box behind the counter (which I would have predicted was full of cheescake mags) and handed me a copy of the AC/DC pack! At last!
I walked off, relieved, and a bit irked at a man who had just run over my foot with his shopping cart. My mood swung back the other way when I noticed I was holding the PS3 version. ARGH! again. I fought back to the electronics desk like a salmon heading to the spawning grounds and finally obtained the correct version. /facepalm #3.
Now, here's the best part. Remember the map? According to it, all the toys in the ad were in front of the Toys department. Seems natural, right? One problem: the toys section is about 100 feet across, with wall to wall people, and if you just want one thing, who knows where it is? Why even have a map if it doesn't tell you where specific items are? Resigned to my cruel fate, I make my way back to the toys, and ask an employee opening up boxes where the Power Rangers Helmets are. "I don't even know what that is!" she informs me, in a sassy tone, practically snapping her fingers in Z-formation at me. /facepalm #4.
I kid you not: at this point, a lady standing beside me actually shoves the BF ad in the rude, useless employee's face, points to the page with the helmet, and says "THIS ONE RIGHT HERE". Of course, that didn't help. She still had no idea where the helmets were, even after being shown a picture of one. I got the impression she thought we had forged the ad, though to her credit I was having some criminal thoughts towards her at that moment.
Weary, I met my wife and we checked out. The rest of the day was far more fortuitous, and we were able to get many of the bargains we had hoped for. But the AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack was the one I had fought the hardest for, and wanted the most, so I was particularly proud when my son grinned and thanked me profusely when he opened it. He put the T-shirt on immediately, and watched the concert DVD that day, but we weren't able to enjoy the track pack until a few days afterward. It was definitely worth the wait.
All in all, that bundle was probably the best $39.88 I've ever spent. I got to spend an afternoon rocking out with my oldest son to some truly awesome AC/DC tunes. Viewing the concert DVD gave him a real interest in picking up some of the band's other music. Plus, he still wears the T-shirt quite a bit; in fact, I saw him wearing it earlier this week. Best of all, I have the crazy memory of a truly insane morning I spent, weary with fatigue and yet glossy-eyed at the promise of value, in a place more intimidating and dangerous than any on earth: a Wal-mart Supercenter on Black Friday.