The Apple Store - Where Waiting is the Hardest Part

Yesterday at 5:20 p.m. I met with a mac genius to diagnose the maladies my macbook has been experiencing.

Well, to be accurate, I checked in at 5:20 via ipad with the one of the many employees in blue and then I had to wait another half hour or so to be seen. The actual wait-time was not unbearable, but my company made that half hour seem like an eternity.

You see, in my head, the mac store is full of Justin Long looking 20-30 somethings with shaggy hair and/or fun glasses who quip with me about Aqua Teen Hunger Force as they magically repair my macbook, which has been refusing to turn on at all (even when it's plugged in) as of late, just by sending it through some white and silver box that is deceptively simple in appearance, my like the computers themselves.

In actually the store is filled with male and female versions of the guy who plays "a PC" in the apple/mac commercials and probably still refer to the machines as "Macintosh's."

As each new person was called up, some ornery older person would comment, "I thought I was next," then turning to the fellow older person on the Ikea-style bench next to them, "didn't she say I was next?" Only for the very nice young girl in blue running the line off of her way-cool ipad to calmly explain that there are 2 lines; "1 for iphones and ipods and the other for computers," as I'm sure she says at least 100x per shift. I just sat there silently wishing that there was mute button for all outside noise, but apparently they don't have an app for that.

Thankfully my name was soon called and my genius quickly diagnosed that my battery was DOA and could not be resuscitated, and that there was probably a connection problem between where the power adapter hooks up and the actual battery. To send it out to be fixed is a flat rate of $250 which covers "pretty much anything that's wrong with it."

He started explaining my options, but seeing as how my mac is now 4 years old, and computer years are like the reverse of dog years, I cut him off and explained that I'd rather just spring for a new one.

He then asked if I was a teacher or a student because, as it turns out, the education discount is about $100 for the macbook pro. Looks like I'll be going back with a teacher in tow!

Until then, this is KimboNotKimmy signing off from my Acer netbook.

Goodnight.