okay, so i'm a guy (most of you know this), and as a guy, it is my solemn duty to wait until the last reasonable moment to do any sort of shopping, whether it be birthday, christmas, valentine's day, mother's day (seriously, my mom's mother's day card this year was bought at 3 am on mother's day ... nothing says i love you like a 3 am run to walmart).

so, in tradition, i waited until today to do my shopping. for mom and dad, i bought them each products from best buy. now, in the past, i had always advocated shopping at circuit city because i used to work there, and i wasn't going to support the evil competitor. but, the past few times i've been to circuit city, i've had really bad experiences. trying to get someone to come help me is like pulling teeth, and i'm an easy customer. i know what i want when i walk in the door, and i almost always buy a warranty. i don't ask questions, i don't struggle with a decision, and i've done all my research before i even go to the store. when i get there, it's like they're doing me a favor by taking my money. so, i logged onto bestbuy.com, selected my products, paid, and arranged to pick it up at the location by my work. after work today, i stopped in, handed the guy behind the counter my paperwork, and he scanned it, checked my ID, turned around, grabbed my product from the organized shelf, and handed it to me. trust me, this does not happen at circuit city. i was in and out in under five minutes. trust me, friends, i will never shop at circuit city again.

then, tonight, i went to bloomington to see heidi, and stopped at a store that we had been at a couple weeks ago, where she had been hinting really heavily about something she wanted (and by heavily, i mean, "i want you to buy me this for christmas" heavily). the store was in the mall, and i've found that, at this time of year, the malls are filled with men who all have that desperate, picked-over frantic look in their eyes, hoping to find something that will satisfy the ladies for whom they must shop. i enter the store and discover that the item she wants is no longer available in her color - pink - so i'm now stuck with trying to piece together an outfit that not only matches, but qualifies as "cute." trust me, this is a dangerous proposition.

the rest of the list is getting gift cards. i hope they fit.