Our first destination was the K-Mart in Waterbury. I knew the store would get up to 4 PS2s. As we were traveling to K-Mart the only objects I saw were trucks on the road. It was pitch black and there was a deadly fog outside. When we were 10 minutes into the drive, I just couldn’t believe the magnitude of power that the PS2 holds over consumers. I couldn’t believe people were sleeping at stores overnight. The Playstation 2 was truly the first must-have console in the history of video games. My father and I were having conversations about technology and the power of the PS2. After a while I noticed that we had finally reached out first destination. This should have been a happy moment, but it was one of the worst moments of my life.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the K-Mart, we noticed many car lights. I knew this meant that the crowd was relatively large, and my chances of getting a PS2 was slim to none. Once we were at the front of the store, I saw a line of maybe 11 people. I got out of the car and asked them if there was room for an extra person. The answer I got proved my chances of getting a PS2 were slim, but I had expected it. I turned around, hopped into the car, and told my father. He knew I wanted the PS2 bad, so he suggested we head down to another K-Mart nearby. Of course I agreed and we were on our way to our second destination. Before we pulled out into the street, a man tried scalping us a PS2. My father told him to go away, and we were out on the lonely street.

I didn’t know what would occur when I would reach the other K-Mart, but all I could do is pray I would get my PS2. I was very silent and worried during the ride. I knew I had a better chance here because this store was bigger, and was located in a low population area. As we pulled in the moment of truth had finally arrived. I couldn’t see anyone standing there, and there weren’t too many cars. "Yes," I screamed! My dad quickly stopped the car as I ran into line, only behind one man who was sitting in a lawn chair with a blanket.

"Hey, how long have you been here," I asked. "I got here at 12," he said with a tired voice. "Damn, you really want this thing huh?" "Yeah." I was second in line, and now I knew my voyage would be successful. My dad came along to stand in line with me and was having a conversation with the man in front of us. As my dad held my place in line, I went inside the car for a while. When I returned, there was a woman who had just arrived. She was also taking part in conversations between my father and the man in the lawn chair. After a while, I was talking PS2 to the folks and we were having a great time. Later, an old man who was getting the PS2 for his grand daughter got into line behind us. He was very nice and bought all of us some coffee. After some more talk, a man in his 40’s came along and the conversation started to pickup. We all had a good time talking and waiting for the store to open up at 8.

As the hands on the clock began to move, more and more cars passed by as they read the sign; "PLAYSTATION 2 SOLD OUT." They came too late, and had to pay the ultimate price of going home knowing they weren’t going to have a PS2 for a while. After all the talk and wait, it was about 6 o’clock now and there were only 2 more hours to burn. Conversations about video games continued but I just zoned out and started thinking about the PS2. How will it feel? I wonder how heavy it is? How does the box look? All these questions were racing in my mind faster than the speed of light. At 7 o’clock it felt like I had been standing in line for at least 10 hours. I had to go to the bathroom, I was cold, and I was tired. The hour from 7-8 was the longest, but it was also the sweetest. It finally turned 8, and everyone rushed into the store with their tickets.

We walked into the K-Mart and got into line. When it was our turn to receive the PS2, I was electrified. I couldn’t believe I would have a PS2 when millions of people like me couldn’t get one. I was truly lucky and I felt it. After my dad charged it on his credit card, I saw the infamous blue box. I was so happy, screaming and smiling. I picked up the box (which was rather heavy) and we went into the car. As we were going home, I kept talking about the PS2 without ever shutting my mouth! I didn’t care, all I wanted to do was play my PS2!

After we got home, I had to place the PS2 in my room and head for school. I didn’t like this idea too much, but it couldn’t be avoided. After my school day was over, I came home and immediately went to Funcoland to buy Madden NFL 2001, Unreal Tournament, and SSX. I also bought a memory card that I had to go to three stores to find. When I got home I hooked up everything and started playing my new PS2.