Mission Bay, a Missed Appointment, iPhones & Point Loma

What a week! So, I think we've had a pretty good time with my dad here. Granted, I have worked some and everything didn't quite go as planned (mostly on Thursday), but the boys have had a blast and I think Papaw has too - even if he is ready to sleep in his bed. It's been pretty kick back actually. My dad has had the boys most mornings, getting them ready, taking them to outside to ride bikes and play, etc. while I worked for a bit. We enjoyed an afternoon at Mission Bay, where the boys played at the playground on the beach and enjoyed a little time in the water. Silas pretended there were sharks in the water and he was shooting them with his shark gun. He kept sitting or laying in the water telling us, "It's so nice and cozy in here." I would have to agree - the water was quite a bit warmer at the bay than the last time we went to Coronado, where I could barely stand to put a toe in! We made a trip to Toys R Us one afternoon, where the boys each got to pick something out. Silas got a "Transformer Bumblebee Mask" and Eli picked out a truck, of course.

Thursday - well - let's just say it was interesting. Eli had back to back doctor appointments to have a hearing test and follow-up from his surgery. Silas was determined to go with us, so we all loaded up in the car. I dropped Si and my dad at McDonald's right across the street from the hospital so they could eat breakfast and Silas could play on the playground during the appointments. I got to the hospital, parked the car and headed up to the 4th Floor. I handed the nice lady Eli's Kaiser card and told her I was checking in for 2 appointments. I stood there patiently, with Eli pulling on my hair (a habit he's had since he was a tiny baby) and she then stated, "I'm sorry. These appointments were for yesterday - Wednesday, the 23rd." What?? How on earth did I do this? Ohhhh NO! Granted, I didn't say this but was certainly thinking it. First of all, I am so on top of these kind of things that I found it next to impossible that I could have messed this up. Not that I'm perfect by any means, but am pretty on top of doctor appointments and such. If you know anything about little Eli, we have had plenty! The problem is I had been waiting for these appointments for two months and they were back to back. This means, no waiting, one trip to the hospital, no taking time off work twice - basically, convenience. The next audiology appointment wasn't until August 4 and I will be out of town. The doctor will not see him until he has the hearing test first. Ugh! Big mess. Not that it's a serious appointment or anything, but I just couldn't believe I screwed it up. When I showed up at McDonald's 15 minutes after I'd dropped them off, my dad was obviously surprised. I told him about my silly mistake and we decided we would head to the Apple store from there. This is where it really gets fun...

So - don't we all know what Thursday, June 24 was? The iPhone 4 was in stores, of course. I must give a quick back story. We never got the 3 GS, because we knew there'd be a better phone and would rather wait. Dusty and I both still had the 3G iPhone and were perfectly content, letting our contracts run their course. About a month ago, my phone got lost, if you'll remember, so I had been borrowing the first generation iPhone from a friend. So that being said, we both were ready for new phones and we had it figured out to where we could purchase 2 phones at little cost to us. So, a week before launch date, we pre-ordered our phones. I really had no idea what to expect at the store, but thought worst case scenario I'd wait maybe an hour - afterall, our phones were pre-ordered. How long does it take to go in the store, give them my confirmation and pay for a phone? Stupid thinking on my part. We drove to the mall, which wasn't even open yet, and saw a line wrapped around the back parking lot. Great. There was no turning back. I had no choice. Dusty was still in Riverside and there was no way I could leave without two phones in hand. Honestly, I would have been fine - but I felt horrible that my dad was with me at the mall with both the boys. There was no way I could keep them in line with me. So, I apologetically looked at my dad and found my spot at the very back of the line. I told him I would text him. 30 minutes later, I had not moved even a foot. It was not looking good. After an hour, I suggested that my dad take the boys to a movie since it would kill some time that we obviously needed! Toy Story 3 - a two hour movie - came and went. I still hadn't even made it to the front part of the line, but was still wrapped around on the side of the store. My dad lovingly went and bought me a banana boba smoothie and got the kid's a cookie. Silas sat in line with me for just a little keeping me company while my dad went to a store I suggested. I was glad for the company. He was so sweet, sitting in my lap and telling me about the movie and saying he was gonna go in the Apple store and buy me a new iPhone. My dad came back with the genius idea of letting the kids play in the water poppers down by the food court. They played for quite some time, where I finally joined them, two iPhones in hand. Let's just say I began my journey at 9:45 a.m. and it took me until 2:45 p.m. to complete. That's five hours, and after all that I almost didn't get mine.

For whatever reason, they couldn't find my reservation, only Dusty's. I told the guy that no, I received a confirmation and there were obvious problems with the system the day that the phones could be pre-ordered. He told me, "I'm sorry, but you can only get the one you have the reservation for." I said, "Well, this doesn't make sense. You obviously have phones, because you have two lines out there - one for reservations and one for purchases. If you didn't have extras, you wouldn't be letting people in from the purchase line. I got a confirmation, I want my phone." "I'm sorry, we are only letting people get one phone per confirmation. You only have one confirmation." Patiently, I responded, "Yes, but I received a confirmation. There must be a problem with your system. I want my phone. I stood in line, you see that I have my husband's confirmation, and I need two phones. Is there someone else I can talk to?" He said, "No, there isn't. You can always go stand back in line." Still very nice, but frustrated I said, "I already stood in line. You have phones, I need two. I have a confirmation for my husband's phone, and I stood in line for mine. I need you to talk with your manager." He walked off to the manager that was 5 feet away, said a few words, I saw some head nods and he walked up to me saying, "Come with me." Thank goodness! Seriously, the guy was so ticked at me, but whatever. There was no way after all that, that I was going to leave with one phone, that wasn't even mine. End of story.