so for my nephew's 3rd birthday this weekend, i wanted to get him this.

a couple people at work had gotten one for their kids, who subsequently went completely insane over it because it's so flippin' cool. i figured, since jacob's totally obsessed with darth vader right now, it'd be perfect.

so i get to work yesterday and diana asks if i'd picked it up yet. i tell her i didn't, that i had until this sunday to do it. she's all "well you better hurry, cuz it was in the target ad this week and it's on sale and with the movie coming out..."

i decided to go to the big swanky target on 33rd and atlantic on my way home. while i was on the freeway, i was talking to josh on the phone and he tells me he's in huntington beach, that he can just pick it up at the target there.

but they were sold out.

and i start to freak out a little, cuz obviously since they're sold out there it means they're gonna be sold out everywhere... i'm like oh, crap, what the hell am i gonna do now i've got no other fun birthday present ideas. so by the time i got to the target i was going to, i was all stressed out. i go straight to the toy section, panic when i don't see it right away, rack my brain trying to think of where the next closest target is... and then i see it, the very last vader voice changing helmet, pushed back to the back of the bottom shelf. the box was a bit beat up but i figured man, that's totally fine. he's three he doesn't care about packaging.

so i start pushing buttons, making sure the thing works allright. i start from the right. button number one? fine. button two? a-okay. button three is a go. button four... what the hell. button four? shit, button four doesn't work. while deciding if it's in bad taste to give this thing with a broken button to my nephew, i turn the box over and start reading the back. and apparently button number four isn't even a button, it's just there because vader has four buttons on his chest box thing so they have to have it here.

insert sigh of relief here.

got in my car and headed home. i called michelle to tell her i'd been able to snag one, and she says "i dunno why you were so stressed out, i was at toys r us last night and they had like fifty of them."

insert trumpet sound here: WAH wah waaaaaaaaah.....