The Pretty Woman of the Technology World

I had a Pretty Woman moment yesterday.  You know, one of those moments when you enter a place of business and have a very clear feeling that you do not belong.  Granted, I wasn't wearing thigh-high boots and a one-piece outfit with the sides cut out, but I definitely felt that way!  (And now let's all try to put the mental picture of a pregnant Leslie in Julia Roberts' "lady of the night" outfit out of our minds.  You're welcome.)

The power cord to our MacBook was no longer working, and since I am in the middle of a calligraphy job and the bride's guest list is on my computer, it was pretty urgent that I get a new cord fast.  Since we only have sporadically used Ipods and one MacBook, I didn't even know if we had an Apple Store in Memphis.  After a quick Google search on the last bit of juice left, I located our store and its hours and made plans to stop by first thing on Thursday morning.

Riggins and I made the 25 minute drive in perfect timing to arrive just as the store opened at 10:00 a.m.  I assumed that I would be the lone shopper, as I often am at most stores: the token stay-at-home mom who arrives just as the doors are unlocked, stroller in tow containing a toddler armed with an obnoxious electronic toy and snacks.

And this is where all of you techies will begin to find this story humorous and predictable, but where I begin to be completely shocked.

When we pulled into the shopping center, I noticed a relatively full parking lot, particularly in front of the Apple store.  I also noticed quite a few customers making their way to the Apple store itself.  When I arrived at the entrance, I opened the door to a line of at least fifteen to twenty people, and at the head of the line saw two employees busily punching stuff onto and iphone and ipad.  Behind them, the rest of the store was already full of customers, and at least twenty employees were buzzing around assisting them.

I was baffled.

And that's when I heard the two staffers at the front of the line asking for appointment times.

What!?!  Appointments?  Surely I don't need an appointment to buy a power cord.  And why the line?  Is the iphone 10 coming out today?  (Or whatever number they're on.)  I was so confused.  I didn't know whether to get in line, or to go searching the shelves for a power cord, or to walk out the door and call someone cooler than me to tell me what to do.

And speaking of coolness, let's talk about the fact that every other customer and employee looked very smart and very hip.  And very leery of a pregnant lady with a toddler in a stroller in the middle of a store filled with very expensive electronics.  I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Everyone in line watched as I stood there with my wide load trying to figure out where to go and what to do.  

Finally, the frantic ipad-weilding employee asked if I had an appointment.  I did not, of course, and I panicked inside at the thought of having to wait for an appointment with a toddler.  Luckily, she booked me for 15 minutes later.  As we waited near the "Genius Bar" (really???) for our appointment, I searched the pocket of my diaper bag for my cell phone so that I could text Jonathan and tell him about the insanity that is an Apple Store.

Once I realized that I had left my cell phone on the seat of the car by accident, I realized that it was probably for the best.  The Apple Store was probably not the place to whip out my pitiful Wal-Mart phone that looks straight-up 2002 and doesn't even take pictures.  Yes, it would be best to leave that under wraps and let all these people think that I have an app-laden iphone in that diaper bag.  No need to take the Pretty Woman moment to the next level.

I will admit that the Apple Store provided great service.  Within a few minutes, an employee greeted me for my appointment, quickly determined that I did need a new power cord, and had me hooked up and checked out in five minutes.  No small blessing to a mom.

I returned to the car, called Jonathan, and had a good laugh about the fact that we are not cool enough to shop in the Apple Store.  And unfortunately, until we get a little bump in the income bracket, I don't think I'll be getting the chance to waltz back into the store saying, "Big mistake...Huge!" with my fancy new phone.

But let's face it...even if I did, those cool kids would be like, "Oh...um....that's the iphone 3.  Would you like to look at the new iphone 7?"