Last Tuesday I ordered a laptop. Nay, a tablet pc. The Thinkpad X41 Tablet.

Two attempts to get UPS to leave my package with the superintendent while I’m at work failed, so I devised a plan to take matters into my own hands. A plan to venture into the belly of the beast and extract the package from its grasp. The challenge was that they close at 6:30, I finish work at 5:00 and it’s a >20 min drive according to Google Maps, not taking into account it being rush hour.

More adventure fun inside (with pictures)…

The plan: Leave work at 4:45, catch go train at 5:10, arrive to station at 5:40, drop off mom at home, leave at 5:50, fight with traffic until 6:25, arrive to claim my prize, get home at 7:00 in time for dinner.

The reality: Leave work at 4:40, run up to platform at 4:55, wait for train, wait for train, wait for train, train arrives at 5:20. Two trains-worth of people get on, no place to sit. Wait for train to leave, wait for train to leave, train leaves at 5:35. Arrive at 6:00, run to car. Drop mom off, and drive off at 6:10. Fight with traffic, get lost, spot rogue UPS truck on highway, tailgate truck. At this point, I figured that I’m a smart senior computer science student so I clearly know the way to the UPS HQ better than some lousy UPS truck. So I diverged, and consequently got lost. Eventually I spotted a dozen UPS trucks turn into a street. When I get there, there’s a pile of UPS trucks trying to jam into the UPS compound. I park, run in at 6:36. The guy there asks me a couple of questions, tells me the truck with my package hasn’t arrived yet and disappears. I wait, wait, wait, wait, some other guy comes in, gets his package, leaves. I wait some more. Another guy comes in, gets yelled at for coming in 30 min after the closing time, drops off his package and leaves. I wait wait wait wait wait. At 7:40 the guy walks back in with my package, I rejoice, run back to the car and try not to get lost. Make it home at 8:10, fire it up, and here I am.

Here I am, writing this on my brand new–err, brand “certified used” laptop. It’s awesome. No scratches, no wear, no dead pixels. The battery might be a bit worn out but who knows.

Yay!