So I made it to the Toys R Us in time to get my bundle for GH:WT. That's right...the entire band set (game, drums, guitar, mic) PLUS an extra guitar for only $69.99.

I'm not one to shop at Toys R Us much - mostly because they cater to kids. Their game selection is not huge compared to other places, and Best Buy, or the now defunct Circuit City, have a wider selection of expensive 'toys' like TVs, speakers, cameras, and other stuff. So clearly, when I stepped into the Toys R Us, they could see I was new there.

I walked up to a store clerk at the front of the store with my sales ad showing what I wanted. She said, "Oh, that's in the video game department." I was thinking, yeah, duh, but where's that...? She pointed and I thanked her. As I'm walking away, I hear her pick up the store phone and call ahead warning the video game clerk to my incoming sale. Wow, really, do I look that desperate?

I walk up, knowing that the video game clerk is expecting me. A brief exchange and she's helping put a GH:WT bundle in the cart. With little prompting, she grabs the extra guitar for me. She asks if it's for a birthday or Christmas...I say neither. Clearly, she's thinking I'm buying this for someone else...a mistake I get alot as a middle-age female buying video games. (But I also find that even in Best Buy, I always get instant service when looking for games because of that same stereotype.) But in this case, she tries for the extra sell. She walks me over to the game aisle, and shows me that GH Aerosmith is on sale plus there's a 'buy a cheap game and get the second cheap game for $5 off' deal going on.

I kindly refuse, but then I spot Mirrors Edge, which I've been eager to play since it came out, but it was never worth $60 or even $40 to me. But for $20, that's a good deal. Now to find my second under $20 to get my $5 off...nothing. I'm looking through everything, and only a bunch of old driving games or lego games are under $20. Definitely not the best game selection at the Toys R Us. But, then I see Rainbow Six, Vegas 2. I figure, for $15, that's an OK deal.

So, the store clerk is ringing me up. She keeps exclaiming what a great deal this is. I'm thinking, yeah, I know...I wouldn't have walked into a Toys R Us if it wasn't a good deal. She signs me up for a free rewards card (good at Babies R Us, too, so I figure that may come in handy in the next year or so.) But now it's getting a bit surreal. I'm getting maybe a little too much customer service. Where ARE the other customers? Am I the only one spending $100 in a Toys R Us during a recession? Do I look so obvious as a new customer that they're trying to win my loyalty in one fell swoop? Do Toys R Us clerks work on commission? (I know the answer to that last one has to be no, but this was creepy crazy good service.)

But saving the best for last...

As I'm finishing being rung up, the manager comes over and mentions that if you spend more than $20 you get a free ice cream sandwich. I obviously had spent more than $20. An ice cream sandwich...free. At this point, it's laugh-out-loud funny. A free ice-cream sandwich. Um, OK. It's 10 AM...I'm not really hungry for an ice cream sandwich, but why not, right? So, I load up the car, and drive away eating my soon-to-melt ice cream sandwich.

My Toys R Us trip was a success. It was the most surreal experience I've ever had buying video games...and those experiences include running out to the stores at 5 AM the Friday after Thanksgiving. But I walked away with some cool games for a great price.

And an ice cream sandwich.