PixlBit

I normally don’t speak of these things on my video game blogs. I use to leave dream blogs on another social media blog. But since that format for my dream postings is gone, and this dream is video game related, I thought I’d post this dream on here before I end up forgetting it. Normally I wouldn’t give these types of dreams much thought given how strong, powerful and rememberable it was altogether. I feel compelled to share it before I eventually end up forgetting it as the hours passed. Maybe it’ll stick around? Maybe I’ll end up forgetting it by the end of the day. Either way I’ve had this dream on my mind all day and want to share it given how vivid and uncontrolling it was for me. Usually I’m able to control certain dreams if I don’t care how they develop. Or I end up ending the dream altogether. While I can’t say I was able to control the dream I was able to end it if only for it to do something I haven’t had done to me in a long time.

So I find myself in a Target store. It was apparently late at night. “Teh wife” and my “Little One” were with me as we shopped in the store. We then notice a group of people starting approach a certain area in the back of the store. “Teh wife” and “Little One” wondered what was going on and decided to go ask around in the store to see what was up. I didn’t think much of it so we went our separate ways in the store. Moments later “Teh Wife” came back to tell me that the store had just received a shipment of SNES Classic s and the store manager was going to distribute them at the back of the store by the receiving entrance to their storeroom. She then had me go to where a group of people were staring to line up by the storeroom door where apparently people were being told that “the line starts” here which was a few feet away from the storeroom entrance. “Teh wife” had “Little One” hold a spot for me in the line, which happened to be the head of the line, given how I’ve voiced an interest in owning an SNES Classic. Not a lot of people were at the staging area but enough to make it noticeable. It seemed that word hadn’t spread yet that the store had gotten a shipment in right before the store closed. “Teh wife” had me take the stop that “Little One” was at so they could continue to shop and kill time till the material handlers in the back had unloaded the SNES classics and prepped them for distribution.

“Little One” was very tired but we all decided we’d tough it out so long as I stood in line to get a unit. So my girls left as I stood in line waiting to get an SNES Classic. As time passed the line kept shifting and moving to the point where folks weren’t exactly waiting in line but were gathering together in a group in the hopes of being able to score a system without having to be further way from the “starting line”. Instead of it being a standard standing line, it started to turn into a grouping by the standing line where it could’ve been a free for all if a pallet of SNES Classics came in. the whole situation started to feel like it could become a free for all like you’d see at those “Black Friday” shopping events if there was indeed a whole pallet of SNES Classics coming out of the double doors. It was getting rather unnerving as the time passed with no word on exactly when they’d start giving out SNES Classics for customers to gather before heading to the checkout in the front of the store. Rumors were talked about in the group from how the SNES Classics would be out “any minute now” to how many there were in the back to that the store manager was going to allow people to get as many as they wanted. Store staff started to set up tables by the double doors as if to imply that we were to form a line at one end of the table and walk our way down to pay for what we purchased instead of having to go to the front of the store or pay at the electronics section.

Suddenly the store manager comes out and says that “all purchasers of an SNES Classic need to go to the front of the store to check out aisle 5 to make their transaction”.  By this point it was very late and most of the store shoppers had left. Even most of the store’s lights were off, with only enough lighting near one walkway from where the storeroom was to the front of the store. Naturally I, along with some other shoppers left the group and went to the front of the store, thinking that we had to pay for the SNES Classic first, get a receipt then head back to the back of the store to get our product. I just asummed that’s how they were going to do it given that store employees where setting up tables as if to set up a stock that someone could grab after proving proof of purchase. I didn’t think to question it because I never really bought anything from a Target store, or any department store after hours. I’ve only done my game purchases during midnight launches at GameStops. As all of this was unfolding I was starting to feel the nervousness and anticipation of the situation. I was worried I might screw things up someone and not be able to get an SNES Classic because I didn’t follow the procedure that store reps were trying to set up. The buildup of glee that I might be able to get a unit in my hot, little hands was also starting to get to me. I was also getting scared that someone might get cute and try to jump the line to get a system or cause a mad rush, making the whole situation even more unbearable. I didn’t even know how I’d react if someone even tried to do such given I waited all this time at the front of the line for only some jerk to try to work his way ahead.

I didn’t know what to do at first when I heard the news that we had to make our purchase at the front of the store. Some of us hesitated on leaving at first, for fear of losing our spot in line given that the store manager said they’d distribute the systems at the back of the store. Before we could ask any questions of the store manager of her (yes her) originally statement she immediately went into the storeroom, through the double doors, to access how many SNES Classics she actually had in store. Eventually I and some other decided to follow the store manger’s orders and made our way to the front of the store to register five. We all didn’t exactly run but we all kept up with each other in a brisk walk as to politely and respectfully not cut off anyone who was originally at the front of the line. Some others stayed behind asto they were not sure if they should leave where we all originally congregated. I asked another buyer nearby me (also a woman) about which check out aisle we were supposed to go to, to which she as nice enough to say aisle number 5. I ended up being first in line at aisle #5 as a cashier got to the register and set up to make sales. It seemed that they shut down all the other registers in the store and reopened that one for just the specific purpose to ring out sales of the newly arrived SNES Classics. Then I heard the sentence that made me feel like a stone had sunk down to the pit of my stomach:

“Where is your purchase?”  The cashier asked.

“My purchase? “ I asked. “I was told, WE were all told (as I motioned to those behind me)by the store manager that all purchasers of an SNES Classic had to make the purchase at the front of the store at aisle 5”.

“Sir, I can’t ring you up for a product you don’t have in your hand. I have to scan it to the register to get your price.”

“But the systems are not even out yet. I just came from the back and we were still waiting.”

“Oh. She should be outside being handed out right now. It’s why I was told to turn on this cash register….”

Panic started to set in for me at that moment. Apparently I either didn’t understand the Store Manger right or there was a communication error with other Target staff because the store manager made it sound like we had to pay for the system first before we could just grab one from the back whereas the person running the checkout register was under the impression we had to bring the system up to the front with us to get run out for it. All of this was rushing into my head as I realize I might not be getting an SNES Classic at all. All the other buyers behind me began to rush back to the back of the store given that they lost their place in line to the folks that stayed behind. I myself didn’t know what to do. I felt like my chances in owning an SNES Classic were slowly flushing down the tubes. I wanted to get mad at the sales person but realize it was their fault that there was a miscommunication or the fact that I could’ve misunderstood and indeed the Store Manger expected us to grab an SNES Classic FIRST then make our way to aisle 5 to complete our transaction. The fact alone that I may have screwed my once chance to own an SNES Classic was a sickening feeling all because of one lousy misunderstanding, but the feeling that got me the most was the disappointment I felt it “Teh Wife” & “Little One” that they spent all this time waiting around for me to get a system only for me to mess it up and waste all of our time. It didn’t seem like a lot of people were here in the store to get an SNES Classic, no more than 50 people, but in hearing how scarce it was to get a system didn’t bolster my resolve that there might still be a chance

I did my best to end the dream or change the dream so that the outcome would be more beneficial for myself. That I was indeed correct and we had to pay first before getting a system or that I could rewind the dream like in the video game “Life is Strange” and replay that moment where instead of leaving my spot as first in line I ended up staying.

I was able to end the dream by waking up for I didn’t like the stress and feelings I got over the entire situation. It was late night/early morning. I looked at my watch and saw it was 2:50 am. Thankfully it wasn’t the kind of dream where you awoke with sweat soaked sheets but it was rather odd that I’d have a dream like this in such vivid detail. It took me awhile to fall back to sleep but eventually I was able to.

Only for the dream, now nightmare, to continue where it left off.

I was back at the cash register with the cashier telling me I had to make room for paying SNES Classic customers who were about to arrive at any time. “The wife” suddenly appeared nearby another register and asked me why I didn’t have an SNES Classic for she started seeing the Store manager starting to hand them out to people in line.  I tried to stammer a response in how I missed up, which made her mad given how we waited all this time to get a system only  for me to mess things up. As “Teh wife” was about to yell at me in the store, the cashier decided to go ahead and sell me a unit right now, with the current SKU they had on file at the moment, in the hopes I could go back to the line and pick up a unit since I already paid for one. It wasn’t how they were supposed to do it but she wanted to hurry us along before the rush of playing SNES Classic customers came online. This is when the dream got even worse when my bank card didn’t have enough money in it. It got so bad that the cashier started taking any card I had in my wallet and started to charge whatever amount was in them so I could pay and get a receipt saying I purchased an SNES Classic. Just as we were finishing up the transaction people started approaching with SNES Classics in hand ready for purchase. “Teh Wife” said she was heading to the car and that I should hurry in getting my unit I paid for. I made my way back to the back part of the store, as more and more people made their way back to the front with their systems in hand. I got back there only to find that an empty pallet behind the table that was originally set up before I left. All this time I was growing more and more upset over the fact that I may have screwed myself over in getting a system and the apprehension I was reading from other buyers, who stood in line, when I tried to show a store rep that I had already purchased a unit while trying to show them my receipt. The remaining people in line started to grumble and yell out that I had no right to jump the line by buying a system before I got my hands on one. I tried to respond back to them that I had a misunderstanding and that I had been waiting in line LONG before they showed up at the line. All of my pleas fell on deaf ears as I was told to wait at the end of the line despite I paying for a system already. No one was happy with me as we all waited in line and I really didn’t blame them. I was trying to avoid getting into the very situation I was now in and if I was in there shoes I’d be thinking the same way.

No one likes a line cutter.

I saw that the pallet that had SNES Classics on it was long empty and the storeroom clerks were just trying to find what they had left in the back that didn’t come on a pallet. The line was slow going as people walked away with an SNES Classic in head. As my turn slowly approached I saw other people leaving with more than 1 unit, carrying about 2 or 3 with them to the front of the store. The guy two groups in front of me tried to joke with a buyer of 3 SNES Classics by handing him a high priced space heater telling him that “he might as well buy this since he’s getting all of those.” It was good natured ribbing but the connotations were made known: some buyers were leaving us with nothing. All this time my anxiety and trepidation grew as fewer and fewer SNES Classics were seen and it took longer and longer for them to appear from the Target storeroom doors. Finally I was next to the last person in life to see if I was able to get a system but just then as the person in front of me was able to get a system, three women made their way up to the front of line, dragging me along with them, to see if they could pick up their layaway item! Of all the times to want to get your layaway item I thought to myself. One said they happen to see their item behind the doors of the storeroom but asked if they could have a different one cause from the looks of it (when the double doors opened between the handing out of SNES Classics) it appeared to be damaged.

To my shock the Store Manger agreed to see if they had a different item for them and let them wait while she checked. I was the only one waiting for an SNES Classic while these women hijacked what was left of the line to see if they could get their layaway item. I started to wonder why I was left abandoned and not told what would happen. I started to think that maybe they had run out of SNES Classics and didn’t want to say anything, knowing the headache they’d have to deal with given I had paid for one and would need a refund on so many cards. The wait itself was unbearable. It felt super late, store reps were waiting to go home and I knew “Teh wife” and “Little One” were probably waiting in the car for me wondering where I was. I hadn’t heard anyone say they were all out of SNES Classics nor did I see anyone leave empty handed. I didn’t know if I had missed the announcement or if I was too blind by concern to see people in line leave empty handed due to the store running out or being tired of waiting for so long.

The suspense and situation was maddening as I stood by the double doors waiting for them to open. It seemed to take forever. My heart felt like it was racing, my stomach was churning, my breathing started to get labored. And just as I sensed movement in those double doors to the storeroom beginning to move forward….”teh wife’s phone alarm sounded.

It was time for us to up.

Thankfully I wasn’t drenched in sweat or woke up with a start. Instead I just opened my eyes, stood up from bed and asked myself where on earth did THAT nightmare come from? I know it might not seem like a nightmare to some. The situation that I dreamed of was so mundane and probably normal for anyone trying to get something on a midnight release. But the dream felt so real, so vivid, with so many emotions and feelings involved that I can’t call it just a causal dream. It was something I indeed didn’t want to get involved in yet I couldn’t take control of it like other bad dreams I’ve had or end the dream altogether when I didn’t care to be in that situation anymore. Even the continuation of the dream was highly unusual. The nightmare itself is even more mysterious given the fact that I don’t really want an SNES Classic that bad. I don’t see myself camping out in a line for a late/early morning release for a batch of limited stock systems. I gave that up a long time ago in my youth. Much like not seeing myself paying a scalper to buy an SNES Classic, I don’t see myself going through that kind of ordeal just to get a system. I already own two SNES systems with half of the games offered on the SNES Classic. I mostly only want one so that my girls would have an easier chance to play some classic SNES games they’ve enjoyed in the past. Despite me owning a system and set up to play an SNES, my GameRigs can be a bit intimidating to set up if you want to play a particular system with all the TVs, switch boxes, input channels and power switches you have to push to get a system running. Plus “teh wife” swears that the Donkey Kong Country games I have on my Wii’s Virtual Console “don’t play right” like how she’s use to when she played the games on an authentic SNES controller.

But with that in mind I highly doubt “my girls” would play the system enough to warrant it as a must have item on the Family GameRig set up I have in the living room. They hardly play the Original Xbox, PS2 Slim, Wii U or PS TV currently hooked up to it right now.

So the question still remains: Why have this dream to begin with? What triggered it? What was its purpose and reasoning behind it? Was it more than just a dream? A nightmare or something to come along in the future? Either way I wanted to share if only to keep a record of it for posterity. I haven’t even told anyone else yet about my nightmare give how silly it sounds. A nightmare over an SNES Classic: that’s even a first for me given the darker dreams I have during the Octoberween month and beyond.

I hope you got some enjoyment out of this dream for I can’t say I did. If anything I need to get to bed soon since I didn’t sleep well at all last night due to this nightmare.

Ta-ta

“N”