It’s going to be a short one today – it is a holiday and I’d like to spend some time with my wife since she has time off, especially since it’s been a couple weeks since anything has felt “normal” for me. We are still mourning Maynard, but get through the days without tears or any other meltdowns. I didn’t mention this when it came down, but it is unlikely that I will be able to attend my cousin’s funeral, as it looks like it will be happening smack in the middle of the trip we are taking for my wife’s birthday.
To touch on what happened with the shopping trip last Friday, I got a PlayStation 5. Even though when I game I tend to prefer gaming on PC, I decided I wanted one for a couple reasons: 1) my wife is going on a trip and my best cuddly gaming buddy had passed so I wanted a way to game in other parts of the house where the other cats would hang out; and 2) I didn’t want to have to wait 4 years for a PC port to play Ghost of Yotei.
So one of the stops was the pawn shop I frequent, and I scooped a PS5 up. We finished our other errands, including picking up Maynard’s cremated remains, and stopped at Walmart for our monthly city run, where I picked up a sealed copy of Ghost of Yotei. We get home, I scramble to hook up the PS5 and get it set up, crack open the game, and…
…nothing is there. No game, no booklet, nothing.
I immediately called Walmart and thankfully spoke to the same guy who assisted me when we were there. He remembered me and made a note about it so I would be able to return it at the customer service desk but he told me that this is a common occurrence. People go in and buy a game, heat up the packaging and carefully remove the wrap, steal the game and other contents, carefully repackage and seal it, then return the “unopened” game for a refund. I’m a big supporter of personal privacy and all that, but I don’t think it would be too difficult for a game company to come up with a way to serialize each game and then when something like this happens, they can see what account is using the stolen game and disable it. Hell, maybe even work with Sony and terminate the whole account? I can see how that tech could be abused, but I’m pissed I have to go back and get a new copy.
The kitten is still finding her way, but Pearl and Roscoe seem to be getting used to her presence. They still aren’t friends but they are able to coexist in the same room now without one of the elders hissing and running off to hide. We still haven’t finalized her name, though we need to decide soon as we have an appointment with the vet on Thursday. We still desperately miss Maynard, but this little one he sent to us has helped ease the transition.
Song of the day: Disappear by Dream Theater