I waited in line for the iPhone, my first line wait ever. Read the story:
iPhone craze: The sequel | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL
I parked my truck at 11 am Thursday morning, a full 21 hours before launch. I didn’t have company for another 4 hours. Maybe I blew my load a little early but there is no better feeling than being first for something and suffering for it (I think). I’ll tell the story with pictures:
Sign pointing to line.
This is the sign that the campers got. AT&T spared no expense on this one. One of the employees actually finished coloring in the arrow while it was taped to the pole.
Jim and I cheers to our good fortune and good drink!
Once the employees had left their mandatory meeting around 10:00pm, Jimbo and I poured the whiskey. Nothing says “badass” like sipping Gentlemen Jack in a Solo cup while waiting overnight in humid, 87 degree heat….for an iPhone.
Apple laptops in the iphone line
This is Jim and 4th in line Zach banging away at their laptops. I’m really not sure what either of them were actually doing. Zach is still in High School and school is out so he is definitely not doing homework and Jim, uh maybe he is working? Who knows. Jim acquired a Sprint aircard and shared the connection with everyone in line. The line sitters really appreciated it until we let the guy who actually owns the aircard and pays the bill cut in line. Then suddenly everyone forgot his generosity and wanted his blood.
Zach sleeping on the concrete overnight.
Zach fell out at about 12:30 or so. He was trying to sleep on the concrete but was obviously having a rough go at it. I had blown up an air mattress in the back of my truck but since Jimmy was home taking his 3rd dump of the day, I let Zach take it. I was too excited to sleep, up until it was time to actually by the phone. I passed my time by canceling my T-Mobile contract free of charge, drinking, and talking to the pretty girl that joined us in line around 3:30. She obviously worked in a bar.
Looking down the iPhone line at night.
This was the Motley Crew at around midnight. The two on the end eventually got chairs to sit on. I heard that the bugs were bad near the end of the line but I had a Thermacell and never had a problem. Had to change the pad once and that was it, highly recommended.
Employees install the iPhone display moments before the doors open.
This is where things get hazy. At this point I am so wired that I can not speak properly (as the news interview showed) and can not hold still. The store employees rolled in around 7:00 and started getting ready….all of them.
Line before the doors open.
Here it is, the line moments before the doors opened. It was a media circus too. Every reporter was looking for the first in line. I would no answer questions unless Jim was close because I really couldn’t formulate the answers. I was a mess and everyone wanted to talk to me. I had a lot of fun the night before but at this point I didn’t give a damn about the phone, I wanted to go to bed. I still had to work that night and wake up early the next day.
Jimmy receiving his iPhone
The moment Jim had been waiting for, he is given his iPhone. Look! It’s still wrapped in plastic. For some reason, it took Jim 3 times as long as it took the rest of us to get his phone. He was the only one in line that still had an original iPhone!! Not really sure why it happened, I heard later that the activation server was starting to get flaky at this point. Good job Jim! Got yours just in the nick of time. You can imagine how I felt waiting when i already had mine and wanted to go to bed.
Jimmy gets his picture taken while buying his iPhone.
Here is a testament to our stardom. This is the photographer that mis-labeled every picture he took. Here he is taking a picture of Jim that I had just taken. Who is the visionary now? Ha!
So that’s it. We got our phones and hauled ass. Well not so fast, everyone in line before us had decided to use my tailgate as a trashcan. That really bugs me because Jim and I were talking about bringing a grill and making free food for everyone. And, after the night of free inernet, these people were still assholes. Oh well, I got a phone and someone, somewhere behind me didn’t. Thanks for your trash ass-face!
