After much deliberation and a well-timed price drop, I decided it was time to buy an Xbox 360. I was just about to order one from Amazon.com when a friend asked me, “Since you have an HDTV, don’t you want to wait for HDMI?”

The answer was no, but I ended up doing more thinking and had a long discussion with the owner of an EB Games. He convinced me that the black Elite console really was cooler, as I would need the extra 100GB of space and I could have my HDMI hookup right then. Later that day, I was at a Target in Oregon. There is no sales tax there, so I finally said those magical words, “Excuse me, I’d like to buy an Xbox 360 Elite.”

I had the magical console in my hands and was eagerly awaiting the moment when I could call it mine. I scanned my credit card in the card reader and looked up. The young man trying to sell me my Xbox just 20 minutes before closing was on the phone with my credit card company. Unless someone had stolen my credit card number, there was no way I could have maxed out my card. My mother came to my rescue and the console was mine. I walked out of the store gleefully, and then noticed a thirty-something couple gawking at my purchase on the way out of the store. I must’ve looked unusual, since I was a little blonde girl lugging that heavy console as if it were my own.

The next day, I received a call from the fraud department. They wanted to know if I had charged over $450 at a Target in Oregon. Ten minutes later, I discovered that the sales guy must’ve hit the wrong button and accidentally marked my purchase as fraud. My mom’s explanation was that I had made the guy flustered since I had one of the coolest summer jobs and was going to school to make games. I wasn't sure about that, but I was relieved to find out that I was the only supposedly fraudulent person using my credit card.

Later, I went to a mall with my mother and I convinced her to let me stop in the game store. I found exactly what I was looking for: a pristine used copy of the Xbox game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Since I never owned an Xbox, I missed out on this one, but now the 360’s backwards compatibility changed that. Several of my friends love that game and I was very excited to own it. I walked up to the counter and stared to buy it. “Is this for you?” asked the salesman. I was proud to say that it was, but part of me wanted to roll my eyes. Why was everyone looking at me like I was some sort of intriguing alien every time I did anything concerning Xboxes?

Just then, my mom met me at the counter. She smiled at the salesman and then said, “She tested games in L.A. all summer and she’s going to school at USC so she can follow her dream of being a video game producer.” Uh, thanks Mom. I think this made the salesman a little uncomfortable, as he explained his own interest in games and how he had been taking classes at the local community college. My mom wished him good luck and we left the store.

The next morning, we drove to the airport so I could fly back to L.A. I had bought way too much stuff, so I had to carry on my Xbox 360 along with my purse and a tote bag. I went to go through security and put my purse and tote in the machine, followed by the 360. I hurried through the metal detector in my socks and was about to grab my purse when I was called back. I had to run back through so I could take my 360 out of the box. Torn between leaving my purse unattended on one side and 360 unattended on the other, I hesitated a moment. Then I ran back to the 360 and took it out of the box as quickly as possible.

“Please remember, we need all DVD Players, laptops and Xboxes to be scanned separately!” shouted the TSA officials. I’m sure no one else had an Xbox, but the all decided to say it, just for me.

“So, are you hooked?” asked an older TSA man.

“Actually, it’s what I want to do for a living,” I said, smiling.

“So how much was that thing?” he asked.

“$450!” I shouted as I ran through the metal detector again, relieved to be reunited with my purse.

I didn’t have enough time to hide the 360 in the simple, strong canvas bag my mom had loaned me until I reached my gate. I was definitely proud of my console, but the little boy who shouted, “Look Mom! An Xbox!” reminded me of my desire to carry such a high-profile item under the radar. That one console had definitely drawn more than enough attention to me already.