So my Xbox 360 VGA cable arrived in the mail today. The reason I wasn't really pressing getting my 360 back is because the TV back here is on the verge of burning out and the TV in the living room is dead - we only have one actual color TV that still works in the entire house and it's like, 13 inches.

With my VGA cable here, I decided: Hey. It's about time I got my 360 back. So I phone up Microsoft tech support. Get this:

They don't know where my Xbox is.

The stars aligned and a cascading succession of failure lead me to this spot. For starters? When I called Microsoft Tech Support on December 8th, their database was having trouble. The lady at the support center had to enter my contact information 3 different times because their database was on the fritz. Come to find out? My Xbox was registered without a serial number attached to it. A phantom 360, if you will.

So that's problem number one. Problem number two comes when they asked me to give them a tracking number via phone and I forgot. Hey - it's Christmas, you know? I put it away in my little metal case I keep my change and my receipts and that was it.

Strike number three came when I let this go past 30 days. Hell, it's been past 60 days. And that was bad, I guess.

So after putting me on hold, getting my serial, putting me on hold, getting my documentation number, putting me on hold - getting my USPS tracking number - putting me on hold - the dude finally comes on. "Our records show your Xbox 360 arriving at the repair center, but that was the last we saw of it. I'm going to forward you to my superior now. He's going to help you get this sorted out."

A very polite gentlemen comes on, apologizing profusely for losing my Xbox 360. "Ryan, what we're going to do, is I'm going to escalate this. It's been over 30 days, and you're just kind of like, 'where's my xbox?' am I right? We're going to set you up with an interview with one of the higher-ups at Microsoft, and they're going to help you get this resolved as quickly as possible."

So apparently, whoever this guy was, I'm going to be speaking to his boss at Microsoft. They're going to be calling me at around this time tomorrow.

Fun stuff, this. I guess I'm going to be getting a free 360 out of this and maybe even a game or something.