gift registering shenanigans

Registering for gifts was a part of the whole wedding brouhaha that I thought would be really fun. Actually, it was not quite as much fun as I had envisioned at first, but it was still pretty amazing. I mean, when else do you get to zap everything you want with a gun and expect that people will actually BUY some of it for you?

We went to Macy's (formerly Kaufman's) to set up our first registry.
PROS:
Macy's is everywhere.
Macy's is classy enough that uptight old people will be satisfied with the opportunity to give us nice plates.
The Downtown Pittsburgh Macy's is one of those old-school urban department stores with like 13 floors, the kind of place where you feel like you're a little kid in a movie, and a fortune teller is going to pop up from behind an Oriental rug and change your entire life in an instant. I love going to that store whenever possible and I don't even ever BUY anything.
We registered on the day of a bridal show, so the regular "Wedding Consultant" was not there to harass us.

CONS:
Macy's has a "Wedding Consultant" whose job is to follow you around and try to get you to put more and spendier stuff on the registry.
Even the backup Wedding Consultant wanted to do this, until I scared her off with my patented Scary Glare of Scariness.
The Downtown Macy's may have been a poor choice to go to for a bricks-and-mortar registering experience, as the smaller area of the store precludes having all the choices you need to examine.

OVERALL REGISTERING SCORE: 7/10. Bonus points for cool ancient department-store vibe, minus points for annoying registry department and crappy selection of stuff like tablecloths.

Our next stop was Target, where we registered for all the things we really hope to get.
PROS:
Has cooler stuff than Macy's.
Target is also everywhere, so people can actually look at stuff before buying it.
Internet kiosk at front of store keeps interactions with Target staff to a minimum.
Lets same-sex couples register, so I don't feel quite as heterosexist registering there.
Overall, more fun and less annoying than Macy's.

CONS:
Won't let you put stuff on sale on your registry, because it won't be available indefinitely at that price.
Makes me want to put questionable items, such as a $600 TV, on my registry.

OVERALL REGISTERING SCORE: 8/10. Way funner, but had some annoying quirks.

The scanning gun was pretty cool. I thought I was jaded with the scanning gun from Giant Eagle, the local supermarket chain (they have a "Personal Shopper" thing where you scan your groceries with a gun as you buy them, then pay at the end at the self-checkout lane), but no. I am in love with the scanning gun. Mr. Astrophe had to take it away from me, though, because I kept feeling the need to surreptitiously scan the asses of innocent and unknowing attractive shoppers who passed us by. (Me: "But I waaaant it!" Mr. Astrophe: "I doubt they're selllllling it!")

So yeah. Now we have that done. I really hope that setting up the "traditional" registries doesn't keep our artist friends from making us fun and funky artwork, or our cool DIY indie friends from making us cool DIY indie stuff. Because that's the stuff I really love. When it comes down to it, I can buy myself a KitchenAid mixer. I'm so conflicted sometimes.