so as to not make the same mistake, this time i called the apple stores to find out if they have my power adaptor in stock. one of them said they had plenty. great! i went there after work. they don't have any. the person i spoke to on the phone lied to me. the person that helped me was being nice and gave me business cards for two authorized apple dealers in the area, saying they stock older stuff. *ouch* that was a stab. i forgot how in the computer world, something 2-3 years old is ancient history. my brand new baby is now old. :(

those dealers were closed. we went to frys instead. they had what i need. thank you! now i won't be causing fires.