Happy birthday, Apple Retail! According to the company's latest press release, this week marks the second anniversary of Apple's very first store opening, and we couldn't be more proud; from those humble beginnings, the initiative has grown to 57 stores in 26 states which have sold $650 million worth of stuff to fifteen million visitors. (sniff) Forgive us; we're a little emotional right now. They just grow up so gosh-darned fast, you know?

But wait, there's more: in addition to revelling in an orgy of self-congratulation, this particular press release also imparts some actual information. Apparently Apple intends to open no fewer than twenty more stores within the next year, including one in San Francisco's Union Square, the Michigan Avenue store in Chicago (also known as "They Can't Possibly Still Be Working On That Place, Can They?"), and one in-- ready for this?-- the Ginza district in Tokyo. Not Tokyo Bay, AZ; not Tokyo Hill, TX; Tokyo. Yes, that Tokyo. Apple Retail just officially went global. Or, rather, it will, in "early 2004." Mac-starved foreigners rejoice, for your salvation is at hand.

On the local front, we crazy Americans can expect the Union Square store next spring, while the Chicago location will open on June 27th, 2003. (Most religious scholars are interpreting the fact that the Apple Store Chicago has set an opening date as a harbinger of the apocalypse, so if you're planning on going to the grand opening, be sure to bring along an umbrella.) On the local local front, faithful viewer Matthew Guerrieri stopped by the AtAT compound last night to borrow a tape of last week's Buffy before tonight's series finale, and mentioned that the Apple Store Chestnut Hill appears to be coming along nicely.

"The who what in the where, now?" we replied intelligently. And sure enough, one quick scrape through Apple's jobs database later, we were staring at a retail job posting for Chestnut Hill, MA. Was this news, we wondered? And it was-- at one time. A search through our 3500-message backlog of mail revealed that faithful viewer Dave Nagler actually tried to tell us about it way back in January. So that, at least, is the up side of being woefully out of touch: surprises abound.

In the final analysis, we're just glad that our once-controversial report that there would eventually be "no fewer than three such Mac havens sprouting up in the immediate Boston vicinity" has finally been vindicated. We're also looking forward to another local grand opening we can attend. Meanwhile, we're starting to wonder if one of us on the AtAT staff should go ahead and apply for the Chestnut Hill position of Keyholder, for which at least two of us are eminently qualified. (Holding keys? We can do that! Heck, we're doing that right now!)