On November 23, 2005 I mailed $60 to Microsoft.

This was one day after shelling out $600 for my Xbox 360, a couple of accessories and a few games.

So why would I hand over another $60 to Mr. Gates? The Xbox 360 extended warranty of course! And, until yesterday, I referred to this payment as the "Vanishing $60."

According to the tiny text in the warranty application, I should receive a warranty certificate after Microsoft processes my payment. Apparently, it takes 10 months to print this certificate; I just received it last night.

Going back over my bank records, I discovered Microsoft cashed my check back in January. I can only imagine that there were several high-level meetings discussing the printing of my certificate. Then, there were probably some marketing meetings and focus groups to decide the fonts and ink colors for the page.

Whatever caused the delay is now irrelevant. I have my warranty certificate; expiration date: Feb 2008. I am sure my 360 will go dead on March 1, 2008.