Update :: I took it in to the Apple Store (@ Brea Mall) yesterday and spoke w/ the ASM there. My g/f and I have a really good repore w/ him and almost exclusively buy/exchange/return everything w/ him, so it was nice to see he was there to help us. Anyway, he took it back to have their repair ppl look at it and they said they should be tight but also noticed the creaking sound in the plastics. They also said it was just the plastic wearing in/rubbing a little and is nothing to worry about. They did, however, offer to replace the plastics anyway if I felt concerned about it but couldn't guarantee that the replacement bottomcase/topcase wouldn't make the same noises. I like that they gave me the option, so to speak, that "Well, we believe it's normal but we're happy to replace it if it makes you happy." Nice.

Anyway, I'm holding off and unless something else goes wrong (hard drive, DVD, etc.), it doesn't make sense to have them tear it apart for something like this.

Thx for the info all