Black Friday

This post was so long, I opt'd to let it run on it's own, so be sure to catch the other post below that has all the real updates. Enjoy!

Speaking of Black Friday..... So I didn't get paid until Friday, and Niceguy's paycheck went to bills, so we didn't really have any money to complete the Thanksgiving dinner we wanted, but come Friday, we would. I had received an email from BestBuy advertising their awesome doorbusters.... Like so many other companies. *dot dot dot* Anyways.

Niceguy and I have been wanting a tablet computer for months, and I had been able to talk him in to waiting for the holiday sales, instead of pushing us further over the limit. Well, BestBuy happened to have a deal that even I couldn't refuse. An amazing tablet that would normally sell for $450 - $500, for only $250. Having intentionally paid a few extra dollars to our BestBuy card, we had just enough. $200 on the card, $50 in cash, and all the bills would still get paid on time! w00t!!!

So like the rest of the cattle, we went, and waited in the cold outside the store at 10:30 Thanksgiving night. Knowing they were opening at midnight, hundreds of people waited impatiently for the doors to open. The Police patrolled the parking lots, and hired security was keeping an eye on everyone. Behind us, only a few people further back in line, was a friend of Niceguy's he hadn't seen in several years. So the catching up, helped us pass the time.

Around 11:40, Bestbuy employees started rolling down the line with carts, and tickets for various products to help thin the herd. Niceguy's friend went to Starbucks to get coffee and take advantage of a potty break. We're told by the employee that they are out of the good tablets and only a cheap one that you have to have cell-service for, is left. We're disappointed, but we know, it will happen when it does. We'll try the after-Christmas specials.

Niceguy's friend isn't back yet, so we wait just to hold his place in line. At this point, a lot of people have left, so we're only about a hundred feet from the door. Another set of Bestbuy employees starts rolling down the line, "Computers and tablets," they shout. At this point, I just about climbed over Niceguy, mumbling sternly "Get one baby! Get one!" lol, yea I got a little excited.

He turned around grabbing me by my shoulders to hold me still, "I'm trying. Stop please?" And he giggled a bit as he turned back to face the guy. "Transformer?" he asked. "Sure!" The guy said, flipping through a few hundred sheets of paper, all identifying a different product. Niceguy whipping out his cell-phone and turning on the flashlight app to allow this young man some light to see, and there it was. The ticket!

The heavens opened! Angels were singing! Nah, but it was still an insanely awesome moment.

I'm a little miffed at the employee that came rolling by before, but hey, miscommunication happens. We were just glad we hadn't left yet.

So there we were, guaranteed to get the tablet we wanted, and still 15 minutes from the doors opening. The excitement was almost unbearable! I want! I want! I want!

Anyways, this Bestbuy did things right. They had private security at the door, and were only letting people in in small bursts. Plus, most of the big ticket items, had actual physical tickets, so there was no trampling of small children or clumsy drunken adults. There was no screaming or squealing with excitement(or fear). It was a completely different experience from what I remember at Fry's several years back, when I got this computer I'm using today and almost lost my life.

Yep, so when our group got up to the entrance of the store, there was a very large man blocking the door with his arms crossed in a "don't f*** with me," sort of way. You could see people in the crowd watching him intently. One of those, who's going to make the first move, moments. I actually found it rather amusing.

I think we were the third or fourth group of 50 to get through the door, so there really weren't too many people inside, and several had already left with their purchases. We knew the direction we were heading, and with a thanks to the big dude, we were off to the line inside the store with our ticket.

We were only about 20 people back in line, but for some reason it took over an hour to get up to first in line. Yea, we were in at 12:05, and out at 1:30. It was ridiculous. And, there was this VERY large man only a couple spots behind us, that kept shouting obscenities and snarky comments at the slowness of the line. His attitude was ruining the experience for me, but Niceguy, earning his nickname, made friends with the young men behind us, so that at least made the conversation better until the giant man started interjecting his feedback and then shouting over our heads.

*sigh*

So we figured the reason the line was taking so long, was because the poor Geeksquad guys, either didn't know how to use the registers, the tablets were poorly organized, or Bestbuy, in their infinite wisdom wanted to sell EVERYONE an extended crappy warranty. We confirmed it was a little of all three actually. When we got up to the counter, we handed the guy our slip, and I whipped out the Bestbuy card. 2-3 minutes later, they'd pulled our tablet from the pile right behind them..., and started ringing us up. "Would you like to hear about our extended warranty?" "No, just this please." "Alrighty." 3-4 minutes later, we're telling the guy how to break it up between cards. And another few minutes, we're off! I was giggling maniacally. Mostly because I was tired, but partly because I was so excited to get home and play with my new toy. Niceguy had already said it was mine. I'd repeatedly told him it was "ours". Took me days to convince him of that.

Anyways, Niceguy decided he wanted to check out the DVD specials for great deals. I went to find the end of the normal cashier line. He found True Blood for $18.99 a season, when it's normally almost $60. He grabbed all three available seasons, and I came back to tell him the line was close to 150 people long and weaving around aisles. He wanted to do it anyway.

I tell ya, we waited for about 15 seconds, before he changed his mind. lol

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I'll come back in the morning."

We put them back, and made our way out of the store and home. We'd lost Niceguy's buddy when we walked in to the store, but phone numbers had been exchanged, and they've met up a few times since.

At home, we're playing with our new toy, and we decide like maniacs, we want to subject ourselves to more. So closing in on 3am, we headed to Walmart.

Oh yea, it was packed, but not like you'd think. Most of the crazies had already come and gone. What was left were sleepy parents, excited college kids, and very focused single people. lol

Everyone knew what they wanted, just not where to find it. As well, everyone had already been through one nightmarish stampede, and just wanted to casually stroll through the store.

By now, my paycheck has posted, and we have a small amount of money to spend. They didn't have anymore of the $10 crock-pots, which we expected, so we grabbed a nice 5-quart for $24. New cheap mp3 players and headphones, to wear on our walks/runs, and the rest was little stuff we actually needed. lol

We were there for about 45 minutes, most of which was spent looking for the crock-pot. lol

*shrug*

Went home, and at about 5am, dragged ourselves to bed, new tablet in tow. Niceguy had a firm grip on it, so I went to sleep. lol

3 hours later, we were both wide awake and I was ready to get started cooking. So we got up, and we were up until the last person left around 11pm.

Yea it was wild, and we were both grateful for the additional day off to catch up on sleep. lol