Black Friday. The name itself eludes to the blackness that clouds this day.
Today was my first experience on the consumer side of black friday, as I have always worked retail or customer service and this is the first time I have been able to be a black friday shopper.
It will likely be my last time doing so.
People mobbed into every store imaginable starting at 4am. The lines were generally horrendous, although all in all not nearly as bad as I imagined
I started off by staying up all night with Tom trying to orchestrate a plan of action. We headed off at 3:30am battle stations manned and ready to go. Stopped at 7/11 for a quick coffee and bagel, then off to Smith Haven Mall to catch JC Penney's opening at 4am, Macy's at 5am then Target and Best Buy at 6am.
Nothing was really that amazingly priced and the things that I did want to get that were crazy good deals were NOWHERE to be found. There wasn't even an empty spot on the shelf for many of them. Talk about the ol' bait and switch routine. I did wind up getting a few things checked off my list, but nothing I couldn't have gotten at a later date, perhaps even after the sun was up.
So staying up a full 24 hours to shop, really isn't the best thing I can recommend. I get home at 10:30 am after breakfast with Tom at Towers Diner to find out that a woman was trampled to death at a near by Wal-mart and another pregnant woman was knocked over and trampled on. At the hospital, she suffered a miscarriage as a result.
What kind of horrific mess is this whole thing that people just don't care? What happened to the joy of the season? Is that big screen tv really worth killing over? It's enough to make you realize that we aren't that far removed from the animal kingdom. Sad. Very sad.
Next year I think I will stick with Cyber Monday, the latest addition to the retail holiday freakshow. I did get Tom's present online. The item I knew he wanted and was excited that I finally got something that was what he really wanted. Then he found out it was available and was going to buy it himself, and I had to blurt out that I already ordered it. Nothing like spoiling my fun. Thanks for that one, Bonehead! Love him anyway. Despite my best efforts to the contrary! Haha.
Anyway, all for now, hopefully everyone who went out today returned home safely, sans battle wounds.
