BF

This is sort of belated but this year I had some electronics I've been wanting to buy, and so for the first time ever I participated in BLACK FRIDAY.

I didn't go to any of the crazy stores like Walmart or Target because I didn't want a new TV, but I'm kind of bummed because I wanted to see the maximum frenzy. Next year I want to just go as a tourist.

I did a lot of Black Friday ad research and found two retailers selling what I wanted, a new computer monitor to hook up to my macbook, and a specific netbook I'd had my eye on. The ultimate goal was to retire my macbook to a life on the desktop as a "WORK" computer, which I hope will lengthen its life, and to get a cheap little baby lap top that I could cart around and use for emails and twitter on the couch and internet tv in bed.

First stop was Radio Shack, which had a really good deal on the netbook. My brother Joey agreed to be my team mate even though he didn't want to buy anything. Radio Shack opened at 5:30, and since it's sort of right by a Walmart we figured everyone would be there getting trampled, so we got up at 4:30 and got there at about 5:10. There was a small line so we trucked out of our car to go stand.

I forgot to mention that it was BITTERLY BITTERLY COLD OUT. When we left the house, my car's doors were all frozen shut. I had to bully the passenger side door open and after that, IT WOULDN'T CLOSE. So I was like, great, these deals are not work a broken car, but whatever, TOO LATE NOW.

Here's a picture of me outside of Radio Shack.



I like how I have ghost legs.

WELL it turned out that the ten or so people in line ahead of us at just come from Walmart. WHAT. They were all hardcore and were first in line there and bough their shit at 5:00 exactly and then came to Radio Shack right after. The guy in front of us was at Walmart all night to buy some laptop but it ended up not having a webcam so he didn't want it. He said that's why everyone else was in line too. WHAT Anyway we waited until the store opened and then it turned out Radio Shack only had ONE netbook at that price and some other asshole had got it before me.

At this point I am very sad and feeling like a total failure. But we were not going to fail at Office Max so I had the fury. Office Max is the one that had the deal on the monitor I wanted and they opened at 7.

We got to Office Max at 6. There was no line in front but there are a few cars idling in the parking lot. We park and discuss how everyone must be in a game of chicken for the first person to get out of their cars and all stand in line. Then some guy knocks on my window and he says they've created their own numbering system so they can wait in their cars. I said, well, that's civil, and take the number he offers me. It looks like this.

So I'm like, great, thanks for this scrap you tore from something on the floor of your car. Immediately me and Joey start talking how how this is going to fall apart, which it will. Someone will betray the system, or there will just too many people. As we are sitting taking advantage of this slight reprieve, more cars start showing up. The number guy is running around the parking lot, knocking on every car window and explaining their system. An Office Max employee comes out and is like, dude, please don't do that. You can't make your own numbering system, we can't honor it, we don't want a riot ok? Totally fine, Office Max guy. So we all get out of our cars and go stand in line.

We move up from 13 to 8th because the system is disintegrated. We have a sleeping bag to wrap up in, not because I cam super prepared for standing outside, but because I always have a sleeping bag in my car because I am a hobo. Still, it's real cold, and we're taking turns with the sleeping bag. BUT. Even worse than the biting freezing cold, was that the number system guy WOULD NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER SYSTEM.

HOLY GOD. He would not stop talking about what an asshole Office Max was being, and how we had "all agreed to the number system" and how he was just trying to keep everyone from "freezing our asses off" and how "Office Max wants us to freeze our asses off" and how he wouldn't be as mad if "the employees would stand out here with us." YEAH RIGHT GUY, they already hate their lives because they had to get up at satan's asscrack of dawn to sell us shit we don't even need, I would never ask them to stand outside with us.

We had to listen to this guy constantly for nearly an hour, you guys. It was exscrutiating. If I had to choose between listening to this guy for an hour in 70 degree weather, and standing out in the freezfest and have him be dead, like, it would be a really tough decision.

Anyway, the cold wasn't even that bad because Joey and I took turns standing outside in a sleeping bag cocoon and sitting in the car. That's why the buddy system pays off, lonely guys.

My favorite part of the morning was having the guy in line behind me mutter "I can't believe I have to listen to this asshole" about the guy who wouldn't stop bitching. We then became friends.

ANYWAY, finally the store opened and we all went inside. I asked the guy who came out earlier and told us where everything was where the monitors were, and he said they were by the register. So I went over there, the OPPOSITE of where everyone else is going and say, one monitor please! The BITCH said "Monitors are over there!" across the store where there are now 100 people standing around confused. I almost cried. I blew it. I went over there, dodged through everyone being confused, grabbed some not as good of a deal monitor to hoard, and went over the register. SOMEHOW I am the 3rd person in line at the register. No waiting AT ALL. I couldn't believe it, but everyone was still being confused on the other side of the store.

I told the girl at the checkout that I had hoarded this one monitor but I really wanted this other one. She was like, ok great they're right here, here you go. AHAHAHAH PHEW! I had sent Joey on a mission to see the deals on the netbooks, and he found it, not as good as the Radio Shack deal but 20 bucks less than the Walmart price so he reports back as I'm checking out so I just buy the netbook too. While I am paying I look behind me and there seriously about 200 people in line behind me. The line stretched all the way to the back of the giant store. This was the other best part of the night. Being in the front of a huge line. Here's a blurry picture of it but you can't really see how far the line snakes around.

Whatever dudes, I know that Black Friday is like a heroin bender for capitalists but I really wanted to try it out. And I gotta say, I'm hooked. I'm going next year for sure. Standing in line with those people made me hurt in my heart with the perfect combination of tragedy and sense of community, which I strive for every day.

I just got around to setting up my purchases yesterday. I knew once I did I would just be on the computer forever. The giant monitor is kind of freaking me out. I did some work in Illustrator and the extra space from dual screens is just SO LUXURIOUS! I am experimenting with loading different OS onto the netbook and I am kind of way too excited about it? So I am still playing around and it is fun but also time consuming and making me hate computers. In like a hate but secretly love way.

After I got back from shopping I spent another 200 bucks on sweaters at the GAP.COM online sale, half of which I will return after I've tried them on. I was in a frenzy ok. I REALLY LIKE SWEATERS.

After that I went and worked 11 hours and then went and hung out with my friends until like 4, because I am an idiot.