My 1st and Last......

BLACK FRIDAY:

Watch this video that was actually videoed at the bloomington walmart but picture cardboard and wii games being thrown in the air to the people at the back....

Now, let me tell you my story :)

The other day Leslie called and was all you planning on doing any black friday shopping, I replied "eh, I don't really know... maybe I will look at the ads" So.... when I get home wednesday night I start looking through ALL the ads and decided there are some things I 'thought' I couldn't live without. So, we make our game plan.... scout the ads the times stores open and what we really wanted. First on the list is Walmart, they now have deals starting at 10 (woot woot, lucky us huh!) We get there 9:15 ish and have to park at Dickies BBQ and trek all the way in find the line for DVD's and change our mind on that... Go down to the seafood isle where all the nintendo games were (we had three mario ones the boys needed) and find a mob.. no line just a mob of people. We work our way up a little to find there are three cardboard displays one supposedly had Wii, one PS and on Xbox. By now its around 9:30 and we start thinking about this set up... there is no exit... how are people once they get their games going to leave this MOB of people already inching forward like there is some place to go. We sorta chit chat with the few people next to us, invading out personal bubbles. One guy asks hesitantly which game we are going for.. he lets out a breath of relief when its not the same one as him.. and the sweet lady behind us just keeps questioning why she was there and if its all going to be worth it and the two guys behind us joke about hoping the people up front just start throwing the games they don't want towards the back sense we will probably never make it up there. There is no space between the seafood freezers and the boxes and no space between the boxes and the people... 9:45....uh this is when I start to change my mind. Questioning if this is a good idea or not. Well by the time Leslie and I look at each other and agree this is going to be madness and debate whether or not to start slipping back its 9:53 and they start pulling the plastic covers off the displays. Its too late, people start shoving forward like its their last dying day! I am sure the look on my face was priceless, as it is many times in my life. I am now worried, not about the Wii games the boys wanted but about my life! Worried I am going to get tripped and trampled because heaven forbid someone misses out on the $20 Wii games. Then about this time I sort of laugh out loud because here they come nintendo games coming from the front.. being hoisted, being rejected by the few in front that can get their hands on some. Luckily for most of us our heads were saved because mister 6'6 with arms for days caught the majority of them and nicely handed them back. I am now weaseling my way back and try just standing out of the way for a moment but I get pushed that way, then ran into by someone else, then shoved another way and so forth. I look around and see card board on the floor, games flyin, people videoing and laughing, people seriously angry they cant get up to the front. I kinda make my way to the front, not sure it was really by choice or not and I see Walmart workers picking up stacks of games that are on the floor and handing them out to pass back to the people in front. Well, I guess I made the mistake of asking one ASSociate if she had mario, "like I know" in the most cattiest voice I have ever heard... "wanna pass some out so we can look" I asked her pretty innocently I thought, I just saw the other workers doing it.... "NO, DO YOU WANNA BACK UP SO WE CAN CLEAN THIS MESS YOU MADE UP" uh... biotch, you obviously cant handle retail or handle planning a safe way to do this so why the hell you here? Okay, I didn't say that to her face but I sorta wanted to, What is she going to do with that stack of games in her hands once she cleans up the broken cardboard display... stack them on the ground... no, so hand them out! And, like I could back up I only had 100 people behind me pushing me forward! Anyways... crowd sorta dies down once they know there aren't many games left, I find my way to leslie who has somehow gathered two games (not the original ones we wanted but they will do). When we start to turn to leave it was like a spot light shown the waves parted and we see this box on the other side of the sea of people and its practically untouched.... Low and behold, MARIO WII !!!! Just what we wanted... we go and grab out three games and bolt. Enough of the nintendo games in the seafood dept. We had other things on our list so we try to make out way to the toys.... finally finally, we make it and our things are gone. Leslie looks at a few more things when I go try to get in line to check out. Well........................... we waited and waited like 15 minuets in line and didn't move a inch. I am not lying I even asked the guy in front of me if we moved at all. He just laughed and said don't believe we have. Thats when we again look at each other (me and leslie) and think why are we here! Leslie says, lets just be done I replied "BUT WE GOT WHAT WE WANTED!" "I know but we will be standing in this line for EVER and I just don't think its worth it" So we decided to stash the games (clever, I know) and come back in a while and get them so out we go, empty handed and a hour later.

But... get this, as we trek the way to dickies parking lot to leave, the guy parked next to us was unloading his shopping cart of goodies when we asked if he got all he wanted. He sorta shrugged and was all sure. Well, as we get into are car and start to pull out he lifts the shopping cart and loads it into his car as well as the goodies inside it!!!! We sorta hesitate... like is he really stealing the shopping cart?! Yes, yes indeed he stole the cart as well.

I suppose the saying is very much true that ANYTHING can and will happen on Black Friday...

ps- I will never EVER do that again... I am not much of a shopper in the first place, don't know what possessed me to try it on the busiest day of the year.