Black Friday

For the first time in several years, I participated in Black Friday. The mother and sister-in-love and I hit the stores at 4:30am and were back home by 8:45am. Here’s how our day unfolded:

4:10am- Woke up, got dressed, brushed teeth, put in contacts. No need to shower, we meant business!

4:21am- Out the door (notice not only the time, but the temp..it was freeeeezing!)

4:30am- Arrived at Wal-Mart:

As this was our first time braving the early morning crowds on Black Friday, I had no idea what to expect. We walked into the store (which was already open, but the sale didn’t start until 5am) and there were huge pallets of goodies wrapped in black saran wrap. Each pallet had a a piece of paper attached to it that indicated what was contained inside the wrapping. We walked around because we were in search of a specific digital camera and finally found what we were looking for.

4:40am- Secured my rightful place at the digital camera pallet. Patiently waited 20 minutes to dooms-day. Standing there with all of these other people was pretty intimidating. The others around me definitely had experienced Black Friday before, so I was a rookie amongst seasoned veterans. Rather than let my fear show, I chose to beef up my chest, pull my shoulders back, and plant a very unfriendly look on my face, as to communicate “I mean business.” I also contemplated uttering phrases like “well, until today, I’ve only kicked one girl’s ass…..” or “Boy, those white castles from last night aren’t sitting too well in the ol’ stomach.” I knew very well I could clear out the aisle in a matter of seconds if I really needed to….

4:59am- Wal-mart intercom announces that “there’s only 1 minute left shoppers!” At that time, the girl next to me noticed that there weren’t any wal-mart employees around, so she started ripping into the saran wrap. I, of course, assisted her in the mission to secure a camera (or two). Here’s my victorious moment caught on tape (I’m on the far left, in front of the blonde with the bun in her hair):

5:00am- SUCCESS! Two digital cameras are now in my possession.

5:00:15am- I grab a third box, thinking I could sell it to someone outside the store for more than I paid for it

5:00:30am- All of the cameras are taken. I’m the proud possessor of three of them. I walk past disappointed patrons who were hoping to get their hands on a camera. Sorry kids. You snooze you lose. Proceeded to the check out line, where I then made a lady very happy when I passed one of my three cameras onto her (she looked desperate and well, I’m a nice person).
5:20am- On our way to Kohls.

5:29am- Arrived at Kohls, which has already been open for an hour and a half. When we entered the store, the Mothership headed straight for the check out line, while Laurie and I made our way to housewares. After finding the couple items we came for, Laurie and I joined the mothership in line. About 15 minutes later, I headed back out into the store for some browsing, which proved successful when I found these $65 boots for $19!

I also found this beautifully colored shirt for Hubs:

5:45am- Still in line at Kohl’s. Poor mothership, she didn’t even get to browse. She, Laurie, and I wait patiently in line.

6:15am- Still in line at Kohl’s.

6:25am- Still in line at Kohl’s. By this time, the mothership has made friends with the lady in front of us, whose son is currently in school at the Air Force Academy. AF mom is carrying a griddle, a skillet, a heavy jacket, and a few smaller items. She continued to carry them for the next 20 minutes until she checked out. She carried her load for the entire hour and a half we waited in line. Bless her heart!
6:45am- Mothership and Laurie make it to the register.

6:50am- I make it to the register. I was $2 short of spending enough money to earn any Kohl’s cash. Ah well.

6:55am- Macy’s…here we come!

7:10am- Arrive at Macy’s where Laurie finds a perfect parking spot and backs in.

7:20am- We find the charging valets I wanted and we get in line.

7:21am- The lady ahead of us in line argues with the Macy’s employee about the $10 coupon not working on her order.

7:22am- The gentleman in front of us argues with the Macy’s employee about the $10 coupon not working on his order.

7:25am- The two ladies in front of us argue with the Macy’s employee about the $10 coupon not working on their order.

7:30am- I argue with the Macy’s employee about the $10 coupon not working on my order. I wasn’t buying anything name brand (so the paragraph of exclusions listed on the coupon didn’t apply to me) and there was no reason it shouldn’t have worked.

7:31am- Macy’s employee gives me $10 off my order.

7:40am- Off to the other mall to hit JCPennys!

7:50am- Arrive at Mall St. Matthews and hit up a few stores, including New York & Co, my all-time favorite store! I got 3 pairs of pants, a top, and two pairs of earrings. Purchased $210 worth of clothing for $79! The mothership had a coupon she saved for me which saved me $40 in addition to the sales they already had ongoing. I racked up!

8:15am- Hit up Ann Taylor Loft and got a STEAL on some fabulous shoes ($70 shoes for….$18.19 including tax!):

Laurie picked up a pair of the same shoes, so I know they must be hot.

8:35am- Left the mall and headed home.

Great deals; great company; a good time was had by all!

November 24th, 2007 Posted by Jessica | Life | 4 comments