Black Days

Black Friday, the opening of the holiday shopping season, has come and gone. This year we had a Black Weekend, because from Thursday to Sunday, there are deals to be had, and we didn't have time to fool around. Here's the breakdown of what went on:

Black Thursday (or as some call it, Thanksgiving)
Objective: Buy an Xbox 360 from Amazon

At 11 am on Thursday, Amazon was selling 1000 Xbox 360's for $100 each. For most people, there wasn't a prayer of getting a PS3 or Wii anytime soon, so this was the next best opportunity. Millions of people waited with white-knuckled anticipation for this moment to arrive.

The problem was that millions of people were waiting for this moment to arrive. Amazon's servers promptly got bogged down, which meant that 99.9% of people weren't going to get their greedy hands on the Xbox 360. About five minutes before 11 am, it was taking my computer about 45 seconds to refresh. Not a good sign. At 11 am, I refreshed my page once more, and twenty minutes later the page reloaded with the "sold out" message. Phooey!

Not me with not my Xbox 360

It was pretty funny to see the angry posts from people who didn't get an Xbox 360. Some said it was just a big scam, some cursed Amazon and swore never to come back, some called out for everyone to report Amazon to the Better Business Bureau for such treachery. A lot of people seemed to feel entitled to get a cheap Xbox 360, and didn't to the math about how slim their chances really were. Kind of sad, really.

Mission Result: TOTAL FAILURE, BUT I STILL LOVE YOU AMAZON

Black Friday
Objective: Get deals at Best Buy, Circuit City, and Home Depot

We woke about at 3 am on Friday morning, and got to our local Best Buy at 4 am. There were about 500 - 600 people already there, and the lined wrapped around the entire building. When they finally opened at 5 am, it was not unlike a cattle stampede inside the store. The store staff did their best to keep the checkout lines orderly, but there were too many frenzied people inside the store.

My fiance had to catch a $20 printer with her face. I got disgusted trying to find the stuff I was looking for, and wanted to leave. We ended up getting most of the items we wanted, but this was the most unpleasant Best Buy Black Friday I've ever been to.

Mission Result: PARTIAL SUCCESS, BUT NO FREE KRISPY KREMES OR COFFEE. PAH!

Plasma flatscreens on sale? Run, fellow buffalo, run!

The Circuit City in our area is kind of like the snot-nosed little brother to Best Buy: dirtier and an unappealing & unorganized mess. The store was filled to the brim with the same variety of delirious bargain-hunters. It didn't help that the store was uncomfortably warm. We got most of what we were looking for, but we're glad we only go to Circuit City only once a year.

Mission Result: SUCCESSFUL FOR THE MOST PART, BUT BLECH

I managed to take a little side trip to Home Depot to get a cheap wet/dry vacuum and to check out a deal for a flatscreen tv. When I got to the store, I parked right in front and was greeted by a friendly and helpful store employee. He told me where to find the vacuum and the tv. I walked right up to the flatscreen tv's, picked one up and put in on my cart. I got a vacuum, paid for both items, and waltzed back to my car. It was a breath of fresh air. No fighting with other people, no crowds, no catching tv's with my face. Ha!

Mission Result: COMPLETE DOMINATION. YOU ROCK MY WORLD, HOME DEPOT

Black Saturday
Objective: Sleep


Mission Result: ZZZZZ

Black Sunday
Objective: Get deals at Costco

I love Costco. I love to walk up and down the aisles, and we love buying things that we really don't need. Did you know Costco sells a five-gallon bucket of food and supplies, just in case there's an emergency? We really wanted to buy one, but I'd probably open it and start eating the food, disaster or not.

We got the deals we were looking for, and found some new ones along the way. It was a fitting end to our Black Weekend; we got a great start on our Christmas shopping.

Now we just need to buy some stuff that's not just for us! Ha ha ha ha!

Mission Result: TOTAL SUCCESS - PLUS, WE GOT A COPY OF THE FREE COSTCO COOKBOOK, WHICH IS ALL WE REALLY WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE