My First Black Friday

Funny that three of our least favorite things in the world just so happen to be exactly what Black Friday is all about:

1. Waking up early
2. Waiting in lines
3. Shopping

For some reason, Ben cracked a few years ago and has been sold on it ever since. I've never really cared much about it because I've never really had money to blow on plasma TVs or laptops, but it turns out there are other good deals out there besides the big doorbusters. After buying a newspaper just to look through the ads, I was decided: "I've got a message for you, three-dollar hand mixer at Target-- YOU'RE MINE."

Our alarms went off at 3, and I was not a happy camper. I had had a bad cough all week. That didn't stop me, though-- it was time for my first Black Friday adventure!

We arrived at Target around 3:45 and got what was probably the very last parking spot in the lot. It was PACKED. We quickly realized how cold it was outside-- standing out there got old fast. Luckily, the doors opened at 4, and since everyone runs in like there's no tomorrow, it didn't take long to get inside.

It was incredible. There were people everywhere. There were already long lines at the registers when we walked in. Ben and I had a game plan to divide and conquer. I ran to the mixers, and to my disappointment, they were ALREADY GONE! Booooooo! Luckily, I didn't really need it. I only needed it because it was $3. And really, who DOESN'T need a mixer for $3??

Ben had success finding the Wii game we wanted and picked up a DVD for $1.50. What a deal. Apparently he was also the Black Friday hero for some idiots who couldn't figure out how to get the games out. Look at that-- getting deals AND saving the day. What a guy.

After Target we figured we'd hit up a few other places just because we were already awake. We came home around 7:30 with a few goodies, like a really nice winter coat for Ben (who has been wearing a freaking HOODIE until now). Aaaaaand, even though we were tired and hungry and hated waiting in line to check out behind the guy who couldn't understand what Kohl's cash was, we didn't end up killing each other. In fact, we had a blast.

I suppose it was fun for me because there wasn't anything I desperately wanted or needed. I mean, if I was up super early and in the cold because I needed that plasma TV and then I found out there were none left, that would be the opposite of fun. But my loss on the $3 mixer was something I could deal with. And spending time with Ben is always something worth doing. :)

Black Friday-- I'm not so scared of you anymore (now that I don't work retail). Maybe we can be friends now... maybe. ;)