I see Friday as a terrific opportunity to go into work and get caught up on a few things while it's quiet and the phone won't be ringing and I won't be having to put out fires all day. I absolutely, positively will not be going into or near a retail establishment of any sort tomorrow. Not a fking chance.

I never understood the allure of standing around with a bunch of slavering consumerist, consumption-oriented morons and then fighting (perhaps literally) with them just to get some stupid trinket that will likely end up in a closet or in a landfill within five years anyway. The whole thing is a matter of perspective - when someone says "but it's worth it - I saved a bunch of money!" I just turn to them and say "did you come home with more or less money in your pocket than when you left? Tell me again how much you think you 'saved'". You're not "saving" money by going out tomorrow, you're spending it - idiots.

But let the ignorant mASSES have their ritual. It keeps me from having to deal with them and gives me a quiet day to get things done, which I'm fine with.

I kind of understand it. Its a female thing. Thanksgiving is a lot of work, and often you have relatives in the house, sometimes relatives your not to thrilled about. A full day of shopping gets you out of the house and lets the ladies bond with some 'retail therapy'. When I was a kid, the gals would go shopping and the men would hunt deer.

OMG I CAN'T WAIT!!! Black Friday is a BLAST! I'm thinking about dressing up as a Zombie - the Black Friday Zombie - bwahahaaaa!!!!

Now the funny part is that I basically HATE shoppig. But on Black Friday, I can line out all of the items I need to pick up, arrange a schedule, get up super early (I'm a very early riser), and have all my Christmas shopping for 2010 done by 9am.

That leaves a full day to go ride my mountain bike after all the shopping is done.

Black Friday is just flat fun. Taking three young adults with me tomorrow, it will be the first Black Friday for one of them. Our first stop is 3am!!!!

Gosh, how can you guys not like Black Friday? It's like the running of the bulls with coupons! :D

angela

Going to the range Friday. That's my therapy.

Here on the local news, they had a couple camped out in a tent outside a Best Buy since last Sunday. The woman stated that they had know idea what they were going to buy. They just wanted to be the "first" ones in. People are seriously disturbed.

I plan on spending Friday in my garage.

I went shopping this morning. No crowds, though we avoided the Best Buys, Toys R Us' and Targets of the retail world. For ONCE stores are open at a time convenient for my kids' early morning circadian schedules. Why can't shops open at 5 am all the time?

Well, I didn't make it to the Turkey Run:( maybe tomorrow, but while reading the paper today I noticed some places were having some screaming deals, and saw a few things that I actually needed and planned on buying:eek: so, I ordered on line, free shipping and didn't have to battle any crowds, and saved over $100:)

I have done the dark thirty black Friday shopping, only way to do it really. I always wake up early anyway, rare's the time I sleep past 0600.

Did go to Big 5 after I dropped off the ladder at the office and get some stuff today that was super cheap. Pretty painless, mile over and back, 15 minutes in the store.

We left the houset at 2:30am, first store open at 3:00am. That store was an absolute zoo. Took 45 minutes plus to get through the checkout line...

Hot-footed over to stop #2. Dropped our son off at one store to wait in a very long line for opening. The line was probably 300 meters long. I headed to another store for their opening. Wound up with a very convivial group of people. We laughed, took pictures and sang Christmas carols. Two people from the nearby Pita Pit came by with an insulated bag of breakfast pitas. Steak and egg - yum!

Finished that location, hit one more and came home. All done by 7:30am.

angela

You couldn't save me enough money to make that worthwhile. I hate shopping, and I absolutely detest shopping when there's a crowd. I hate the mall on a weekend afternoon in June, so there's no way you'll find me there on the busiest shopping day of the year.

We ended up with a pretty decent day at Radioshack. I led the sales for most of the day. :D

To me, this ritual borders on the insane. I usually never leave the house unless it is to go to the airport to work on car, airplane, fly (pick one depending on weather). We were heading back from the folks house Thu night at 10:30 and the express way traffic was at gridlock in the opposite direction. The mASSES (good term) were all lined up to exit for the outlet mall. I mean this went on for miles and the parking lot looked full.:eek:

Seriously, are you friggin' kidding me? What is sooooo important that you have to buy it then? To save a lousy 20 bucks? I just don't get it - never have, never will.

Locally, upstate NY there was a young man almost trampled to death with the surge of people going through a Walmart doorway at some ungodly hour of the morning. As other's have said, I will never understand the mentality.

hey! I bought some wood glue, and some screws - also a muffin tin - I yam a SHOPAHOLIC!

It's gotten insane. Now folks are developing multi person strategies. Won't be long before someone gets shot because others slipped extra goods to them as they stood in line.

Then you can call it Black Friday.

A muffin tin?!!!!!!!!

That's obviously slang for something to do with nookie, right?;)

I just don't get it. I watched the news this morning about the guy getting trampled in Buffalo, NY and just shook my head. What the hell is wrong with people? Why do people act like starving masses around a truck throwing bread out to them? This just reinforces my agoraphobia and hate of just about everyone I don't know personally. I will do my Xmas shopping over the next two weeks online and will buy my Xmas cards at the grocery store one night while I'm picking up food for dinner. I spent yesterday in Death Valley. It was crowded, but it's a pretty big place.

I got a couple Victory by Design DVDs online from Speed TV shop. $17.46 total for Lotus and Jaguar shipped to my door. :)

I did the Black Friday thing for the first time ever. I really needed some good shoes and saw that the Cole Haan outlet was having 50% off everything in the store plus 20% discount from 12am-8am Friday for a total discount of 60%. I got 6 pairs of shoes worth $1K for $400, so I'm happy.

When I got there, the freeway offramp was backed up a half mile onto the freeway. This outlet complex has 120 stores, many participating. Took about a half hour to get on the parking lot, which was impossible. I left and parked next door at a motel and walked about a quarter mile to the outlets. Some had lines outside the door like you'd see at a hot new movie. Fortunately, there was no line for Cole Haan and they had my size in everything I wanted. A fifteen minute wait for the register, and I was done.

I am not presently disposed to reveal that information.