Something Walmart with way comes. . .
Call me suicidal.
For years I've rallied against "Black Friday" - refused to willingly throw myself to the dogs that way. As many of you know my biggest pet peeve is waiting in line, and Black Friday is the Christmas of waiting in line. You can't go anywhere without pushing your way through throws of stressed-out people (soccer moms, mostly), and the very notion of it turns my stomach. It tests my fortitude.
But this year something. . . something came over me. I don't know what. Maybe Survivor Guilt. See, I was lucky enough this year not to have to work Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or hell, even the majority of this week. Or maybe I remembered how much I spent on Halloween and wanted to try to compensate with HUGE DOORBUSTER SAVINGS!* Anyways, I ventured out there. I didn't wait in line, thank God, but I did head out at 8 am.
*I've always hated that phrase - Doorbuster sale. The image it evokes in my mind is not a pleasant one. It's the opposite of pleasant. Reminds me of stampeding, trampling people. My least favorite kind of people.
Anyway, I'm writing this to share an absurd moment I witnessed at Wal-Mart. Before you protest, yes, I went to Wal-Mart. And no, I didn't plan on doing so. And YES, I lost a great deal of dignity in the act. But I had some good luck at Best Buy and I needed a cheap HDMI cable. Mission Accomplished. As I was checking out in the miraculously short checkout line, there was a man in front of me buying a printer. Just your average, semi-white trash Wal-Mart shopper. As the cashier rang it up, he says "Wait a minute. I thought this was 80 dollars." Here we go. Another reason I hate Black Friday: The price negotiation. He points to a label. It's the shipping bar code. He's focusing on a completely random number that happens to be 8000. No dollar sign. No decimal point. It wasn't even the largest number on the thing. I was beside myself. I mean I've heard stories about Wal-Mart employees not knowing what a sweater is, and I sure as hell don't expect any higher intelligence from its customers, but wow. That says everything you need to know about shopping at Wal-Mart on Black Friday.
And with that I'm off to enjoy my DVDs in crisp, upscaled 1080i that I got for 50 bucks. It'll do until I inevitably upgrade to HD-DVD or Blu Ray.
For years I've rallied against "Black Friday" - refused to willingly throw myself to the dogs that way. As many of you know my biggest pet peeve is waiting in line, and Black Friday is the Christmas of waiting in line. You can't go anywhere without pushing your way through throws of stressed-out people (soccer moms, mostly), and the very notion of it turns my stomach. It tests my fortitude.
But this year something. . . something came over me. I don't know what. Maybe Survivor Guilt. See, I was lucky enough this year not to have to work Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or hell, even the majority of this week. Or maybe I remembered how much I spent on Halloween and wanted to try to compensate with HUGE DOORBUSTER SAVINGS!* Anyways, I ventured out there. I didn't wait in line, thank God, but I did head out at 8 am.
*I've always hated that phrase - Doorbuster sale. The image it evokes in my mind is not a pleasant one. It's the opposite of pleasant. Reminds me of stampeding, trampling people. My least favorite kind of people.
Anyway, I'm writing this to share an absurd moment I witnessed at Wal-Mart. Before you protest, yes, I went to Wal-Mart. And no, I didn't plan on doing so. And YES, I lost a great deal of dignity in the act. But I had some good luck at Best Buy and I needed a cheap HDMI cable. Mission Accomplished. As I was checking out in the miraculously short checkout line, there was a man in front of me buying a printer. Just your average, semi-white trash Wal-Mart shopper. As the cashier rang it up, he says "Wait a minute. I thought this was 80 dollars." Here we go. Another reason I hate Black Friday: The price negotiation. He points to a label. It's the shipping bar code. He's focusing on a completely random number that happens to be 8000. No dollar sign. No decimal point. It wasn't even the largest number on the thing. I was beside myself. I mean I've heard stories about Wal-Mart employees not knowing what a sweater is, and I sure as hell don't expect any higher intelligence from its customers, but wow. That says everything you need to know about shopping at Wal-Mart on Black Friday.
And with that I'm off to enjoy my DVDs in crisp, upscaled 1080i that I got for 50 bucks. It'll do until I inevitably upgrade to HD-DVD or Blu Ray.