Braving the wilds...

I'm firmly entrenched into the ho-ho-ho season now. One of the local radio stations has been playing Christmas music 24/7 for several weeks now, which I listen to frequently while driving. However, my jolly mood was officially launched when Becky and I braved the wilds of Black Friday to partake in the shopping discounts. I think I exhausted Becky. LOL I'd be the first to admit that I'm mostly a browser.

Our first stop was Menards and I have to agree with Becky's description that "it's scary up there", meaning the check-out lanes. Menards definitely got a "D" from me on their lack of organization and planning for the Christmas rush. My list of items to look for was swiftly abandoned and we immediately grabbed the few things we could find and headed for the door....or, rather, the shortest line we could see. We escaped intact and soon was heading for the Walmart Super Center. Ed Abbey is probably cringing right now. Yes, that evil place was our next choice, but we had specific items to get there. For me, it was movies and a few kitchen appliances that were being advertised at a special rate. I'm a movie freak and if I can find some good deals on movies, I'm there. My score for the day was 10 movies for less than $30. Not too bad, if I do say so for myself! I was very pleasantly surprised at Walmart's "B" organization. Compared to Menards, Walmart was slow! We got our stuff and swiftly departed for the final destination - The Mall.

My primary goal at the mall consisted of one store - Best Buy. I had seen on the black friday websites that they had the Norton anti-virus software listed as being "free". With my free three-month subscription coming up for renewal, I wanted that "free" software. LOL Best Buy was packed, and their lack of marking the discount prices on items definitely gets them a "C". I would have given them a lower rating, but they were the best, by far, for check-out organization. What would have been a massive pack of people at the registers was, instead, kept in an orderly line with attendants directing customers to the next available register. Despite the long line, Becky and I were both out the door within 10 minutes of joining. My Norton software, which wasn't marked as being "free", had a rebate sticker on it for $20. I accepted that I would be paying $50 for it, but when I reached the register, the cashier handed me this huge wad of receipts and told me there were two rebates. I looked at her and point blank asked "Are you shitting me?" LOL She busted up laughing but confirmed it. Yes! Once my rebate checks arrive, I will have paid only $10 for the software. Merry Christmas to me and my computer! Although not free, I won't be complaining! At this point we were famished. We headed to a good ol' down home country cafe and feasted at the buffet. (Becky's expecting and I knew this was the best option for her to find food that would "stay down".)

We hit a few more stores, said hello to a former coworker who now works at Barnes & Noble (I wonder how much of her paycheck goes back to the store....) and I treated myself to Starbucks. Finally Becky could take it no longer. She needed a nap so we called it quits and she headed home. Not me, however. I had a few other non-Christmas items to buy so I was back at the stores. I got home a few hours later with a few dents in the checkbook, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Ironically enough, though, nearly everything I bought was for me. ROFL. I only checked off one person from my short list.