After Thanksgiving Sales

We hit the sales on Friday morning. I have never done it before, but I finally felt that it was time to be a part of the insanity. We woke up at 3:00 and arrivd at the IHOP by 3:30. We thought this would be a perfect place to start the day. Well lit, friendly, smoke free, and open 24 hours.



The only problem was this sign on the other door...
Closed from 1pm to 6am.

So, we quickly regrouped. We had to be in line at Goody's by 4:30 for the 5:00 opening. The reason being that the first 300 people received 10 gift cards. We didn't want to miss that. Luckily, just across the street was a place that would never let us down like IHOP did....The WAFFLE HOUSE. Smoky, cramped, bright yellow but still quite dingy at the same time. To make it even better, a Celine Dion fan had apparantly pumped about $5 worth of quarters into the jukebox. Boy, was Liana glad to hear that!

We called our shopping pals CK and Gaby and told them IHOP was off and to meet us at the WH. They were a little sluggish, but they finally made it.

Here I am with my friend Gabi at about 3:55am

At around 4:00 in the morning, everyone is feeling a little crazy.


We left Waffle House and made it to Goody's by 4:30. There was only one other person there, so we were all set. We got in, got the card, got the stuff, got in line, and got out. We were done by 5:20, and despite some technical difficulties at the register, none of us paid over $3 total.

Then we headed toward the other side of town and Shoe Carnival, where the first 100 people got $10 gift cards. We made it in time for the cards, and met some people in line who had just come from braving the crowds at Wal-Mart. We shared our tales of derring-do as we jumped around in the cold, trying to stay warm. We ran in at 6:00, got the card and started looking for shoes. I am proud to say that the pair of Vans that I had my eye on started at 50 bucks, but with my gift card, my coupon, and a temporary Shoe Carnival "10 minute only" mark down (that was lucky), I got them for $16.

Then it was off to Belk for some gift shopping, Office Depot for a super cheap 1 GB flash drive, and then to Hastings for the super-duper "All Used CDs $3.99 Sale". Among other amazing used CDs (My Spanish Heart, Return to Forever Retrospective, Rufus Wainsright-Want Two, etc.) I picked up the much needed Paul Simon Concert in Central Park. Yes, even the two disc sets were $3.99.

By that time we had had enough. Back to the house for "lunch". It felt late and I was starving. It was only 9:30.