Black Friday 2005 Documented

12 AM - I'm ready to go to sleep, but I have prepared many things before I go. I have mad sure that I got a stoffer's lasagna in the upstairs freezer pre-poked and ready to go to the microwave as I take my first shower. My ipod is plugged into my old computer speakers so that I wake up to some techno music, because if I pick my normal slow music, I’ll never wake up. I have myself a 200 budget (just for myself of course) and although my plan was to get a flat screen LCD monitor to compliment my laptop, I’ve decided against it. Instead I have decided to wing it and buy lotsa clothes. And some electronics of course. I won't be doing the whole KB Toys thing that I've done twice with my sister and once with my cousin Isa. I have decided to go to Kohl's first, which I’m pretty sure I went to with my mother at 8 last year. But this year it's early bird dammit! I'm going at 5. Here's my plan:

5 - 6 Kohl's

6 - 7 Best Buy and if it's open and early still, maybe the Gap

7 - 8 Either Circuit City or Sears

8 - 9 either the other above that I haven't gone to, Toys R Us, The Gap or Old Navy.

I'm hoping that I’ll have a good amount of money for each, I’m mentally dividing it up as $70 Kohl’s, $30 Best Buy, $50 Sears, $20 Circuit City, $40 Gap/Old Navy...wait is that $210? Oh well...I’m convinced that I’m gonna have to use those cool new quarters of (I believe it's) Kansas. Did I also mention that there is going to be a party at my house and it starts at 3? And my room is a mess. And one of my bags is still in the living room right in front of the house. And there's gonna be a priest. Yeah, God I’m gonna need a lotta strength. That or liquor. But I dually curse the fact that I have one last shot of Malibu in my fridge up in New Paltz and the fact that I didn't bring it down with me. But alas, I have to go to sleep so I can get my 4 hours of sleep. Till 4:15.

3:30 AM - I woke up too early, back to sleep.

4:17 AM - So I was actually awake since 4:10, laying there asking myself, "Why didn't the alarm go off yet?" And in a few seconds it's techno music! "And She said" blared in my room, I hope it didn't wake up my dad. I decided to forgo the lasagna thing and went straight to the shower. I was all done by pretty much 4:45 and by 4:46 I was sitting in my car letting it warm up. Extra points for myself for being too cold to move and not switching out my shoes to my driving shoes.

4:55 AM - Kohl's - I decided to wait outside by the doors for them to open instead of sit in the car and wait. Why? I really don't know. I was there early enough to get my own cart. Granted I didn't get too much there. I mean I got myself a white button up shirt, some logoed shirts, a thermal shirt-thingie, new earband-muff-warmer thingie. Oh yeah, some pajamas and a track jacket. The total damage? $73.26, but the lady (when giving me my change for a hundred) gave me 6 five dollar bills and 2 singles. Instead of 27, I got 32 back. But I guess that's what happens when you don't have 10s or 20s in your register. Out time? About 5:40.

5:46 - Best Buy - After trying to get parking in the front, and a nice guy offering his parking space but some bastard taking it before me, I decided to park in the back of Best Buy since there's an entrance there too. I wander around a little bit; it's too crowded and busy for my tastes. So I wander around the video game isle and outta nowhere I hear "Michael Pascua." Huh? I turned around and saw Ludwig; I was like "dude". He handed me a coupon bookie and asked if I needed any help. Of course I didn't. I mentioned to him how it's so hectic and it's like 5 in the morning and I decided to nicely walk away from him. I also saw this dude Nick from my high school there too. It was mighty odd, seeing faces you know, but in a different environment. Time of departure: 6:02

6:06 AM - Modell's - I was heading over to KB Toys when I remembered that one time my sister and I went to KB, she mentioned going to Modell's right afterward. We had run outta time when we were there so we never did. But I really regret that now. I walked in and there were like 5 customers inside. I decided to go and look at shoes. I picked up a pair that was at the clearance section. It's nice. I liked it anyway. I bought yet another hoodie-zip up. This one in grey and with thermal padding. Green zip-up, I'm gonna have to retire you until spring. Total damage: $35.20. Time of departure 6:18.

6:35 AM - Circuit City - You never realize how some stores don't really have check out counters until you see lines snake around the different isles. I walked into Circuit City and was barraged with Verizon pamphlets. I'm sorry miss, I'm very content with T Mobile thank you very much. I did a quick look around and realized the lines here were even worse than Best Buy...that and the fact that everyone buying something here was Hispanic. But that's just me. Out time? 6:40.

6:45 AM - Sears - So I decided to park between Sears and Old Navy so that it was easier access to both stores. So I decided to look at my wonderful logoed shirts. I picked out 3 and a track jacket, in the last minute I dropped the track jacket. It was funny, this woman behind me in the line was all caddy. This Indian family walked over to one of the counters instead of going to the line. Of course the woman didn't realize that one of the four counters was a returns counter. She starts to wave down the family talking to them, "Hey, the line is here!" I kinda snickered. I really didn't care. Of course they explained to the woman that one of the lines was a returns one. So yeah, I got 3 shirts. Total? $20.45. I left at: 7:23.

7:26 AM - Old Navy - I'm kinda angry that I can't find my receipt for Old navy but I'm pretty sure that it totaled $53.08. Anywho, I pretty quickly scoured the clothing for the men, not noticing that everyone that entered (except for me) got a little scratch card and a granola bar-thingie. So I'm standing in line and got lucky as hell. This one family left since they didn't want to stay in the line and they left their card on a counter a little bit off of the line. I nicely asked the guy behind me, who was pretty much holding the spot for his mother, if he could hold my place. He said sure and I saved 10 Dollars! Woo-hoo. So while standing in line there was this mother, grandmother and two kids; the younger boy named Michael. So I kept hearing the older sister scream "Michael! Michael!" and at one point she screamed "Michael just licked the pole!" And I giggled in my head. Another woman who was behind the place setter son was chatting up a storm. My question? Is it really worth the time to stand in line for one item? I guess it was. But she kept telling her friend how she would take her vacation time and visit and book flights early, meaning next thanksgiving this January is when she has to make the cheap flights. And she was also the weather reporter, telling her friend "Know what the temperature is outside? 22 Degrees. But you have to add the wind chill and that makes it feel like 8." She was telling her friend how a New York Christmas is a sight. I guess my parents noticed that when they stopped by my sisters' this Monday Tuesday. (Off topic: Filipinos make me smile). Time of departure: 8:17.

8:17 AM - Software Ect. - Decided to take a quick look. Voted against buying Mario Kart DS. Left at 8:19.

So I got home and tried on my thermal hoodie/zip up. I was happy. I was relegated to a little bit of minor cleaning and lasagna eating and hooking up the Karaoke Microphone. I fell asleep on the couch waiting for my mother so that we could pick up some stuff at Costco for our little party. I fell asleep for an hour and a half.... wait a sec... I found my Old Navy Receipt. $54.08....

Anywho I fell asleep, woke up, and moved to my room. Played Soul Calibur 3 for a while until my mother knocked. We went to Costco so that I could pretty much have a cop out to buy a DVD. My DVD today? Batman Begins, the two disk one! And I got me some dried mangoes. We stopped buy Pathmark to get air fresheners. I bought six dollars of scratch tickets, I won five dollars. Loss? 1 dollar. But it's really the fact that I could scratch and have the chance for so much. Yeah parents and the gambling addiction. I told my mom, "I betcha Uncle Jessie/ Auntie Jo are already at the house." Lo and behold. I was right. Sometimes I feel like I can't talk to Christopher. I want to. But then there is that weird awkwardness between the two of us. Is it sexual tension? Maybe. Is it just like I wanna talk about things and neither of us want to do it with family around? Yeah, maybe it's that too.

We had a mass in my house. Filipino priests make me smile. During the whole mass, I pretty much drilled a hole with my eyes at one of my mother's flower bouquet.

Uno is an intense game. Hillarium is a crazy game.

Umm that’s it for now.

- Paz