Capitalism's yearly romp

Yesterday, I got to participate in that grand holiday tradition known as "getting up at stupid o'clock to stand in line in the freezing cold to try and get a good deal on some poorly made electronic doodad". Also known as Black Friday!

This year, I saw a deal on some Moto Razr cell phones at Best Buy. Rachel and I were both in need of new cell phones, especially since the antenna broke off of mine a couple of months ago. Usually, these phones cost ~$50-75 each for an upgrade. Best Buy was offering them for free with the typical 2-year contract. So, I found myself in line at the local Best Buy at 4am, shivering in the windy, 25 degree weather. There were no fewer than 5 tents pitched in front of the store, and one group of hearty adventurers had a complete tailgating setup, complete with gas grill and condiment table. There were probably 100-200 people in front of me in line, some of whom had been there since 9 o'clock the previous morning. That's just nuts. Anyway, the doors opened at 5am, and we all filed, cattle-like, into the store. By the time I got in the door some of the folks ahead of me were already at the cash register. I was able to make my way to the cell phone counter, and thankfully they still had 2 of the phones I was looking for. I was able to make it out by 5:45am, which I consider an unqualified success. I went to Michael's and Target for a little more shopping before returning home and getting a few hours of sleep.

Overall, a pretty successful trip, and the phones are really cool. The rest of this weekend will be spent putting up Christmas decorations and relaxing with my family. Gotta get myself geared up for those last 5 weeks at Covance! :-)