Black Friday Shopping Mania

I will admit it. As much of a shopper as I was and am, I have never gone shopping on Black Friday. Working in retail for two years, I have worked the maniac hours and seen people crowd the stores as if it was the only day to shop. When I wasn't working, I intended to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to hit the proclaiming sales of the year and score some serious bargains. But I could never get myself to wake up that early after an amazing, exhausting Thanksgiving feast and celebration.

So this year, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Woodburn Company Stores started their Black Friday madness on Thanksgiving night!! No need to go to sleep and wake-up early to go shopping (I love shopping, but not more than sleep). So at around 9:30pm, David my boyfriend, David my brother, and I jumped into the car and drove off to Woodburn.

As we approached the exit, we realized we were stuck being several miles of traffic. It was literally going stop and go, the parking lot was full, and people were abandoning their cars to jump the fence. It was insane!

Finally, after an hour of waiting in traffic (2 miles) and finding a parking spot we began our adventure.

We shopped, literally until we dropped. Scoring sweet deals on athletic gear from Adidas and Nike, to the rare 50% off everything at Banana Republic. By 3am, we started getting a little delirious and everything seemed to look good. The crowds withered by then and we realized we should probably head back to Portland.

On the way, we figured we might as well stop by Fry's. Fry's, supposedly had amazing sales. I have never gone to an electronic store this early in the morning and never did I expect to wait in line for at least an hour to buy my products. I nearly croaked.

So it was pretty much an experience to remember. Several of the "morals" or thoughts I take away from all of this is simply... Elena, you are not as crazy as a shopper as you once were. I could handle probably 2 hours of the madness, but an all-nighter of shopping?! What once was my fantasy has now become a nightmare. Lines, stampedes of people, and way too much things to choose from, things I may not even need, is not worth the sacrifice of precious sleep. A few extra dollars of saving...well...I love bargains...but it just may not be worth it.

I don't regret this experience. In fact, I think its really given me a greater insight into humanity. The mania that surrounds black friday is insane. It is addicting and draws you in. But in the end, leaves you no better off than before (I got merely 2 Christmas gifts off my list in over 6 hours of shopping).

Will I do this next year? Haha.. We'll see. I can't quite say no, but I don't want to think about it now. But then again, I suppose that is the mysterious power of Black Friday...