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The Black Friday Bust
I know a man isn't supposed to admit this, but the truth is, I like to shop. I am a sucker for modern home furnishings, bedding and, yes, clothing.
I started paying attention to these things when I moved to Portland in 2002. I was single for the first time in years and starting completely from scratch since I'd just sold everything I owned when I left Texas. Up to this point, I'd mostly lived in beige box apartments and I'd pretty much been a beige person.
But, a-ha! This was a new beginning. I had a cool studio in the city and it was time for me to become a city man. A gentleman.
I furnished the apartment as best as I could on a limited budget thanks to thrift shops and ebay, but as the holiday season approached, I still needed a few things.
A DVD player, a few non-blah shirts, cloth napkins, a better pair of shoes.
I bought a newspaper on Thanksgiving and scouted through the bargains. The next morning, I left home at 6:30 am and darted in and out of stores buying only the items I'd picked from the ads the night before. I was home by 8:30 having saved more than twice what I spent.
Does Robby like a bargain? Yes he does.
Ever since then, I've been a loyal Black Friday shopper. I'll buy gifts for others in December, but Black Friday is a day for me to splurge on myself.
This year turned out to be a total bust though.
The day began at midnight with my friend Jennea. She'd ben told that there was a midnight sale at the outlets in Woodburn. We went, but we didn't even come close to making it there.
We hit a wall of traffic nearly two miles out as cars were lined up for the Woodburn exit on I5. 45 minutes later it was clear there was no way we'd ever reach the exit let alone find parking once we got there.
We bailed.
Later that morning, we headed out again - this time, to Macy's, Target, Khol's, etc. I was hoping to find clothing, but in every store I saw fantastic sales for women and jack squat for men. Jennea bought a pile of sweaters and a new coat. And me?
I bought a shirt and a bottle of soap. The shirt was only $3 cheaper than an ordinary sale and it shrank a whole fucking size when I washed it (on cold! And dried on LOW HEAT!).
That means, my only successful Black Friday purchase was soap, which wasn't even on sale... but how can I pass on soap with a kickass motto?
Maybe I'll have better luck next year.
::::: | Filed under: photos
::::: | Posted Saturday, Nov 24 2007 at 1:44 PM
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