In order to talk about my Black Friday experience I also have to talk about my Thanksgiving. Of course, I wrote about getting ready for the holiday and I posted recipes, but talking about the day itself means being accountable for for how I celebrated and whether or not I allowed FRED to join in.
I wrote on my food log on Wednesday night that my holiday plan was to have 2-4 drinks, one dessert and ONE plate at dinner, which was at least half veggies. For the most part I succeeded, and FRED was nowhere in sight. (I'm so proud) There was an incident with some M & Ms as we were putting food out but I was able to walk away. I had some butternut squash soup, and then a dinner plate with green beans, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, turkey (my first turkey in 12 years or more), a small dollop of cranberry sauce, and about a cup of mashed potatoes. I turned down stuffing and bread, since I knew there was beer in my future. I had three drinks. And come time for dessert I had a small sliver of pumpkin pie and a small piece of apple cake. Yes, technically, two desserts, but small ones. And then I walked away from the kitchen and made the day about having time with my friends. I made it to the Thanksgiving without having to replace the whipped cream on my way there (this is to say, I kept a can of whipped cream in my house for more than 48 hours!!), and I walked away without it and left it with my hosts. So, not a perfect "on plan" meal, but pretty good by Thanksgiving standards (actually, I weighed myself this morning and I lost weight this weekend . . . ).
On my drive back, I had been given some dessert leftovers, and had some pumpkin bread to give to another friend, so I headed to her house. The dessert feast was still very much in full swing at her house. I had an orange, but was glad to deposit the pumpkin bread I had made for her, as well as my remaining dessert leftovers!
As I left her house at 10 I realized I had had enough to eat during the day, but wasn't uncomfortably full or tired or overwhelmed. Or pissed off at myself, or disappointed, or worried about my jeans. Or, or, or. No ors. If I had gone home, I might've eaten out of boredom. But instead I headed to Target.
Now, I had done some research (looking up some prices on Amazon and preparing an order) and preparation for this trip (packing my coat and a pair of sneakers), but wasn't sure I was actually going to make it. I've never done Black Friday shopping outside of placing an Amazon order because I'm always a plane ride away from home on Thanksgiving, with no good way to get real shopping done and then get it where it needs to go. I wasn't looking to get a gaming system of 40" TV so it didn't feel dire to me to line up and wait, but sleeping isn't something I'm good at when under stress (ahem, like a break up), so I didn't think I would be sleeping soundly that night anyways. And the lure of a few good deals and having this experience was intriguing. There's no way I would have attempted it at 4am (with a line up at 1 or 2am) or in the cold, but Target was opening at midnight and it was about 40 degrees so . . . it seemed like go time.
I had talked this idea down to a few people saying that I might drive by, and if it looked crazy, I would leave. Or even that it was possible I would get in the line and then decide it was overwhelming and cut out. I knew for sure I would be nowhere near a Walmart or Best Buy - I'd heard too many stories of rabid crowds. In my mind I thought, "Target. The place to go for TP and cheap gloves. How much crazy could there be there?"
So, I drove up at about 10pm and saw about 20 people in line, with two more walking towards the doors, and thought Why not? So, I pulled on my coat, my comfy sneakers, and grabbed my book and headed for the door.
Within about 10 minutes of lining up the two people in front of me had me laughing so much that I put my book away. The brother had an awesome "Batman" voice and the sister was hilarious in talking about Best Buy. Soon, a couple lined up behind me, and they joined our conversation too. The five of us began sharing shopping stories, talking about Black Friday and what we were shopping for, sharing stories about shopping, and just generally enjoying each others company. We talked about how cool it would be if the big ticket items were hidden in the store, like a scavenger hunt, and made comparisons with SAW - like what if there was only one TV and two people were handcuffed to it and given saw and a gun. Ha! The brother and sister were in line for two TVs, and the couple for a gaming system. Then of course they asked me what I was there for and I said, "I just want to get god deals and get my shopping done. Plus I feel I need to cross this off my bucket list." They laughed but agreed I would probably get good deals on non-big-ticket items too.
Around this time, a manager came out and gave us all floor maps and Luna bars. The crowd was restless but not mean or pushy. People traveled up and down the line asking,"Are any of you here for the ___ " feeling out their chances for the items they were there for. Food trucks came by, and it was hilarious to me that there's a whole cottage industry for Black Friday shoppers. We all agreed that things were pretty congenial, and that Target was the place to be. We mused that the several hundred people that lined up at Best Buy at 8 and 9pm probably weren't laughing or eating Luna bars.
We did consider that the 100 or so people lined up behind us might think of us as targets and we might be the trample-ees, but we also felt like, "this is Boulder. Land of the rich hippy. People will try hard but it seems unlikely that they'll elbow people out of the way when push comes to shove."
I was impressed with the number of staff we saw get let in the doors. It looked to me like the store was going to be very well staffed, including opening their Starbucks. They lined up carts to prevent people from zigging through the registers going into the stores and forcing everyone down the main hallway. And it became clear to us that they weren't going to open the big sliding doors, but rather planned to take us through the single side door in order to control traffic flow.
Cameras showed up about 30 minutes before the doors opened, and it was around that time that I said, "I kinda wish there was a CU grad student here from sociology studying the crowd mentality." My companions whipped out their floor maps and started seriously considering their strategies of how to get to what they wanted. I suggested a couple of strategies and offered to look for their items. They asked if I was even running when the doors opened and I answered," I want the full experience with the adrenaline rush and running, and I need to burn some calories!"
So, the doors open, we ran, and I helped someone get a TV. I grabbed the one electronics item on my Christmas list and then went back for a cart and did my shopping. And you know what, I did get some really good deals! I can't name what they were in case certain people read my blog, but between my midnight Target shopping and an Amazon order I have only about 4 more things to buy and have saved about $100 - $150 by doing it early.
This doesn't have much to do with my lifestyle changes, except that it frees me up to have a semi-normal life in the next month. It means Christmas doesn't have to derail me from cooking my healthy food and going to the gym. It also, for me, signals that I managed to pull off a mostly healthy Thanksgiving, and not feel so full that I was ill.
Black Friday success and Thanksgiving triumph - Woot!
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