Hooray Capitalism!

It's 6:22am, the day after Thanksgiving...a quick re-cap of my day's events so far

4:25am - Alarm awakens me in the middle of a dream about The Alamo...
4:33am - Andrew calls me to make sure I'm up and to pass the time...he's been at Best Buy in Denver since 4
4:40am - Arrive at Best Buy...approximatley 500 people are already in line, I take my place at the end of the DSW storefront, just before Whole Foods. Temp = 28F
4:43am - the socialists at Whole Foods rediscover the joys of supply and demand and start selling coffee and pastries to the people in line
5:00am - Best Buy opens...the line for entry has now doubled
5:02am - I reach the front door. I head straight for the computer section and somehow manage to secure an external hard drive then I mosey over to the software and pick up Nero CD, Norton Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam/Networks, and Magix mp3 maker.
5:13am - I find my place in the checkout line which was designed by the store to snake around the appliances...how anyone will manage to shop for appliances is beyond me...now the line is stacked up to the vacuum cleaner aisle
5:24 - Finally I have reached the checkout. The cashier scans my items, I pay then we both wait for what seems like an eternity as the machine spits out 15 different receipts/rebate forms.
5:27 - Exit Best Buy...inventory is as follows

One 160GB External Hard Drive $139.00 - $60 rebate = $79.00
One Norton Utilites Bundle $89.99 - $90.00 rebate = $-0.01
One Nero 7 CD Burner software $69.99 - $70.00 rebate = $-0.01
One Magix MP3 Maker $19.99 - $20.00 rebate = $-0.01

Now...on to Office Depot!

5:36am - I arrive at Office Depot, there are maybe 50 people in line
5:38am - Loud, obnoxious guy arrives in line behind me
5:45am - Poor verbal communicator employee emerges from the store to announce something about computers needing shipping...I wasn't listening much because I wasn't there to by a computer, but it was way too early to expect people to comprehend this guy
5:56am - Inexplicably, the line starts to move...I make my way to the CDRs and pick up 2 packs of 100 for $10 each, then I lugged an office chair, on sale for $35, up to one of the 3 registers they had open.
6:03am - Exited the store, carrying my new Chelsea fabric office chair (black) and my CDs
6:15am - I arrive home...all my neighbors are asleep and my newspaper hasn't arrived yet...I'll pay for this later I'm sure

A few random observations...
*You know how when you first start dating someone, and they're always dressed up nice and look their best and then the relationship progresses to the point where you see them first thing in the morning? With a few notable exceptions, this was like a giant 'what I look like when I roll out of bed and go' convention...not good, especially for those of us standing next to people who like to talk and forgot to brush their teeth on their way to 'saving' money.
*Standing outside in line at Best Buy, a Red Bull truck drives by...followed by about a dozen crazed people chasing it.
*I'm a big proponet of Capitalism, and I appreciate what these stores are trying to do by getting us to their store first on the biggest shopping day of the year, but it's starting to get out of hand. I mean 5 o'clock in the morning is awfully early and in a few years it's bound to be 4am and so on...and obviously people do it...I'm just curious to see where it will end...what's the threshold for getting a deal vs. little or no sleep
*I now have no fewer than 7 rebate forms to fill out and mail...those checks should start rolling in by St. Patricks Day I'm sure...

Happy Holida....I mean MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

MD