"Shop til you drop...."

Here it is, the day after Black Friday. I literally did "shop til I dropped". Not that I spent a lot of money, but just being "there". In the mall, the heart of things. Being witness to the craziness of others. It was pure excitement! Unlike the experience of the Outlet Mall four years ago, where a police trailer was set up with the dispatcher able to view the whole area. That day there were police on horse back attempting to control and add semblance to the chaos. You could not find a place to park anywhere. All of the stores had line ups either outside the doors, where they were letting in people in groups of ten, or people lined up "snake" like to either get into fitting rooms or to the cash registers. People fighting over at the table in the Guess store, for the $25 purses. Women grabbing blouses by the handful off the crowded racks in the Saks - 5th Aveune store to be able to buy a blouse that is regular $450, and today on Black Friday, pay only $295. Don't even go near the electronic stores! Think of the Army & Navy shoe sales of years gone by, and multiply that by about one thousand. Insanity at its best!

This year however, was somewhat more subdued. Most Canadians may not be aware that the big sales are from about 0400 - 1300 hrs. The great deals are during those hours only. So if you slept in and did not arrive at the mall until noon, then you were pretty much "hooped". We arrived at the mall, one of the smaller malls, at about 10:00 am. So really we knew before we got there that we would like not find any great savings. Which is exactly what happened.

Let me say, if you are a size 0 to 8 and are under the age of 35 years, then you will find lots of great buys. But for someone of my gargantuan size and middle aged as I unfortunately am, there is not much for sale. You might find a bathrobe sale or something like that, but forget getting some great deals on sweaters etc in size 12 or higher! The shoe stores that I dared to venture into, had a measly 25% off. What kind of sale is that?? I can get that in Canada on Boxing Day.

So when I say that I did shop til I dropped, I merely meant that today, the day after "Black Friday", I am ill. I have a terrible cold, not quite the flu. Yes I dropped!

I need to rest up for 2011 Black Friday,,, thank God I do not do this every year!