November 27th, 2008 | by Shelli Stevens |
Well it’s Thanksgiving, so I’m not really expecting anyone to be reading this post! Though, I suppose that today it’s just the American T-day, so to anyone else in the world it’s just another day! Thanksgiving around these parts (my house) is pretty laid back. Too much food. And football. Lots of football. And tomorrow my hometown boys (Seahawks!) are playing. Wish them luck. They need it.
But the real fun…when things really get crazy is the day after Thanksgiving. Or maybe when the clock strikes twelve even. What am I talking about? Black Friday, baby. The biggest shopping day of the year (At least here in the States). Are you in? It’s chaos. You have to be somewhat insane. But shopping becomes like a sport where only the fittest and most determined survive.
There’s crazy good deals at some stores for only the first handful of customers. Stores open before dawn (some at the stroke of midnight!) But people get there early. Like way early to get in line. And they run inside once the doors open. They fight. They argue. It’s dirty. It’s nuts. But I just may do it…..maybe.
So do you do it? Black Friday? Or if you’re not in the states, would you if you were here?
Oh yes! And before I go, I should probably share my cover with you! I just got it! Yaaaay! (I saw Jackie’s post below and realized I haven’t shared yet!)
I’m not technically American, but I live close enough to the border to fake it sometimes. The thrill of Black Friday for me is less the sales, etc., because I never get any actual Christmas shopping done, more the wicked things I get to tell Customs when I drag my haul home. *g*
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total bought: $400
Total declared: $70
Look on Custom Guy’s face when presented with a bag of man candy covers and a receipt from Barnes and Noble that yeah, you can “spend that much on books”: Priceless squared.
So now I’ll throw it back at you…ever come up Canuck-side for Boxing Day?
by nic · November 27th, 2008 at 1:51 amI’ve never been up for Boxing Day!! I’m still not sure what it even means. BUT I have been to a few Boxing Day parties thrown here in America. Not sure they knew what it meant either, but it was an excuse to have fun and drink! LOL.
And AWESOME on that many books!!
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 1:53 amBoxing Day’s the day after Christmas, and we get it off. That’s when the Canadian stores haul out our really good sales–everything’s crazy per cent off so they can clear out the shelves–and when, traditionally, the people around me do the doorcrasher thing.
If he hadn’t been so dickish about it, I wouldn’t have taken such absolute glee in waving the man candy at him. But honestly, the man had clearly never encountered a romance addict on her way back.
I told you your cover’s gorgeous, right? Because it is. Swoony, really, you lucky, lucky thing.
by nic · November 27th, 2008 at 2:07 amOh! It’s a shopping day?! I would have celebrated even harder! And thanks for the cover compliment. I’m completely in love with it, too! *swoon*
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 2:08 amI’ve done Black Friday but I don’t really do it anymore. It’s a little too crazy for me. And I like to sleep in the day after Thanksgiving. LOL
by Karen Erickson · November 27th, 2008 at 2:17 amI’ve done Black Friday–when I was a lot younger and could fight back better. *cackle* Now, no way, no how! The older I get, the less patience I have for crowds. I’ve not seen any sale worth dealing with the craziness again!
I love the cover, Shelli! Absolutely yummy!
Hope you have a wonderful Turkey Day!
by Shayla Kersten · November 27th, 2008 at 9:55 amI’ve done the early Friday morning after Thanksgiving shopping thing a couple of times, but the stores around here look nothing like that picture. LOVE the cover.
by Janet H · November 27th, 2008 at 11:02 amKaren, I agree, it IS a little crazy. But I’m feeling crazy this year. I need to check the ads, but I’m eating breakfast now and surfing the net. BIG surprise.
Shayla, that’s my deal, I’m just not that young little crazed shopper anymore. Plus I’d be toting around a five year old. Which is the huge part. Gah.
Janet, our stores look like that! In fact it’s a local mall or store I think (I see the Seahawks santa hat and found it in a local paper). It gets nuts here.
Thanks for the cover compliments, ladies! I’m just so happy with it!
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! (HUGS!)
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 1:11 pmShelli, being a Canadian, I didn’t even know what Black Friday was until a couple years ago when I made the mistake of crossing the border on that day – to be met with horrendous line-ups!
I’m definitely not a “shop with the crowds” person and I think it’s partly because I’m so little. I could get stomped underfoot and no-one would even notice
Love your cover. This is the book I read, right? (The one I loved, BTW
) It’s interesting, because the book’s futuristic and the cover doesn’t have that kind of image.
by Susan Lyons · November 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pmYeah the crowds are horrible, Susan! I can’t imagine crossing the border on that day!
And yes this is the book you read! Thanks again
I think they’re avoiding really futuristic looking covers (Or at least I know I didn’t want one!). And really, my story is like the futuristic that people who don’t usually read futuristic like. LOL. At least that’s what a few people say. Because I also write contemps. I think that’s why, it has a modern feel in the future. So I think the cover is great for it!
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 2:20 pmI had a friend call yesterday to ask if i wanted to go shopping with her on Black Friday. I said I had to work and she replied, “at 4 am?”
The answer was still no.
by Julia Hunter · November 27th, 2008 at 3:27 pmLOL! Exactly, Julia! You can still shop. Hee hee. It’s such a rush. Plus some places give away free coffee and donuts!
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 3:48 pmI accidentally went out on Black Friday the first year after we moved to California and I didn’t know what the hell was going on!! Never again!
by Kate Pearce · November 27th, 2008 at 4:09 pmAnd Boxing Day in Canada must be a hangover from the Brits-we celebrate it in the UK as well
Kate, you just made me giggle. I love hearing stories of people who don’t realize what’s going on and they show up at the stores. Because, really, it’s INSANE!
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 4:16 pmAck! I’m hiding under the bed (well, figuratively, at least!) tomorrow! I think that paying a little more is worth it to not face the crowds (yes, I’m that kind of chicken!) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and happy shopping!
by Fedora · November 27th, 2008 at 6:34 pmOh, and congrats on that cover, Shelli! Nice!
by Fedora · November 27th, 2008 at 6:34 pmOh god. No way. I will be hiding in my apartment until the craziness goes away.
by Aislinn Kerry · November 27th, 2008 at 9:20 pmHi Fedora, thanks on the cover congrats! And I understand about under the bed!
Aislinn, that’s how I was last year.
Well I just made the game plan with my friend. We’re leaving at 4:45 am to try and get one of these deals. ACK! I’m nuts. I’m going to bed like…now. Okay, two hours.
by Shelli Stevens · November 27th, 2008 at 10:29 pm[...] follow up to my Aphrodisia blog post, on whether I would or would not do the early morning shopping, here’s the [...]
by Shelli Stevens » Blog Archive » I did it! · November 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm