There is a reason I don’t usually go out on the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping. Today, Mom and I ventured out to the stores at 7am to get in on some of the early bird deals. I cruised through the ads last night to see if there was anything that really caught my eye. Comp USA had a 512MB Compact Flash Card for $79 (regular $149) that I couldn’t pass up. I also noticed Best Buy had their usual DVD blowout. Mom had penciled in Tuesday Morning, Sears, and Target as her places to hit.
First stop: Target. Not really crowded and not very many deals – felt like we wasted some precious time there. We then cruised by Tuesday Morning and discovered they didn’t open until 10. Then it was off to Best Buy and man was it packed. The estimates from the clerk were that it would take over 2 hours to get through the line to the registers. The line snaked back and forth around the store and began near the entrance. Mom and I decided it didn’t matter what we were looking for, it wasn’t worth waiting in line. Amazingly enough, there was even a line at the furniture store next door to see a salesman.
When then managed to catch up with Cathy and Cherish at the Waffle House to refuel and get organized. We then headed to Comp USA where I got the CF card as well as a new wireless router and USB network adapter for $20 each. I know both are the old 802.11b instead of the g, but it was worth it for the price. I will now be able to wire my TiVo into the network so I can schedule my recordings online. The TiVo website mentioned I might have some problems since it is a newer adapter, but I can always take it back or use it on my desktop (though USB connection is way slower than my PC Card so I’ll probably take it back if it doesn’t work).
After a horrific wait in line (including one line that didn’t move for 40 minutes) we headed off to the Mall. We visited the new Chandler Mall and I agree with Mom that it is nice on the inside, but laid out a bit weird. I was tempted by some luggage, but decided to forgo any other purchases. We then headed to Home Depot to try and get a 9′ pre-lighted Christmas Tree, but they were sold out at all the Home Depots in the Valley area as well as either 0 or 1 in all the other stores in AZ.
Now it is relax time. We had a nice relaxing dinner last night. Mom and Gary out did themselves with a massive feast. It is nice to pop on over for a quick trip to relax and we managed to get more info on our trip next week to New York. Tonight it is back to LA and then tomorrow it is back to work for a few days.
Oh, and yes I did get the job I applied for so my responsibilities have been notched up a bit. Now I just need to shadow people in the role and then get trained on the computer system used to manage the cast. It’s a nice feeling to know that people were pulling for me to get the position at work. I also know some people are not sure of what to expect from me, and to them I will say that I will do my best to work with them and help out as much as I can.