Black Friday, Inside-Out

Currently I am working my first job in retail.  For the uninitiated, I worked 10 years in finance (mostly at Vanguard) and quit in April to re-career into law, specifically as a paralegal.  I started taking classes at Phoenix College, and to minimize the drain on my savings, I wanted to get part-time work while I was in school.  Plus, being under-employed right now is totally chic!  Petco came to my aide, so I have been employed with them for the past 90 days (give or take a week or two, in other words IDK).

In addition to unique experiences with animal care, working at Petco was my first opportunity to enjoy Black Friday from the inside.  When I bought my television a couple years ago, my first thought was that I wish I could have experienced it from an employee's point of view, so I got my chance.  And, honestly, Petco was a poor comparison to department stores like Target and especially Wal-Mart, but based on what we went through, it was good enough to satisfy my interest in the other side.

While stores like Wal-Mart and Target have been staying open 24 hours for Thanksgiving, or opening at midnight, the most inconvenient Petco got was opening an hour earlier.  This would have been a non-issue, except I was working as a pet-sitter over Thanksgiving in Mesa, so I had to get up around 5:30AM in order to feed the dogs and get to work on time.  Fortunately, I was able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour (well, relatively reasonable) so, while I doubt I could explain how, I did make it there before my shift started.

Now, if you have ever gotten up early on Black Friday and raced out to buy discounted pet food, which would be discounted all weekend, then you are in the vast minority of consumers.  Additionally, you would have plenty of space to shop.  Aside from the Black Friday shoppers with a casual approach, I'm not sure anyone came into the store before its regular opening time at 9AM.

This experience was lacking the exact "Black Friday" flavor, but business picked up before the end of my shift.  I guess I was lucky, since by the time things got bad, I only had an hour left.  To its credit, it was busy after the time I got back from lunch until my shift ended.

It wasn't unbearable, but it was enough for the experience.  Much like my shopping experience two years ago.

Black Friday, Outside-In

(originally printed November 29, 2009)
Earlier this month, I saw an article on CNN.com about leaked Black Friday deals, and I noticed that Target was rumored to have a Westinghouse 32" LCD HDTV for $246. It sounded like a good price, especially since the last time I went shopping for televisions they were all hovering at $400, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to try to take advantage of the deal.

Back in 2006, I bought a new computer from Best Buy and the next week or so, my 27" television stopped working. At that point, I had just spent a lot of money on a computer, so I was not about to turn around and buy a TV for an equal amount. The idea of Rent-A-Center occurred to me, but I nixed that with the idea that I would just buy a cheap television somewhere, and then "pay" myself the installments for a year, until I could buy a top-of-the-line television.

I went back to Best Buy because I had purchased my computer at an insane price through their Open Box deals, and I found a 19" television. Open box price: $59, no remote control. Lucky for me, it was the same brand as my prior television so the remote control that I had been using for the past six years worked on it.

Again, that was in 2006. Since that time, I never had the motivation to buy a new television and the opportunity never presented itself to me. Until now, Black Friday sounded like a reasonable day to purchase a new TV.

Unfortunately, after that article enticed me into the deal, I read a few other articles about Black Friday on CNN.com, including one or two about what a hoax they are because the big ticket times are in such limited quantity and, sometimes, lower quality. Needless to say, this was a bit disconcerting but I decided that I could go to Target at the Scottsdale Pavilions and find out all the details I'd need to have an edge. That sounded like the best laid plan. Although, we know how those often turn out.

On Tuesday evening (because traffic on the 101 was really bad), I stopped off at Target and asked a few preliminary questions. Since the actual deals had not been announced yet, they were not allowed to answer specific questions (which I already knew), but I made my premise clear: I had never taken part in Black Friday, so I wanted to know some of the tricks that are typically learned through experience. I did not want to conclude with "now I know for next time" and wait a full year to buy a television.

(Albeit, that theory is somewhat flawed since I think after-Christmas specials are going to drag down the prices of all 32 televisions to within a $50-range, which is reasonable enough for me, so at worst, I could just buy a new television in January 2010 as Plan B.)

From speaking to the customer service desk at Target, they told me that people would be lining up as early as midnight on Thanksgiving and that they did have several units in stock of the television in question with daily shipments (which may or may not include more units) but still, the big ticket items (of which this television was this year's biggest) sell out quickly. In other words, waking up at 5AM would be unacceptable.

After they told me everything I needed to know, I figured that my savings would be about $50, so getting there at midnight to save $50 made no sense. Getting there two hours early was reasonable, since $25/hour is a good rate, but still, I did not think it was necessary. Since it was the Pavilions, where people that don't like shopping with people like to shop, I figured between 4:15 and 4:30 was the ideal time. Plus, I had to work Black Friday, so it was not like I would catch up on my rest after an excursion.

I entered Thanksgiving Day with the thoughts that I would set my alarm for 4AM and get to Target just before 4:30AM. I ended Thanksgiving deciding that I would set my alarm for 4:15AM and rush to Target just after 4:30AM. Playing Smackdown versus RAW 2010 all day, then going out with Amy for dessert until 10PM had kinda skewed my original plans.

When I woke up this morning, I was half prepared to abandon the idea altogether. I woke up before my alarm, but I could not keep my eyes open. I grabbed my cellphone to look at the time, and it was only 3AM. Fair enough, I could sleep another full hour and then decide whether or not it was worth going. At that point, I seriously doubted it would be.

That one hour made a big difference. I woke up with nothing more than a half-morbid curiosity to find out what Black Friday was like at a major retailer like Target or Wal-Mart. The dream I had about cutting in line to get my hands on a television, only to have it stolen away by a more aggressive customer was nothing more than an afterthought.

Unfortunately, it did not make a big enough difference to correlate to my rushing to Target and I was very lethargic (which in retrospect is what should have been expected for 4:15AM). On the drive up, I had serious doubts about the usefulness of the excursion, and I even pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot, thinking that while more consumers would go to Wal-Mart, people specifically wanting this TV would be going to target because it was $2 cheaper than the one Wal-Mart was offering. I suppose the logic was there, except I did not trust Wal-Mart to have as much inventory as Target and I had done my research for Target, so I wanted to see it through. I checked out the parking lot at Wal-Mart, but it was packed, so I figured Target would be much better.

Except it wasn't. It was as crowded if not worse, and there was a crowd of about 150 people. So, my expectations were split in half. I figured if every fourth person wanted the television, then they would make it through a stock of 50 before I had a chance. If I were smart enough to quit, I might have. But I am a born Taurus, so I was too stubborn to leave. Plus, the guy beside me in line (who was badmouthing the Black Friday concept, but he was a veteran Black Friday shopper) said that he had never been at this spot in line and NOT gotten what he set out to get.

Once the doors opened, people orderly walked inside. Inside the store, there was another orderly line for televisions. They had both 32" and 40" sets. The 32" sets were going quicker. Amazingly, I made it to the front of the line quickly, but as soon as we did, there was a hold-up for a recount of inventory. What they had on the floor was all they had in stock, and there were two boxes on the floor with two people waiting. The first TV went to the first person waiting. The second person waiting was only waiting for the first person, so lo and behold, I got the last box available.

The guy behind me in line who had the dubious distinction of being the first person in line to not get the television could not have been cooler about it. If he had been the slightest bit fussy, I would have opted for the larger television. But he even said, "if I cared enough about the price, I would pick up the 40" set, but I really don't. I just wanted to see what Black Friday was like, and I am relieved to learn it is nothing like the horror stories you see on the news."

He and I were of the exact same mindset. I guess in a way it was poetic justice that the two of us were the last person in line to get the product and the first person in line to not get the product.

Oops I Did It Again

Earlier this year, I had an entry entitled "See You In Court," which told the story of my (at that point) only experience in a mock trial.  I failed to mention in that entry how interested I was in pursuing the law field as a paralegal, but it did not surprise me when I learned in September that I would be involved in another mock trial before the end of the year.  It was a requirement in my Civil Procedures II class.

The case was fairly simple.  It was a situation where a stockbroker was involved in a minor traffic accident in which there were no reported injuries, but the next day, he started suffering "whiplash effects" from the bump.  The stockbroker's testimony was shady and his stories sounded inconsistent through the assignment of exhibits and additional testimony.  In addition to working as a stockbroker, he was also an avid tennis player.  Most of his damages were associated to the fact that the whiplash has left him unable to play tennis.  He even went onto the tennis courts once to try to play, but he was so ineffective at it, that it depressed him further to even try.

The contrary evidence showed the insurance investigator providing photographs of the stockbroker playing tennis, and drinking beer (another no-no per doctor's orders).  Even more damaging, the stockbroker's testimony was largely in unreasonable absolutes, such as "I followed doctor's orders to the T."

Regardless, the jury instructions stated that the case would be decided on the elements of the tort, which for a case of negligence are duty, breach, cause, and damages.  Despite all other evidence, the heart of the case was that the other driver owed the stockbroker (plaintiff) a duty to drive safely, he breached that duty when his car careened into the other vehicle, the whiplash from the accident was the cause of the stockbroker's injuries, and the injuries speak for themselves as damages.

I had already been assigned to the plaintiff's case before I read anything about the case, so I felt we were set up for failure until I got to the jury instructions.  At that point, I felt we could not lose.

Then, it came time to assign roles and, of course, nobody wanted to be the plaintiff.  Actually, nobody wanted to do anything in my group, but I'll ignore that point for now.  My group was about to assign the other male to the role of the plaintiff, and he was agreeable, until I spoke up and volunteered myself.  I figured the most important part of the case was creating a profile for the plaintiff and I felt I understood his character enough to fill in the gaps of his story.

After all, he was a stockbroker and I had spent the last 10 years in finance.  After all, he was an avid tennis player and I had spent the last 8 years befriending professional wrestlers, who perform injured all the time but still recover.  I felt I understood the plaintiff and I could bring him to life.

As we continued to meet in class and learned more about the assignment, it seemed as though my instincts were incorrect.  There was a lot of missing information in the case, obviously since (A) these were not real people, and (B) a lot of questions we had were not relevant to the case.  At first, I thought we should exploit the gaps left open, but our instructor (who is a lawyer, and a great one at that) made it clear that the cross-examination should never, ever pose a question unless he/she knows the answer.  It seemed as though all of the gaps were filled (or at least untouchable), and I had no strategy left.

However, just because a teacher says something doesn't mean the students will follow it.  In the end, my instincts were wrong but the preparation was correct.

The opposing counsel's strategy was to exploit the inconsistencies in our case.  There were a lot of inconsistencies, and quite frankly, the stockbroker did not come off as a very likeable guy throughout the case.  (Again, perfect for me!)  Therefore, the opposing counsel went through a medical journal that my character was keeping to notate the progression of his recovery.  There was a key incident on June 25th, the day my character went to play tennis.  The next entry after that day was the Fourth of July.  It said that my character went into work that day.  But, the opposing counsel recognized that it was a holiday.  So, why would he be working?

Therefore, in the cross-examination of my character, they directed my attention to that day and asked the question, "You see your entry dated July 4th.  Do you often work on holidays?"  The problem was that they did not know the answer to that question.  Actually, the real problem is that I did.  I responded, "Yes, absolutely I do.  On holidays, we never schedule client meetings and there is a lot of paperwork that builds up, so I usually go in and catch up on that leftover paperwork."

After our mock trial, our teacher debriefed us on the finer points of what we did well and what we did wrong.  He used that as a perfect example of what can happen when you ask a question you don't know the answer to.  He pointed out that the opposing attorney had the unfortunate task of going up against me, because I quickly turned that question around to my side to make me look like some kind of super-worker.  Oops!

The funnier part came almost a second later when another team member from the defendant's side said she suspected that I overheard them discussing that question and I had time to come up with an answer.  "Nope, I've just worked in the finance field for the past 10 years, so I know they work on days off.

"Also, I was at a hockey game when you guys discussed that question in class!"

#GoHabsGo

This past Thursday, I attended a Montréal Canadiens game! It was the first time I had seen them play since December 2002, and it was my first opportunity to see them since their amazing 2010 Stanley Cup run, which perfectly coincided with the retirement of Shawn Michaels, and since that time, my interest in hockey has risen proportionally as my interest in wrestling has diminished.

Habs fan since 1993.

Since June 1993, Montréal Canadiens have been *my* team. Not my hockey team but my favorite sports team, period. Granted, I rarely watched sports in high school or college, so there was no strong competition to be deemed my "favorite," but the Stanley Cup has always gotten my attention over the past 15 years, and when the Montréal Canadiens made the playoffs, my interest doubled or tripled.

My adoption of the Montréal Canadiens started when my sister and I were home alone on a Friday evening, and the only movie we could mutually agree to watch was "The Mighty Ducks." She and I did not have many common interests, so it made sense that a family film could hold our enjoyment. The next night, I was home alone on Saturday night flipping through the channels while there was a real hockey game on ESPN, and I quickly recognized the LA Kings so I started to watch. I figured the LA Kings were my favorite hockey team because (A) I loved a lot of bands from LA, and (B) they had Wayne Gretzsky, who was my favorite hockey player -- by default, because I couldn't name another one.

Therefore, I stopped on the channel to cheer LA Kings. They were down on the scoreboard, but they were determined to tie the game. At one point, they had opportunity after opportunity to shoot on goal, and with every shot I cheered "GO! GO! GO," but the more they failed, the more I was blown away by the opposing goalie. Although the Kings continued shooting on goal and I continued yelling "GO! GO! GO!," my loyalty had turned around completely. I was no longer cheering for the Kings to score a goal and tie the game; now I was cheering for the goalie to continue these amazing saves and win the game!

Pre-game warm-up on 11/10/11.

Through that exchange, I learned another hockey player's name: Patrick Roy, who instantly became my favorite hockey player of all-time (a distinction he still holds today). I cheered Roy and the Canadiens through the rest of the game, despite the Kings successfully tying it up, and I celebrated their overtime victory when the game ended. Not nearly as proudly as the droves of Canadian fans who clearly loved the sport and the team more than I did, but in terms of bandwagon fans, I was on board!

Two nights later, there was another game between the same teams. This was my first exposure to a sports "series." The concept excited me to no end since this Stanley Cup series appeared to be the Super Bowl raised by seven degrees! The only sport I learned in Oklahoma was football, and it was required knowledge in our school, even if there were no classes for it. I guess we learned the basic rules of football through osmosis if nothing else. Maybe it was in our town water supply.

Conversely, hockey was not a well-respected sport in Small Town, Oklahoma. It wasn't actively disrespected, but it was mostly ignored, so it was fair to say that the sport was passively disrespected. Regardless, I was watching WWF wrestling every weekend and Monday nights, so hockey was at least a step in the right direction into the wide world of sports.

I had a friend or two feign an interest in the Stanley Cup finals, so I could discuss it with them between games, which meant I had a reason to watch the games: cheering "my team." Therefore, I was extra delighted when "my" Montréal Canadiens went on to win Game Four. And, when I say "my" Montréal Canadiens, they were exclusive to me at my school. No one was a Canadiens fan, not even the other dozen (give or take) fans of hockey. Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, and LA Kings were the most popular teams in my hometown, but no one there cheered Canadian teams. Except me now.

After watching two great hockey games, I was ready for the third, except this time, if my Montréal Canadiens won the game, they would win the cherished Stanley Cup. I could not wait! Unfortunately, my anticipation far exceeded the excitement of the game. Montréal Canadiens won easily, and that was that. No more hockey. The full season started up several months later, but hockey was rarely on TV, and when it was, it was usually the Stars, Blues, or maybe Kings, so I never watched. I also lost interest in the Canadiens season through the newspapers once I learned that the almighty Patrick Roy was not flawless and that he did not win every game.

But when the season ended and the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, then I tuned in! It was not just to cheer the Canadiens either. I cheered the New York Rangers all the way to the Stanley Cup in 1994, and I cheered the Detroit Red Wings to the finals in 1995 (by which point, the team was so beaten down that they were disappointingly swept in four games). But, still, the Montréal Canadiens were *my* team, and they always came first. I got my first Montréal Canadiens jersey for Christmas in 1994 (technically, I got it four days before in order to wear it to an Oklahoma City Blazers game, which was my first pro hockey game).

Jeremy Dion & Patrick Gates 

In December 1995, an interesting situation happened. Patrick Roy (known to me as "St. Patrick of Montréal") abruptly left the team to join the Colorado Avalanche. While I was disheartened immediately, the plus that I would have another team to cheer was in the back of my mind. And so began a few years of cheering Colorado and Montréal equally. I always said if they met in the Stanley Cup finals, then I would cheer Montréal, but unfortunately, that situation never developed. In fact, for several years, if it weren't for Patrick Roy, then I would have had no reason to even *watch* the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After Patrick Roy retired in 2003, I realized that Canada had not won the Stanley Cup in 10 years. Thus, I found another team to cheer in the playoffs: any team from Canada! Sadly, I have followed Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, and most recently, Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals, but none of the teams have brought the Cup home to Canada. Throughout that disappointment, the silver lining has been the same: maybe the Habs can do it next year!

The 2010-2011 season was the first time I followed an entire NHL season, primarily because Montréal was first or second in its division through the season. I even won tickets to a Phoenix Coyotes game in October 2010, which happened to be their last game before facing Montréal, so I called it a scouting mission. It was no substitute for watching Les Canadiens in person, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I would get my chance.

Habs & Yotes: Ready to face-off!

That opportunity came on Thursday, November 10, 2011. Unfortunately, I had school Thursday nights so there was a bit of a question mark whether I could actually attend. Luckily, my class session for that evening was light, so I made plans to skip class to attend the game. Except, it had been so long since I had been to a game that I wasn't even sure how to plan it. I invited my neighbor who was the only hockey fan I knew under the promise that if she cheered the Habs with me, then I would get us tickets to cheer the Kings (her favorite team) later in the season. Unfortunately, she declined so my one idea went to waste. Therefore, I wound up doing the same thing I did in December 2002, and just showed up at the box office an hour before the game.

I was skeptical about trusting scalpers since I was decked in my Montréal jersey. Fortunately, once I got to the arena, I realized my apprehensions about wearing the opposing team's attire were greatly unfounded. A large number of people were there to cheer the Habs as well. I bought a decently-priced ticket, and again my apprehension returned, fearing that buying a good seat would increase the likelihood of being the only Habs fan among die-hard Coyotes fans. But once I got to my seat, I realized there were more people wearing Montréal shirts and sweaters than Phoenix. Rationally, it made sense: we had to wait two years to see our team whereas Phoenix fans could see the Coyotes play over 40 times a year.

However, none of the Habs fans came to see their team lose, myself included. Therefore, we were disheartened when the Yotes scored a little over 5 minutes into the game. Montréal had been on another losing streak, so disappointment became part of cheering the Habs, and it almost felt like a small victory when the first period ended without giving up any more goals.

The second period went much better! Montréal scored around the halfway mark, and then they got another goal before the period ended. We entered the third period up 2-1 with spirits high. Unfortunately, the Coyotes dashed those hopes by scoring a game-tying goal earlier in the third. While the excitement of the fans died out, so did the the spirit of competition on the ice (or, maybe it was the other way around). The Habs had a couple more scoring chances before regulation ended, but they did not net another goal, and the teams went into overtime.

Montréal Canadiens celebrate!

The last time I saw the Coyotes play, they lost in overtime, so I knew that Coyotes were not a real threat until a shootout. However, I was not sure about Montréal. They had a few overtime losses and a couple overtime victories, but with three top players scratched from the game, it seemed as though we were low on assets. Fortunately, the Canadiens netted a goal from an unlikely resource (Josh Gorges) to win in overtime, and the area where I was seated (with whom I had already gotten to chant "Go Habs Go" and "Olé Olé Olé") erupted in celebration. Again, myself included.

In the end, it was the closest experience I could have to a game in the Bell Centre without leaving Arizona.

Missing Pieces

Recently, I have been having the same conversation with a friend over and over.  Ordinarily, I would hate repetition.  I cannot stand hearing people repeat themselves, especially in the course of the same conversation, but this situation is slightly different because the discussion has more of a life-focus, and the discussion has mostly been on where he is in life.

This week, however, I feel as though we reached an epiphany in his situation.  He is an artist, and what we had previously diagnosed as a mental hang-up in his ability to follow-through and complete work, I now believe is simply a creative barricade.  The only hang-up is disappointment, so his only choices are either releasing art that he is not behind or waiting until he can figure out the missing pieces to get his art to match his mental vision of it.

It sounds like a roadblock, but this week, I compared it more to a mental Rubik's Cube.  My basis for comparison was not very hard to reach.  From March 2005 until January 2008, I used to record matches for a local wrestling promotion.  I did a lot of work for them, including ring announcing, writing promotional material, and calculating rankings, until the company ceased operations in September 2009.  There were various degrees of accomplishment throughout the years, but the thing I consistently enjoyed the most was filming the matches.  This footage was often sent to larger organizations when the performers were looking for work, so my footage was viewed by several top talent scouts.

Beaver & I "like" working for IZW.

Unfortunately, for the past two years, watching these matches made me sick to my stomach.  I could not bare to watch any footage without going through a wide range of emotion (and none of them positive).  I dismissed the feelings as being tied to the death of Peter Goodman (one of my favorite wrestlers in the promotion, and the best friend of Lil' Nate, who is my second favorite wrestler of all time).  There was a long story behind my time with Impact Zone Wrestling, in fact I think I wrote 10,000 words about it a year ago in the hopes of resolving some issues.  It didn't.

However, I recently had a breakthrough and I have been thoroughly enjoying my footage again lately.  The difference was that I found a way to upload my footage to YouTube.  Not just a way, but a very simple way to take what I have already done and to put it on YouTube for anyone to view.  Since that time, I have been watching the footage, analyzing it like I used to do, and deciding what I want to put online.

The problem is that I had been trying for the past few years (if not longer) for a way to get what I have done online, but nothing ever worked.  Even the most expensive programs, some I've even purchased, did nothing for getting my footage online.  To explain it in technical terms, I have my footage as .VOB files but YouTube will not load those files.  My first thought was that I could simply rename the files from .VOB to .AVI or another coding, but my computer dismissed that attempt.  Thus, began Plan B, and then Plan C, Plan D, Plan E, etc.  For months, I've ignored texts from Lil' Nate because I was so disillusioned with the matches that I did not want anyone to see them.  In my mind, my footage was not any good.  If only it were as easy as renaming the file.  Instead, it became some complex puzzle where everyone had an idea but no one had the solution.

"The Match of Matches" is YouTube.

This week, I downloaded a couple of programs through which I should have been able to rip my DVD-R and recode the files, but even those programs were not compatible with my .VBO files.  As part of my research to find a solution, I came across a lousy YouTube clip in which the person simply renamed the .VBO files to .AVI successfully.  The video itself warned that not all computers allow it, but I figured that, since I had been trying everything else, I might as well try everything.  It failed.  At first, anyway.  Then I realized an important difference, which was that I was trying to rename the programs on my DVD-R whereas the video had the files in a folder on the desktop.  It made sense to me why that would make a difference, and it was worth a shot.

As it turned out, it was worth more than a shot: it was priceless.

The amazing thing was that they were the same steps that I had first tried, but one minor difference prevented it from working and not working.  One of the folder options had to be changed to permit it.  After that small change, the floodgates opened.  Now I can put any match from my IZW library online in a matter of minutes. All my disappointment vanished.  I am proud to share these matches with anyone who seeks them out or happens across them.

The comparison is one I feel as though my friend has been facing, as though all he needs is to find one more piece of his creative puzzle, and then he will have his own mental Rubik's Cube solved.