Black Friday

So the laptop saga has drawn to a close.  I finally made my decision on the laptop.  The decision was made around midnight last night, when I found a deal on a Sony Vaio with Intel i3 processor on BestBuy.com for $579.  Definitely not cheaper – I could have bought a HP or a Dell directly from their websites and saved myself about $100 but our laptop’s power adapter is no longer working, so we really could not wait another week or two for the delivery.  Plus, Sony Vaios are generally more expensive due to the Sony name, and $579 was a good deal for it.  And, we were kind of tired of Dell brand and, gotta admit, a Sony Vaio laptop is cooler.  I will be picking up this baby today.  And for those interested, here are the specs: Intel Core i3-370M processor, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500 GB hard drive, 15.5″ screen, integrated graphics, and a DVD-R/RW.

Even though I already made the purchase, I went out looking to see if I can still get any of the doorbusters.  I like a good computer, but I can’t help but want the best deal possible.  So we went off to Wal-Mart at about 1:30am, and their set-up was very confusing.  They would normally have lines outside, but since they opened at midnight, lines were inside.  Why the lines?  Because even though the store opened at midnight, the doorbuster deals were still being held until 5am.  So they had different queues set up (I don’t know why I just used a British lingo) for different products.  Confusing part was deciphering (I don’t know why I didn’t just say “figuring out” like normal people) which lines were for which products.  Some had signs but many didn’t – I just had to ask the employees.  And some employees were wearing street clothes so at times I couldn’t figure out who were employees and who weren’t.  Somehow, it seemed sadder to see people in sleeping bags in the catfood aisle instead of outside the store.  In the end, I could not find the line for the $398 HP laptop line.  There was a $298 HP laptop line but I think there was a different line.  When I asked one of the street-clothed employees, he said I should just look around and find the line.  Great service.  But then again, on a day like Black Friday, customer service is not what drives people to the stores.

Worst thing about the Wal-Mart trip was the lady in front of me at the checkout line, who was flabbergasted that her purchases came to over $1000.  She decided to review each and every single one of her purchases, canceling some, and running her sons back to check the prices, and also seeing if some of her purchases were supposed to be held until 5am.  Okay, I know you are excited about good deals but you are a moron if you’re not at least watching your budget and what you’re putting in the cart.  Black Friday sale does not mean free.  Unless you do not have a budget, at least try to keep a running tally so that you don’t end up shocked and annoy employees and people behind you in line.

Then, we were thinking of hitting the outlet mall 20 minutes away but decided against it, and went to a local mall.  Ended up not buying that much, but I got 4 dress shirts for under $50 at Macy’s.  Had to make some hard decisions on a kitchen cookware set that my wife wanted to get, but we just could not tell why one set was $100, another was $300, and yet another was $600.  What is the difference here???  She did not want a cheap cookware set, and $300 seemed like a deal we can get at another time, so we skipped it.

Final stop was Staples.  When we drove by at 3am, there were only 3 people in line.  When we went back at 5:30, there were about 50.  Again, I got there too late for their $498 HP laptop I had my eyes on, but we got a barebones $298 laptop, to be used by my 11-year-old nephew.  My least favorite thing about Black Friday shopping is the checkout line system.  I waited in a wrong line for 30 minutes before someone sent me off to the laptop line, and I waited almost an hour in that line also.  And we were going to buy a $20 paper shredder here, but amid all the chaos, we left it at the checkout counter.  Good thing we didn’t pay for it.

So in the end, we spent about $600 in 3 stores, with $200 worth of rebates to fill out.  We didn’t make this trip to buy things – I just wanted to experience it with my wife since she had never gone Black Friday shopping before.  It was an odd feeling, walking around while many people were in lines (not “queues”) or pushing carts filled to the top.  Without a specific deal that I had to have, I felt more like a tourist in my own town.  But it was fun in its own way.

Smoking update:  I told my wife, do not smoke.  But if you do, bring me one.  Well, she brought me one last night.  I lasted 89 hours.  And tonight, I’m meeting my drinking buddies.  If I did not have that one smoke, I would have tried to keep the quit going, but that one cigarette makes a big difference.  With the cigarette-free streak over, my wife and I bought a pack last night, since not smoking tonight would be tough.  Oh well, I guess I’ll start a new streak tomorrow.

Bargain Blues II

Okay, I had a change of heart since yesterday (is that what a heart transplant recipient says?).  I actually may end up in line.  This is a computer on sale at Staples.  Moneywise, I will not save any money since if not this, I would be getting a slightly lesser model with a smaller screen.  But that is a Dell, and I am kind of tired of the boring Dell computers.  I wanted something different, yet still reliable, so I wanted an HP.  Model shown here is an HP.

Here is my plan: if I find myself wide awake at 3 or 4 in the morning on Friday morning, I will drive over to Staples.  If the line isn’t that bad and the weather is bearable, I will wait in line.

I’ve only done this kind of Black Friday shopping once before.  It was two years ago, and I spent over $1000, and got some good deals.  I got a new computer for my brother, new computer monitor for sister-in-law, GPS system for my then-fiancee, and some cheaper items.  That was worth the wait because I was buying a lot of things.  And you know what?  It wasn’t that bad.  I mean, I am a pro at waiting in line, since I’ve waited over 20 hours twice for Last Comic Standing auditions.

This weekend, I will just be getting a laptop.  Maybe a camera.  And maybe another laptop for my fast-growing nephew.

We’ll see.

Diet Update:
I’ve been forgetting to update you on my progress.  Well, there hasn’t been progress in terms of weight lost.  In fact I’ve gained 2 pounds since a week ago.  But my weight fluctuates within a 5-pound range so that’s not a big deal.  I did another 50 minutes on the elliptical yesterday, and I will try to keep up with that.

Bargain Blues

I have rarely been an impulse shopper.  Ever since I learned the value of money during college, I never bought anything to make myself feel better.  I’m sure I did buy frivolous things here and there but those instances were rare.  When I got my first job out of college, my biggest expenditure was probably paying off student loan (followed by drinking and clubbing).  I liked that feeling of making extra payments between monthly payments when I had extra cash, seeing almost all of it go into principal instead of interest.  Of course, getting paid a lowly $28,000 did not help – I did not have much choice when it came to scrimping.

(A new type of bus annoyance is occurring right now: I am listening to someone playing loud Indian music.  How does this person think that this is okay?  Finally, someone just said something.  Even I was going to say something if no one else did.)

Since then, I’ve gotten better salaries, but my non-shopping ways have continued.  If I am not sure about something, I will always err on the side of not buying.  What if I’m missing out on a great deal?  I will take my chances.  Besides, I can always do without it.  When I do need to buy something, I do my research to find the best products and best prices.  This means I rarely buy something at a mall because if something intrigues me, I will go home and read reviews on it, and usually end up finding a better price online.

But besides the obvious blessing, this is also a curse because sometimes, it takes a lot of research.  I spent quite a few hours yesterday looking at all the Black Friday deals, online sites, and reviews of the current laptops out there.  I spent so much time on it that I was wondering, is this the best way to be spending my time?  I could have been studying instead.  I could have just gone to CNET.com, find the highest rated laptop, and buy it in 5 minutes.  I thought in the past that I can either spend time trying to make more money, or save more money.  I guess the key is, as all things are, balance.

And that balance is why I decided not to do the whole Black Friday camping out thing.  I would rather enjoy my 4-day weekend at home instead of waiting in line freezing my butt off, to save $100.  But if my wife & I finf ourselves bored at 3 am on Friday morning, maybe we’ll take a drive to check out the lines.

To Do List Progress

I’m afraid I’ve only done some of the easy stuff during the past two weeks:

Comedy: Done twice, will do twice more next week.
Sex: Done.  Will not say how many times.
Drink: Done.
Clean my room: Not done.
Organize photos: Not done.
Organize emails: Not done.
Organize Mp3s: Not done.
Back up laptop data: Done.
Buy a new laptop: Currently researching.
Catch up on Survivor and The Event: Done.
Wipe kitchen floor: Done.
Send Chelirious a congratulatory card: Done.
Go to Atlantic City: Done twice.
Move the jokes on my old phone to a more permanent location: Not done.

I still have a lot to do, but having this clunker of a computer is getting in the way.  Black Friday is coming very soon, so I’m going to spend some time today researching the best laptop/deal/value.

Plus, I’ve already begun studying for CPCU 510, so that takes some time away from the list above.  After I take this exam, I’ll have about 3 more weeks of freedom until I start studying for my next exam.

A Letter to Our Laptop

To Our Laptop:

First off, I apologize for not caring enough about you to give you a real name.  You’ve been very good to my wife and me ever since I bought you 2 1/2 to 3 years ago for $600.  You may have been born in a Dell factory but you lived your life with us.  When I first bought you, you were a gift to my then-fiancee, who needed a computer of her own for her schoolwork.  I surprised her by turning  you on and leaving it on her desk with the lights out.  You were very helpful to her doing well in nursing school, well enough to earn a scholarship in her final semester, and for her graduation.  And since we’ve been married, you’ve been our constant bedside companion, giving us laughs as we watched TV on the Internet through you in our bed.

But today, you did something you never did before.  Or at least, allowed something to happen.  I checked my e-mail today, and found that some of the mail that I did not send was returned to me.  I did not send any mail, I thought.  I checked my sent mail folder and it turns out that I sent out spam mail in 4 separate e-mails, each one sent to several people with whom I’ve shared at least one e-mail correspondence.  I e-mailed a hotel in Crete Island of Greece.  I e-mailed an acquaintance I had from college.  I even e-mailed the pastor who married us!  Why did you allow this to happen?  Were you sick?

I know you’ve been getting more problems as you got older.  Your battery is pretty much worthless, as it drains like a sieve.  Your touchpad will jump the pointer from one side of the screen to the other, grabbing one thing and putting it where it doesn’t belong.  You’re slow as a turtle being blocked by the Snail Pride parade.  And your flip-up screen is hanging on exposed hinges.  I’ve reformatted you a few times already but at this point, doing it once more only seems like a temporary solution.  I know what you got under the hood and you should still be able to do your job, but maybe we abused you a bit too much.  Like Dusty Baker and his handling of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, maybe I should have given you more rest.

I just finished running some free anti-virus and anti-malware programs, and I found some infected files.  Hopefully those files were the reason why you allowed spam to be sent from my e-mail account, and that it will not happen again.  Even so, I think it’s time we remove you from your duties.  You will still be used, but will not be relied on as our main computer.  All I ask is that you stay in the game for us for two more weeks.  I have an important exam coming up, and I will not have time to back up your data until I take my exam.  So, just two weeks.  I know you can do it.  If you pull through, it will be easy street for you as a part-time, on-call computer.  I believe in you.