The Breakdown of the Long Wait

3 A.M.- 4 A.M.: Got the lay of the land, counted the people so I knew my number in line. Introduced myself to everyone. There were a lot of good people and the numbers grew constantly. You become friends rather quickly in these situations.

4 A.M.- 5 A.M.: Played Frisbee in the parking lot (helped keep me warm), drank coffee, figured out how to wear a sleeping bag and still walk around

5 A.M.- 6 A.M.: I think this was the toughest hour. I questioned why I was voluntarily freezing in a chair in front of a store where I would be spending lots of money. I questioned my values. I felt like I did on a Phish tour- just kind of misguided and self-indulgent. I also slipped in and out of consciousness (which is a scary thing to do in public). The thought of having 5 more hours of this was really messing with me.

6 A.M.- 7 A.M.: Sunrise- I had the feeling like I spent the entire night at a rave or doing something else I probably shouldn’t have done. It was actually quite a nice morning, despite the cold and the location. By this time I realized that I can never look at the front of a Circuit City the same way again. I felt homeless and desperate. I also wanted to brush my teeth about as much as I wanted a Wii.

7 A.M.- 8 A.M.: The hour of promises. Staff began showing up and gave us hope. We had a ballpark figure of 20 units and we found that they were opening up about an hour early for us, which I wished for but didn’t expect.

8 A.M.- 9 A.M.: Unlike the earlier part of the night, minutes would not end. We packed up our camping supplies. And waited. And waited. The official number of units was 26 we were numbers 10 an 11 in line. We were happy. People past #26 still would not leave, even the ones WAY past. This is also the time that families and children showed up just to be disappointed.

9 A.M.- 9:30: Info on package deals (no thanks), Circuit City credit cards (pass), and extended warranty (funk that). Finally the vouchers were passed out and they brought us in two at a time to buy what we wanted and then immediately leave.

I have to hand it to Circuit City. I have never camped out for a sale like this (except for concert tickets), so I didn’t know what to expect. I have read all kinds of horror stories of disorganized staff and problems with management, so I was worried going in. Everything was easy and well organized. Go buy stuff from them.