I went black friday shopping one time back around 2005 or so before online retail was a dominating force. I get why some people enjoy(ed) it and think fondly of it, but that was an experience I don't want to repeat. All day long so many stores were packed with people, it was hard to get around and slow going. My anxiety is ramping up just thinking about it.

I ended up at Walmart yesterday morning (black friday). Not to shop the sales, but to get some much needed supplies. I was expecting it to be hectic and not looking forward to the trip. The place was barely more busy than any random weekday night. The only spot that was a bit crowded was at the entrance where they'd placed a bunch of pallets of TVs that constricted the space where people could move.

It was nothing like the great DVD stampede or the 256MB thumb drive fiasco of my first black friday shopping trip.