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I also have to add this footnote to the PS3 thing.  My husband accompanied me to make the exchange with number five (whose name, I learned, was Eric), in the parking lot of a local movie theatre that afternoon. He was already there with his wife and two kids when we pulled up, and as we were all make introductions, laughing about our morning, this woman pulled up in a car and got out. She went right up to Eric, who was holding the PS3 and said, “Are you John?” Bemused, he replied, “No. I’m sorry, I’m not.” She said, “Oh. I’m supposed to meet a guy named John here who’s selling me a PS3.”

Somehow, without realizing, we’d managed to locate the contraband PS3 trade-off area.

what a great story! And woohoo for the bonus $700 for the PS3. That thing has so many bugs in it that I’m surprised that so many people bought them. Congrats on scoring a Wii.

I think that it’s wonderful to see people come together and enjoy each other’s company instead of being at each other’s throats like most holiday seasons. It’s noce to see some humanity left in the world.

You might have just given me hope for the human race.

:D

This is my favorite part of the holiday season!  Despite the rushing around, I love that people are willing to talk and wish each other happy holidays.  And working at home alone most days, I’m becoming increasingly interested in talking to strangers where ever I go. 

My closest experience to yours occurred many, many years ago.  I spent the night in front of our local concert colliseum to get tickets for the group “Alabama.” I don’t even like country music (sorry, I’m a rock ‘n roll kinda girl from way back) - so I only did it because a friend begged me to stay with her.  It was spring or summer - I don’t remember which - but on the water, so it got really cold over night.  But it was a lot of fun talking to the other people who were also out there all night.  We got great tickets, too!  And concert was okay.

Well my being trapped with nice people story happened 10 yrs ago last August. Garth Brooks was in town for three nights and it was the day of the first show. We didn’t have tickets but they were selling shirts and everything in front of the arena so my dad and I went down and got our shirts and then the guy at the radio station said they were releasing a few more tickets so we ran in to a pretty good line. We got within about ten people and they said they’d sold out...but there should be more coming online in about an hour. So we talked to the people ahead of us, and got to hear some of soundcheck through the walls...the one guy ahead of us had to run to the atm across the street so the lady in front of us promised we’d hold his spot. We all managed to get tickets about four hours later, row 26 on the floor. A pretty cool first concert experience! And the funny part was we were all sitting together :oD

Liz, sounds like you had a nice morning.

I am amazed that people actually get up at 2:00 and 3:00 and 4:00 to wait in line to shop.
NO shopping would induce me to get out of bed that early -EVER!

Couldn’t you order the Wii online?
(most of my shopping is done online )

Carolyn - I would wait in line all night for tickets to a rock concert. 

What awesome stories!

One of the “crowd moments” I enjoyed was about 20 years ago.  4th of July.  Boston.  We had just attended the Red Sox game.  I expect we won because the mass of people getting in line to get into the subway station was loud, boisterous and cheerful.  And then it happened.  That moment of wonder.  The fireworks started going off at the Esplanade about a mile away.  The booms were rather muffled, but the sparkling fireworks hovered over the tops of the surrounding buildings.  Somebody started it… “Oooo!” Another purple flower filled the sky....  A deeper voice echoed amongst the crowd “Ahhhhh!” And we were off!  Before you knew it, the line of Red Sox fans inching their way towards the subway station all had their faces turned to the sky and in unison chanting the famous Forth of July anthem “Oooo! Ahhh!”

It was magical

(One of my co-workers garnered 8 Elmos and 1 PS3...he is endeavoring to make his Xmas a little merrier through Ebay...LOL He, too, has a tale about a frigid night and playing kickball with fellow shoppers)

I was wondering if you were going to tell us what the outcome of the playstation was.

Great that you got to have coffee and talk with people at such an ungodly hour! 

Can I think of any tasks I have faced with dread?  Notta one..well there was the time when I was in labour with my first and I had explicit instructions to family members and my midwives and a detailed birthplan NOT TO ADMINISTER ANY DRUGS/PAINKILLERS...well when I hit that 9 cm mark (yeah tmi, I’m the queen of it) and my effacement wasn’t complete, I was definately asking for the Drugs and I thought I would die from the pain, and I was dreading the rest of the labour that felt like it would never end!  Phew...got through it though, even after yelling at my midwife, certain obsenities that cannot be repeated here!  The second time was a breeze!

Have I ever been trapped with strangers?  Probably but I am shy so I would NEVER talk to them, therefore I would never remember any strange meetings!  I’m an observer by nature!

My story is not as homey as any of yours. But, this happened a couple of weeks ago, There is one Starbucks I can always be found at. I usually prefer to sit in a dark corner with my book, when one evening, I found someone sitting at my table. Since it was a rather large table, I made myself comfortable on the other end. By tacit agreement, both of us stayed silent, and watched over each others things when one of us went to the washroom. At closing time, we were being shooed out, but we still had 15 minutes before the shop closed. We started talking, she told me about her upcoming Accounting licensing exam, and I told her I was looking for a job, etc.  It turns out she went to the same University my cousin’s husband teaches at in Australia. Somehow, we meet every week at the same table. We never really talk, outside of daily pleasantries, but I find a lot of comfort in knowing I can queitly share my dark corner with someone who’s not going to make faces at me for laughing out loud.

When my aunt and I were in Charlotte, NC for the spring NASCAR races a few years ago, QVC was doing a live remote from the ballpark in Kannapolis with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a guest.  We decided to go.  Some other plans fell through, and we found ourselves at the ballpark at 2 PM or so with the taping scheduled to start at 8 PM.  So we started a line (the producer couldn’t believe we were there so early) and soon a few others - die hard Jr. fans - joined us.  We had a wonderful time talking racing and getting to know each other, and we got front row seats to the broadcast, so I sat about 25 feet away from Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 2 hours.  The funny thing is, we aren’t even very big fans of Jr, but it was a good time anyway.

I forgot to mention it rained part of the time we were waiting but not hard.  It didn’t start raining hard till after the broadcast started, but since we got there early we were under the tent.

I’ll tell you, my mother and I do the “Black Friday” thing every year and every year we manage to find some really nice people in line.  We usually talk and grumble about how the one day there is a cold front is ALWAYS the night of Thanksgiving so it’s freezing outside for shopping. 

Okay, now the ONE thing I would wait outside for.....JOHNNY DEPP!!!  HA!
The running joke in our house is that the Pirates DVD IS a stocking stuffer (contrary to my older sister’s opinion)!!  Johnny Depp would be the actual GIFT!

I always dread Dh’s family gatherings, last years Christmas Party wasn’t that bad, much to my surprise.
I would wait in the cold to acquire something my Dh or kids desperately wanted (and we had the money for!).

Yea, Liz! I’m so glad you finally scored a Wii. I have yet to see a PS3 or Wii but I could tell you a dastardly tale of one

My dh and I used to always stand in line at stores when we were selling hot wheels. There was a whole group of guys that we’d run into on a regular basis, we still keep in touch with a few. I think the time I remember most is when our new Wal-mart super center opened up. Dh and I knew exactly what the store had and where it was. There were probably 20 guys in line, me the lone fat girl. Welp, when they cut the ribbon and let us in there were no holds barred. I shoved, pushed and maybe stepped on toes. I was in and out in a manner of minutes *g* When we were in the car later my dh said one of our friends said “I didn’t know she could move that fast. Its amazing” LOL! Yep, fat girls can move. Like lightening!

That’s a wonderful story!  To answer your questions: Nope.  Not that I can recall.  And, no way!

It’s so nice to hear such a great holiday shopping story. 

As a retailer, it seems that I must ‘gird my loins’ on some days during this holiday season!  In truth, it hasn’t been all that horrible because for every cranky customer there are two or more great ones.  Like the guy who offered to buy a young lady lunch because she didn’t have enough money.  Another customer offered to pitch in to help another guy pay for his.  LOL, I even had one guy offer to “take care of” a guy who yelled at me because...wait for it....the bread slicer cut his bread too thin.

Happy shopping everyone!
Santa

Great story Liz! I looked forward to reading the 2nd half all day

Congrats Liz on scoring a Wii for your son for Christmas.  I’m sure he’ll be very happy. 

I have no stories to tell.  I’ve never had to wait in line for concert tix, as I usually worked the concerts and got to see the show, or part of it anyway.  My kids never wanted any toys that required waiting in line for.  I didn’t realize my life was so boring until reading about other people’s experiences. 

--dorothy

I would wait in line to buy tickets to my favorite college team games.

Glad you was able to get the Wii and cool on the PS3.

Oh Liz, what a great story.  Our local TV station had a reporter talking to people in front of Best Buy at 5am on Black Friday.  The people in line had been there since the day before!  The third person in line was a mom hoping to score a Wii for her son for Christmas.  It was going to be his Santa gift.  About 7am the studio anchor said “We’ve just had a phone call from the husband of the woman we interviewed at Best Buy this morning.  Apparently her husband turned the TV on this morning while their son was eating breakfast and...OOPS...he now knows he’s getting a Wii for Christmas - and that it’s not really from Santa.” Somehow I think she’s wishing she had stayed in her warm, soft bed. 

I’m always talking to strangers wherever I go and I’m consistently amazed by how small the world really is.  When I was a teen I started talking to a woman in a cafe at the top of Mount Blanc in the French Alps.  A few minutes into the conversation we discovered that she was the college roommate of my English teacher in my small little town in Michigan.  The most recent incident was in Savannah, GA.  I was in line to make reservations for lunch at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen’s restaurant) and I started a conversation with the lady in line in front of me.  Turns out she just retired from teaching at my niece and nephew’s Jr. High school in Florida.  Happens to me all the time.

I’d wait in the cold for the followng:

coffee
Dnaiel Craig’s naked butt
curry
airplane tickets that required a passport
and
shoes

And, at the risk of exposing my horrendous lack of pop-culture knowledge.....What the hell is a Wii, Liz.  A computer game?

Just last Saturday, my mom, youngest brother and I were in Chicago, and we decided to try for Wicked tickets. We started waiting in the “standby” line at about 6 p.m., hoping that people would cancel or not pick up their tickets. We were numbers 11, 12 and 13.

We met a nice couple from Ohio, a father and daughter duo who were trying to score ticket for a third viewing, and several other really sweet people. Everyone was in a really good mood, joking around about our collective insanity, etc., even knowing that we probably wouldn’t get tickets. We could all hope, couldn’t we? It turned out that about 5 tickets were available, so my group didn’t get in. Some people also offered their extra tickets for sale, but no one had three together.

And here’s my Random Act of Kindness story—a couple came to the end of the line and GAVE AWAY two tickets to the people at the end of the line. The duo who received the tickets was right behind me, and they were so grateful! I just wanted to hug the people who gave away their tickets when they could have sold them at ticket price. I mean, come one, they were “Wicked” tickets! It was a really nice holiday moment!

Stood in line 8 hours one time for tickets to see Bob Seger. It was worth it!

LMAO @ J Perry!

J Perry, A Wii is a gaming system (like X-Box, Play Station, Gamecube) Nintendo makes it.

Liz, just an FYI, for the new Zelda, Twilight Princess game, get the Official Player’s guide to go with it.  My son said it has helped a lot.

I had my first experience at Disney World just a few years ago and wanted to go on Magic Mountain more than anything. So I braved the lines with my family, stood for what seemed like a long time.  We made new friends while waiting.  And I loved the ride so much, I did it again!

I don’t have a good “in line” story… BUT my sister the doctor has one!

She got up early to score Depeshe Mode tickets a couple of years ago (yes, Virginia, David Gahan is still alive.) She went to, of all places… a Fiesta in Southwest Houston.

They were handingout wrist bands, and she was about 20th in the actual line. 

Shortly before the tickets went on sale, the Powers That Be called out a wrist band number..  It was my sister’s!  She went up to the front and asked what was up. 

After IDing herself, they annoucned that the line was forming behind HER!  All the scalpers were PISSED because their numbers were lower than her… meaning they had to go to the BACK of the line!

She got seats in the 6th row! 

My only line story was when I was getting my car inspected, and the place I went to only had one guy working.  There was a line of about 10 people in front of me when I arrived, and the line continued to get people as I was there. 

We were all patient.  We stood quietly, moving up as he inspected cars.  Sometimes a couple might talk, but no one complained or left the line in a huff. 

At one point, the guy inspecting the cars thanked us for being so patient, and that he had never seen such a well behaved line!

hehe…

On Black Friday usually my mom sister and I get up at 3:30 to get all the good stuff. This year however it was computers at Best Buy. On Thanksgiving evening we usually plot and plan our early mornings excursions, deciding where the best deals are. My sis asked me what time we should leave to go shopping the next morning and I told her that their was probably already a line outside of best buy. So my 17 yr niece and I decided to check and see. Yep, tents, chairs and about 30-40 people outside best buy at 8:30 at night. Okay so what do we do? yep by 9:15 my sis, niece and I are in line at best buy, and we sent hubby a few stores down to Circuit City. I ventured to the front of the line and found out that those people had been there since Thanksgiving morning, thats insane!!My mom helped out by delivering hot chocolate and gummy bears. We met alot of great people and it was like a huge block party, except the nearest open bathroom was a mile away. The couple behind us turned out to be the parents of my son’s friend whom I had only seen in passing. We had a blast, until it got almost time for the doors to open. People were coming out of the parking lot, thinking they were going to just walk right in, kind of reminded me of the music video thriller. We’ll in the end my sis and I both got the computers we wanted and then some other great stuff. Would I do it again? You bet!

PJ....you said three things that make me love you

1)cafe in French Alps
2)Paula Deen’s restaurant
3)LYAO @ moi.

If I knew how to do it I’d send YOU candy, however, I only know how to do no-bakes. I have this really large cookie cutter shaped like something that is, eh, helmeted...and I don’t think your DH would approve.
But I would tie a red bow around the, eh, non-helmeted part, just for you...to be festive, you understand.

What? My kids’ preschool teachers LOVED that gift.

Like Sarah and Leslie, I too waited a loooong time for some concert tix. Back when. I think I would for U2 again, but just maybe… Music people (maybe book people) and movie people (Star Wars, anyone?) seem to get chatty about things..I remember having a nice conversation about music w/some fans waiting for Police tix, (again, way back when..)

OK, Liz I gotta know, did you spill the beans on what you do? I’m always curious if you writer types do this? Did anyone recognize you?

Unless it was a life or death situation there is no way I would currently stand in line for hours.  I have trouble standing for more than 5 minutes and had to really control myself from screaming when I had to stand in line at BN recently.  Hind sight made me realize that I should not have gone there but 2 weeks before I had been desperate for 2 books and went and got them.  Only to get home and realize that both were series books and I had not gotten the latest one.

No standing in line for me anymore--severe back pain makes it impossible. But I have spent time in Christmas lines to buy the Atari 2600 the first year of Space Invaders, to buy some special transformers whose name I have long forgotten, and to buy two Georgia Bulldogs football uniforms size small. These were the days, my children, before online purchases. Most of us stood in lines.

My favorite Christmas shopping story is decades old now, but it still makes me smile. I was shopping with a friend whose five-year-old daughter had made a late request of Santa: a doll “with a face like mine.” (My friend and her husband are Filipino.) We went to dozens of stores within a hundred miles--toystores, department stores, specialty shops--to no avail, Christmas was getting closer, and my friend was getting desperate. We finally tried a tiny doll and bear shop in the town where I teach. We walked in and almost gave up. There were hundreds of dolls and bears on floor to ceiling shelves, packed so tightly together that they looked like they were enjoying a group hug. Nothing looked promising and we knew we would never be able to look through so many dolls. When my friend explained her plight to the owner, the owner said she was sure that she had a doll that met the description but wasn’t sure where it was. The other four shoppers heard, and they all dedicated themselves to finding the doll. So for thirty minutes seven women checked dolls, shelf by shelf until one shouted,"I think I found it!” And there she was--a lovely little girl with the right skin tones, the right shape to her eyes, the right shade of black hair and in American dress. She was perfect.  We all sighed in satisfaction, knowing that Santa would be bringing Alexandra a doll that looked like her.

I would brave sub-zero temperatures and wait in line for hours if it was the only way I could get the new Harry Potter 7 book.

Liz, thank you so much for such a great story!  It’s so uplifting!  Exactly what I needed during a long day with whiny kids!  Thanks for giving me back a little piece of my holiday spirit.

I’ve usually had good line experiences.  I find that the longer the line the more helpful people are; though most of my lines have been for things like registration and OSAP (student loans) and the like.  I’ve never had the pleasure/been crazy enough to stand in line for tickets or a toy (though my kids are young, it could still happen).  Usually the fad toys are outside of my price range.

It’s kind of funny that I was just starting to worry about you blogging about this before Christmas (what if your son sees?  what if one of his friends sees and says something to him?  ack) when I read PJ’s post.  Ouch.  That poor Mom.

I was shopping in the mall the day before the Wii was released and saw this line.  Everyone had their backs to the wall and some sort of handheld electronic device--mostly games of some sort, but phones, ereaders, laptops, you name it.  I thought, how wierd, a techie convention this close to the Walmart?  When I got close to the front of the line, one guy had a sign denouncing Sony and demanding a Wii.  That was the first I heard of them!  LOL.  Anyway, this line was almost eerily silent and self-absorbed.  I wonder if that changed once the mall closed and their batteries started to die?  I also remember thinking, all those toys and not one actual book?  If I know I’m going to be waiting for something, that’s what I bring!  Oh, and this line got to wait INSIDE the mall, which is the way to do it if you’re going to do it! 

Happy Holidays!

Yea, a Merry Christmas for all in line!  I love happy endings.

I haven’t waited in line like that myself but I have witnessed the longest line ever in my hometown.  There is a motorcycle rally in my hometown every summer.  So, instead of freezing...they get to swelter in the hot summer sun.  The population of the town is about 2200.  The amount in attendance at the rally is usually well over 10,000.  The line of people waiting to get in has literally been mile long at times.  It is insane.

Janga, I love your story.......wow, that sounds amazing. 

No, unfortunately I do not have any stories of long lines in the cold. 

What would I wait in the cold for?  Hmmm......AHA!  To be lucky enough to have an ENTIRE wardrobe SPECIFICALLY designed for my body by the best of the best, Oscar De La Renta, Givenchy, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera.  Can you imagine!?!?!

Liz, what a great blog.  I’m up to my ears right now, but I just had to check back to see if you scored your Wii.  And how cool about the PS3!

My experience is no way as fun as any of the others, but I had my best post office/holiday shipping experience on Monday.  I was doing volunteer work that day (my company gives us two days a year to do volunteer work) and then went to the local post office, who have FINALLY extended their hours.  I usually end up shipping from Tampa Airport and last year I waited on line almost 90 minutes, so I thought I’d give the Largo Post Office a try.  Oh my word, there were only 3 people in there.  I thought it had closed earlier than I thought and started walking back out!  The Manager saw me and called me back.  I was in and out of there in 10 minutes.  10 minutes!  I was so stunned I walked out with a dopey grin plastered on my face and gushed to anyone within hearing distance how happy I was.  With the extra time, I went and had some pizza and started reading Pleasures for Pleasures.  I think I floated home.

Code word:  working91 - Yeah, I’ll probably be working till I’m 91. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the part about the parent buying Wiis for her adult son because she couldn’t afford them when they were little!!!! It brings tears to my eyes. Sniffle.

LOVE the Wii!

You go Liz! Dealing at TrUs and the movies...I’ll have to remember that one.

I have been on THE hunt for my husbands present. The man has been so wonderful and giving this year I wouldn’t give up on it. Well, IT is a rifle. He sold all his when we moved and obviously I didn’t have proper respect for what this meant (other than it put a downpayment on our house, I didn’t care) But, now I want to replace his favorite and the first gunshop informed me that I should have started this hunt in June.....Hell, I didn’t know this was that special of a big boy toy!
Anyways, 4 counties and numerous gunshops, I had a guy call his supplier and I found it! AND it is on special for $200 off. I thanked God and Santa.

Oh yeah ladies, he’s gonna cry on Christmas morning!

And good for you Santa for not letting a bad apple ruin the bunch!

Liz, that’s wonderful news! YAH! And great news about the PS3 too!

orannia

PS Thanks to everyone who explained what a Wii was - obviously my head has been in a book too much of late

I stood in line with my family for 3 hours to see the statue of “David” in Florence. That was the longest I have waited in line but it was completely worth it. Amazing and awe inspiring!

OK I admit: I wasn’t in line the ENTIRE 3 hrs. My sister and I took the younger 3 kids and went for some gelato and then to roam around a few stores before heading back to the line where our husbands were waiting.

Does anyone remember Furby’s. My best friend talked me into waiting in line with her in the cold starting at 4 AM. I did it to keep her company and it was fun talking with everyone. My daughter could have cared less when she got it thuogh lol.

Oh and years ago I got trapped in an elevator with 2 other coworkers for about 4 hours. The other woman was practically hysterical and wouldn’t shut up. I thought the other guy was going to kill her lol.

New Year’s Eve 1995. The U.S. Government is shut down.  I think Clinton and Monica were in the closet at the time.  Anyway, the National Gallery in DC was having the Vermeer exhibit.  There are about 36 Vermeer’s total in the world and about 30 of them were at the National Gallery.  Nothing else in DC was open but that exhibit, not even the rest of the Gallery.  Talk about dedication - those employees came in without pay during the shut down just to open that once-in-a-lifetime show.  We didn’t have advanced tickets but if we waited in line, maybe 5 hours in 20 degree temperatures we would get in.  No Problem!  That is when it happened - my sister-in-law asked to bring her 2 year old son along.  No babysitter available and she really wanted to go.  My husband and I gritted our collective teeth and smiled and said sure.  (We were happy to wait in line all day in the cold with a cranky toddler

After waiting about an hour and a 1/2 my nephew was still behaving himself, in fact he was quite pleasant.  Up comes a lady who said that she had four extra timed tickets (her friends couldn’t make it) and since we had the baby with us she offered them to us.  There were at least 600 people in line.  We gratefully accepted and were inside within 10 minutes.  We saved at least 3 hours in line out in the cold because of the kindness of a stranger and the presence of a toddler. 

The best wait in line I ever had.  Who knew Bill was having an even better time just down the street.

MAN, you guys have been chatty this afternoon!  But I am LOVING all these stories.

Alas, Colinfirthfan, there was such a huge demand, no one was taking on-line orders unless you ordered the bundle, which came with the game system and a bunch of games my son didn’t want, all costing twice the price of the system alone. And even those were hard to come by.

So, Kim, are you going to tell us the dastardly tale? Hmm? Hmmmmmm?

Isn’t that funny, PJ? I have experiences like that, too. Maybe there really are only six degrees (or less!) of separation among us.

Wirdald, that’s a GREAT holiday story.  As is Sarah’s about her sister. I love seeing scalpers get scalped. Heh.

Prudence, got that, too. My son loves those guides.

Krissy79, when we ventured out at 5:00 on Black Friday, there was a line looping the entire Best Buy we passed. All the way around the building. It was surreal.

J, you are one of the funniest women I know.

Ms Mary, had it come up, I would have definitely volunteered what I do for a living. I never go out of my way to say I’m a romance writer, but if the conversation turns naturally to that, I’m totally up for it. Of course, I looked l like hell that morning, which is NOT the way I like to look when I ‘fess up, but… None of us really talked about our jobs, come to think of it. Interesting, that.

Canadacole, as I type this, I’m looking over my shoulder, because my son is in the next room. He doesn’t read the blog (in fact, it may be blocked on his desktop due to mention of things like J’s cookie cutter *G*), and I sincerely doubt his friends do, either. I don’t even know that many of them know what I do for a living. Still, ya never know. They’re smart kids…

Oh, Cara, making a grown man cry. What a nice woman you are. 

Colinfirthfan - I’m just glad for online ticket sales these days!  Although there are a few concerts....

I love your nickname, by the way!  He’s one of my favs, too.

J!!!! 

Um....that’s not what you’re sending me, is it? LMAO!  It’s bad enough that I have to wait until my kids are asleep before opening any emails from you that has attachments with or without red bows!

Avery,
I saw that exhibit too!  But it must have been in January.  And I don’t remember standing in a line to get tickets.

Liz,
I loved your story.  You are such an excellent writer.

Thanks, NcNan. 

Honestly, I hate being cold and the only thing I might be willing to stand in line for would be a close encounter with a real sexy guy, lol.

So far, I’ve been lucky having a brother or good friends who braved the freezing cold for rock concert tickets that would sell out real quick and get them for the rest of us.