Thanksgiving Day means food and family for most of us. But then there is that crazy few who look forward to Thanksgiving because of the ridiculous shopping deals that follow. This day is known as Black Friday, and as I had the horror pleasure to find out, it is madness.

I have gone shopping on Black Friday’s before. Generally I leave the stores empty handed as I get there too late to take advantage of the tremendous deals that are offered to those crazy few who manage to arrive at the ass-crack of dawn. I’m usually the person who stares in awe at the long line of people that begins forming Thanksgiving Day wondering “why the hell would anybody camp out for this long for some stupid discounts?” But this year was different. My homie Anthony and I decided to brave the Black Friday lines, because he had never witnessed Black Friday and I had my eye set on a nice little 1 TB external hard drive (amongst other things).

Hit the jump for more of the Black Friday recap

We arrived at the Target location in Whittier around 12:30 a.m. and promptly set up our chairs with what seemed to be about 40 people ahead of us already. With an Amp energy drink in hand, my trusty moleskin in tow, and a fanatical desire to save money, we prepared ourselves for the 5 hour wait. After about 30 minutes, however, we were already beginning to crack. Around 2:30 a.m. the weather had dipped to a brisk 40 degrees. At 4 a.m. you could begin to feel a sense of something big about to happen as everybody around us was already standing, and the line had slowly begun to compact as people began to jockey for position. When 5 a.m. rolled around, the doors opened, and it literally was like a flood gate had been opened as people began pouring in. As soon as the first person began to run to the doors, mob mentality took over and I was simply glad to make it through that crowd alive and in one piece.

Anthony headed straight to electronics, I made a dash to the bath towels and bed linens (don’t judge me; they were ridiculously priced). After about 15 minutes and a couple of elbows thrown, our cart was full and we were already checking out. The final tally was $120 ($150 in savings) for a 1 TB external hard drive (Western Digital), a 4 GB memory card, 2 welcome mats, a bunch of towels, a dirt devil vaccum and 2 700 thread count bed sets. With a cursory stop at Best Buy, Office Depot and the Brea Mall (all ridiculous lines and already pillfered shelves), we called it today and went home to enjoy the spoils of war.

This was definitely a good experience, and there are DEFINITELY savings to be had by those w/ enough patience or crazy enough to wait in lines. If you do decide to go next years here’s a few tips:

1) Dress warmly, bring supplies, and a comfortable chair. I’d also recommend bringing a book or laptop to help you pass the time. I filled a couple of pages in my moleskin during the wait and that was a lifesaver.

2) Have a clear idea of what you want to buy, and don’t get caught up in the window shopping or sucked into unnecssary deals. If you need to shop with blinders on, I’d suggest doing it.

3) Be patient. The lines are going to be ridiculous everywhere you go at anytime of the day. The employees are usually overwhelmed, and stores are undermanned. If you want to have a stress-free Black Friday, go already expecting to wait in long lines and deal with cranky folks. Your day will be that much better, and those sweet deals you got will be that much sweeter.