A True Story of Black Friday Karma

I am a full believer in Karma. I always feel if you do bad by people then bad will come to you, if you do good by people then good will come to you. Today's post is about Karma and how once again I feel I live a blessed life. Oh sure it isn't always the feeling of blessing but I prefer to look at those rougher experiences and times as learning experiences or God testing my strength *okie thinks God really likes to test her sometimes and thinks she needs to schedule an appointment with Him to discuss this in the future*. But for today, well...it's about good Karma and even better, good Karma on Black Friday!

I had my list ready for Black Friday. There wasn't much I was wanting to get. I wanted the Ninja Blender and Naomi wanted some sheets. I was going to look at a few other things while I was there as well but figured I would have no problems getting the items I was wanting since mine weren't big ticket items. I had decided to stop in at the casino before heading across the street to Walmart. The pitboss asked if I had already been to Walmart and I told him the stuff I was wanting didn't go on sale until 10pm so I had a little while before I had to go. One of the dealers, Davy is his name, overheard me and asked if I would be willing to pick up an Xbox 360 with Kinect for him. He thought he would go over on a break or after work and get it for his wife. He wanted to surprise her for Christmas. I laughed at him about how he thought he would just be able to dash over there and get it, after all I am  a seasoned Black Friday shopper and know how this chit works! I told him I didn't mind a bit. Since I knew I would need to get there and stand in line I headed over there an hour early.

I got to Walmart and of course the parking lot was full. With lights shimmering off the shiny metal it almost looked like a placid lake at night when stars reflect of the ripples of water . I was lucky and found a decent spot and headed off in the store. There was not one buggy to be found but I figured how heavy could an Xbox, a blender and a set of sheets be. Thanks to my handy dandy map of Walmart I quickly found the line...the long line...the very long line, for the Xbox with Kinect. I asked the man ahead of me if he knew how many they had and he said he didn't. I asked him if he had counted the people in line and he looked at me like I had 3 heads. I laughed and told him "look if you will save my spot I will go ask how many they have and then count the people and see if we stand a chance, this way we don't waste our time standing here waiting when we could be getting something else". He, of course, eagerly agreed to this ingenious plan *okie smiles slightly at just another fantabulous ingenious plan of hers*. I found the beginning of the line and asked how many they had and they said "we have 147". I then started counting people, all of which who were very cooperative and would tell me if they had someone else in line and were each getting one or if they had multiple people there but were only getting one. After counting and adding a few extra in for good measure I happily reported to the man "well it looks like we are in good shape, we are standing around 80 and they have 147". The lady that had come while I was on my mission didn't even mind me getting back in line and said she appreciated knowing that she was going to be able to get one.

As time went on and we were standing there everyone was chit chatting. Every now and then I would see someone else get in line and voice concerns about there being enough and I would assure them "oh yes you are around" so and so "number and there are 147". Everyone in our line seemed to be in good spirits and discussed other things they were wanting. Suddenly we heard a commotion and I, being the totally nosy person I am said "oh ya'll watch my spot I gotta go see what's going on". Off I went to see what the noise was all about! I quickly learned that Paula Dean cookware was worth fighting over and getting tasered, well not me tasered but someone else. I found this out later on when I bumped into my daughter in law and she was wanting some of the cookware but didn't get it.

After what seemed like forever, and me seeing Ninja blenders go by and wondering why they were already being released, our line started moving. Of course my ingenious plan worked and I was able to get Davy the Xbox with Kinect so he can surprise his wife for Christmas. I quickly head off to where the blenders were suppose to be and lo and behold....THEY WERE GONE! I didn't get mad or upset, I actually kinda laughed about it. To tell ya the truth I was happier about knowing someone else was going to be able to surprise someone they loved with an awesome Christmas gift.

I roamed around the store since the sheets were sold out as well and came across a few other little items to pick up. I went to the jewelry department to look for the Timex watches and on the jewelry counter sat nothing other than a Ninja Blender! There was a man standing in front of it and I kindly said "excuse me sir, is that your blender?". He turned to me and I noticed he had on a lanyard identifying him as a Walmart employee. He smile and said "no, I just picked it up out of the aisle". I told him the story of how that was the one thing I was wanting for myself and wasn't able to get it. He grabbed the blender and placed it in my cart and said "well Merry Christmas ma'am!". I told him thank you about 12 times and I just thought to myself...WOW! KARMA WAS ON MY SIDE! With my awesome blender acquired I headed off to the check out counter. I noticed a few people had a Kindle Fire in their buggy and I knew those probably went fast. Of course I looked at them drooling but knew I didn't have the money for one right now anyway and if it was meant for me to get one I would  get one eventually. I mean it's not like they are going to stop manufacturing them.

I drove back over to the casino and took Davy his Xbox. I handed it to one of the floor managers as Davy was dealing at the time and wasn't able to get it. The guys playing poker started discussing the craziness of Black Friday and how they thought it was great of me to get Davy the game console. I told them all the story of the blender and they agreed that good deeds pay off. Davy told me to keep the change, which was about 11 bucks. I later took him his receipt and the $50 gift card that was included with the Xbox. He told me he didn't even know it came with a gift card and he wouldn't have known if I kept it. I told him it wasn't mine to keep!

I decided to play the slots for a little while, knowing I didn't have much money I knew I wouldn't be there long. I put 5 bucks in a machine and played for a bit and then it was gone. I took the $11 that Davy told me to keep and put it in the machine. Long story short, I hit enough money to get my Amazon Kindle Fire, if only it had happened earlier! *okie laughs and shakes her head about how missed chances happen sometimes*. I visited with some friends for a bit and went and played poker for awhile, not really winning big but did come out a little ahead. After I got done I remembered I was out of coffee, so off to Walmart I went.

Luckily Walmart was cleared out by this time, almost looking like an abandoned ghost town, even down to the lonely pieces of paper and trash blowing around the parking lot as if they were tumble weeds rolling down a dusty road. I went in, got my coffee and picked up a few other things. I remembered I needed hairspray so head to the other side of the store. I saw where there were several of the $19 Shop-Vacs left and put one in my buggy. I have always wanted a Shop-Vac and my Aunt Betty swears by them and it was a good buy. I thought "well Merry Christmas to me". I was headed back to checkout and went by electronics. There were 3 guys standing around and I smiled and asked "got any of those Kindle Fires left?". One of them laughed and said "How many you want? Seven?". I laughed and said "that's what I figured". Another guy said "No seriously, do you want seven?". The third guy told me "we sold out immediately and people were upset because there weren't that many. I don't usually work in electronics so I didn't know where everything was and after all the chaos was over I went in the back and there were two more buggies full of the Kindle Fires" and he pointed behind him and sure enough there sat two buggies full of them! My mouth dropped open and said "How can I not get one?!". He quickly grabbed one and  handed it to me and told me "tell all your friends!". I kept justifying to myself why I should buy this Kindle Fire when I still have a cruise to pay for. I then thought "Karma, it's all about Karma!". I usually don't want anything for Christmas. The last time I really wanted anything was 4 years ago when I wanted a Cricut, which I did get, and that was another Karma story I do believe. I soon put my guilt aside and decided "MERRY CHRISTMAS SHIRLEY! ENJOY!"

When I said I believe in Karma I truly meant that, how else could all these events be explained? Okay, I admit it could be seen as a blessing from God but since gambling was involved I think it was Karma as I am still not sure how God feels about gambling and I don't plan on asking Him about His feelings on that vice.

So you see, on this Black Friday I was visited by Karma and it was GOOD!