So Thanksgiving came and went. Where did I spend it? The only place I have ever felt comfortable spending it. Best Buy Aiea. Yes, I actually did it again. 5 years in a row. Yes I got what I waited in line for. But just wanted to share my experience as this was kind of different from many of the previous years.
To begin my story, let me start from Tuesday. One of my classmates told me he was interested in standing in line to get a laptop. Then he mentioned to me that there was a family that had camped at Best Buy since Saturday. I hella tripped out. As far as my knowledge goes, that would be the record. I could swear me and Blaine had the record of camping out on a Wednesday at 5p. That record would be in 2009. That year it also rained a little bit as well.
So thoughts in my head ran rampant. If there was a family at Best Buy since Saturday, by the time I got to Best Buy, I was quite sure that there would be others that would have like a panic attack. My classmate however was making plans though to bring out his tent and a barbecue grill. But I already knew better that he was just going to flake out. He flaked out the previous year. So I didn't hold my breath. However, I had made other plans with another one of my classmates that really did need a laptop. She just asked me some general questions though and I had answered it based on previous experience. I also told her though that I would make my way to Aiea around 7ish pm.
Wednesday, classmate #1 flaked out as I knew he would. Classmate #2 told me that she still wants the laptop. So I decided to Best Buy I shall be. I went back to my place and changed clothes, packed a beach chair, blanket, and mat then caught the bus. During the ride, thoughts were going on through my head, great, I am going to know no one. And I was right. I get to the parking lot and many thoughts overwhelmed me. Some of the people ahead of me were trying to direct me the wrong direction. I total ignored them. I looked for the end of the line and found a girl and a guy sitting in their chairs chatting. I decided to join them.
We made our introductions, settled myself down, and then began to dread sitting there for another 28 long hours. Throughout the night, an older gentleman came down and sat next to me as he was next. We had an interesting conversation about how kids these days are growing up too fast and no longer want regular toys, they want the expensive electronic gadgets. Found out that he wanted the 42" flat screen tv that Best Buy advertised at $199.99. Found out also this was his first time camping out. However, after an hour passed, he finally decided to pack up as his wife kept texting him and giving him the guilt trip. "Thanksgiving is supposed to be time with the family." I told him if he wanted, I would save his spot. He gave me his number.
I thought to myself, oh great, I'm going to be bored. I wanted to grab a book from the library, however, by the time I got to the library, it was closed. So the only thing I had with me was my phone. And knowing there was no electric outlet anywhere outside, I decided to turn my phone off lest I spend the whole night on Facebook and drain my battery. I noticed the family that was #1 had a generator. However, I was a little shy about going up there and asking them to charge my phone. I then turned my attention to the girl in front of me and started up another wonderful conversation. Time seemed to fly fast as by the time I realized it, it was 11:30. 24:30 left to go.
The weather was not fun. It was 75 with a little bit of chill factor in it. It didn't help that I was only wearing a shirt, shorts and slippers. I grabbed my blanket and hoped that would keep me warm. For a small, thin blanket, it did its work. Then I started getting a little delirious. I was a little embarrassed, I think I would have been fine just sleeping on the chair as there were many others already doing so. However, the girl told me if I wanted to lay down, just lie down on her truck bed She would be ok with it. I hella took her up on her offer and knocked out. I might as well get some rest. I would fall asleep at 200am.
I woke up at 630am Thursday morning to a woman yelling at her daughter to wake up. The first thought that came to my mind, GHETTO! I tried to go back to sleep so that could burn off some more hours, however, my stomach was gnawing and I was hungry. I checked in my bag to see which snack I would chow down. I decided on a banana. I walked to the trash can to throw away the peel and smoke a cigarette, when the lady that was yelling came up to me and said good morning. I looked at her with gaunting eyes and wished her a good morning as well. Then we slowly started up a conversation. Her husband came to where we were and started telling us about how he went to Mickey Ds in the morning and it was closed. He was pissed. He had went to the place where you tell the operator your order. He didn't hear a sound so he drove to the window only to discover no one was insid ethe building. There went my idea for a vanilla iced coffee.
So me and Jane, and by then, another line stander came to where we were and we all just started getting to know each other. She was telling us why she decided to start camping out on Saturday. She has 10 kids and just wanted to make sure she got everything she wanted without having to play the waiting game. Hey I even admitted to her that I thought she was crazy. She said she has been videotaped, took many pictures, interviewed and was even on the news. But her reasoning made sense. I had to look back and remember why I went first in line before as well. So I definitely knew where she was coming from.
During the day, we sat and shared different stories of ourselves. She even introduced me to her family. As we sat in the hot sun, I got the sense that it was getting very uncomfortable. We saw a group of trees, and decided to sit underneath for the shade. I asked her though if I could charge my phone. She said sure, but only to discover, her generator needed gas. I tell you, Auntie Jane as she liked to be called, just was full of jokes and just kept the laughter going. Around 130pm, classmate #2 dropped by with a vegetarian plate for me. I was like, that was not necessary, however, she just wanted to make sure I wasn't starving. I felt special.
Time kept dragging on and I just kind have wondered why was I even doing this again? Anyhow, Auntie Jane decided to go back to her tent to lie down, while I stayed underneath the tree. Met up with another lady in line and we got to chatting. She was hoping to be able to get the $199 42" flat screen as well. Chances for her because of where she was in the line were pretty slim though. But she kept her fingers crossed though. I already felt sorry for her. Oh well.
Time kept dragging and finally, the time finally came. Mixed emotions ran rampant in my head. The vouchers were being passed out. Here we go again another end to another adventurous Black Friday. The one thing that's interesting is that as it got closer to the time of the door opening, many people who weren't in line at least during the day, all of a sudden came from no where. Most of us who hung out and talked up a storm now were huddled with our own. Time still started passing by slowly, but with each second ticking away, the excitement of rushing into the store kept building. Here we are ready to do this again. And the doors opened.
One of the reasons I like going to Best Buy's is that they really have good deals. They really do. This year, they offered a Samsung 15.6" for $299 and a 42" Sharp flat screen for $200.00 Damn good.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Black Friday 2011
Now that Black Friday is just a little under 2 weeks away, I've been browsing ads hoping that there are truly some good deals.. Not into buying a Flat screen tvs right now... I'm interested more in laptops / tablets or phones...
I know that Sam's Club is offering the Motorola Photon 4G for $0.96
Best Buy - 15.6 Samsung Laptop for $299.99
Best Buy - 15.6 Lenovo 2GB Laptop for $179.99
Has anyone ever had a Samsung laptop..? I'm just curious how you liked it. I read reviews on it and what not. Just curious though how you like it though. As much as I would rather spend $179.99, something makes me leery of Lenovo. I have never heard of them either.
For the last couple of years, and I mean since 2007, this will be my fifth time standing in that damn line at Best Buy in Aiea. Yes, I know its crazy, but sheeit... its starting to be like an addiction.. I remember in 2006, I went to Circuit City expecting to walk in the store and get a laptop. Yeah for $600+. I was told by a consumer that I would need to stand in line and good luck if I found one. I was disheartened.
2007 came along and a friend of mine and I decided that this was the year we would get a laptop under $200.00. Better that we get it from Best Buy as that store had instant rebates. Circuit City, you had to buy the item at full price, then mail in your receipt for a rebate. That was a hell no. To guarantee that we would get that laptop, we went to BB in Aiea, and literally, we were the first in line on Wednesday night. That started a panic attack, because then I guess people who usually started getting in line on Thursday, now felt they needed to come in on Wednesday now. LOL... Ever since then, people started lining up on Wednesdays. By the way, the laptop I ended up getting was a Toshiba.
2008 came along, and no I didn't need to buy anything since I had a good running computer, but I stood in line for someone else who needed a laptop. I ended up buying one anyway, turned around posted it on craigslist and was able to sell that laptop for $500.00. So I was able to get my money back and then some. This laptop was an HP.
2009. My Toshiba after two full years of working, decided to die out on me. Rather, I'm not computer literate, but I took it to get it repaired, and the guy that diagnosed it told me I should just get a new laptop. What do you know, it died out on me a couple days before Black Friday. Talk about perfect timing. I also got an HP, and it was a very good laptop too.
2010. I wasn't planning on standing in line again after doing it 3 straight years, but my mom wanted a laptop for herself. So she asked me to get it for her. To show me how serious she was, she hella sent me the $200.00. Well then my cousin, decided to buy laptops for her kids... So no to buying laptops for myself, but the laptops ended up all Toshiba again.
2011. After doing its wonderful job, my HP laptop now no longer works and joins my previous Toshiba in the corner collecting dust. Which brings me to a dilemma. I need a laptop for school. So I'm not buying a laptop just because. I'm just trying to decide which one I want to get that's all. I'm leaning towards the Samsung laptop though. I would rather go with a well known than an unknown.. But then again, just because it is a Samsung doesn't mean they are always the best right?
So I've been searching other stores to see what kind of deals they are having. Do I want another Toshiba? Hell no. Compaq Presario from Walmart? That is a negative as I hate the way Walmart does their sales stuff. I'm definitely not wasting time @ Target nor Kmart since they don't really have anything I want anyway. Well there's really no other store here that sells laptops other than Office Depot or Office Max, and they rarely ever have any good deals. CompUsa, what happened to you???
The thing I am glad though is that this year, the store will open at 12 midnite as opposed to 5am. I tell you the last 4 years have been hellish to say the least. I'd be awake and fine all night. By the time it is time to rush into the store, I wanna knock the the hell outta someone. I actually almost beat down the store manager last year because he kept giving me the runaround. Once I got in the car though, I was out like a lemon tree, pretty much useless all day. LOL.
I'm thinking though that next year, 2012, I will try and make sure that I can try other stores. It seems that everytime I leave Best Buy, all other stores are in full force with the sales. I remember going to Walmart afterwards, and boy, every fricken shopping cart that was standing in line had at least 50" screen tvs. It was a sight to see.
I already have my plans all set... So if any of you Hawai'i people are gonna be at the Aiea Best Buy come next week, or in the vicinity, don't be a stranger. Come and say hi. =)
I know that Sam's Club is offering the Motorola Photon 4G for $0.96
Best Buy - 15.6 Samsung Laptop for $299.99
Best Buy - 15.6 Lenovo 2GB Laptop for $179.99
Has anyone ever had a Samsung laptop..? I'm just curious how you liked it. I read reviews on it and what not. Just curious though how you like it though. As much as I would rather spend $179.99, something makes me leery of Lenovo. I have never heard of them either.
For the last couple of years, and I mean since 2007, this will be my fifth time standing in that damn line at Best Buy in Aiea. Yes, I know its crazy, but sheeit... its starting to be like an addiction.. I remember in 2006, I went to Circuit City expecting to walk in the store and get a laptop. Yeah for $600+. I was told by a consumer that I would need to stand in line and good luck if I found one. I was disheartened.
2007 came along and a friend of mine and I decided that this was the year we would get a laptop under $200.00. Better that we get it from Best Buy as that store had instant rebates. Circuit City, you had to buy the item at full price, then mail in your receipt for a rebate. That was a hell no. To guarantee that we would get that laptop, we went to BB in Aiea, and literally, we were the first in line on Wednesday night. That started a panic attack, because then I guess people who usually started getting in line on Thursday, now felt they needed to come in on Wednesday now. LOL... Ever since then, people started lining up on Wednesdays. By the way, the laptop I ended up getting was a Toshiba.
2008 came along, and no I didn't need to buy anything since I had a good running computer, but I stood in line for someone else who needed a laptop. I ended up buying one anyway, turned around posted it on craigslist and was able to sell that laptop for $500.00. So I was able to get my money back and then some. This laptop was an HP.
2009. My Toshiba after two full years of working, decided to die out on me. Rather, I'm not computer literate, but I took it to get it repaired, and the guy that diagnosed it told me I should just get a new laptop. What do you know, it died out on me a couple days before Black Friday. Talk about perfect timing. I also got an HP, and it was a very good laptop too.
2010. I wasn't planning on standing in line again after doing it 3 straight years, but my mom wanted a laptop for herself. So she asked me to get it for her. To show me how serious she was, she hella sent me the $200.00. Well then my cousin, decided to buy laptops for her kids... So no to buying laptops for myself, but the laptops ended up all Toshiba again.
2011. After doing its wonderful job, my HP laptop now no longer works and joins my previous Toshiba in the corner collecting dust. Which brings me to a dilemma. I need a laptop for school. So I'm not buying a laptop just because. I'm just trying to decide which one I want to get that's all. I'm leaning towards the Samsung laptop though. I would rather go with a well known than an unknown.. But then again, just because it is a Samsung doesn't mean they are always the best right?
So I've been searching other stores to see what kind of deals they are having. Do I want another Toshiba? Hell no. Compaq Presario from Walmart? That is a negative as I hate the way Walmart does their sales stuff. I'm definitely not wasting time @ Target nor Kmart since they don't really have anything I want anyway. Well there's really no other store here that sells laptops other than Office Depot or Office Max, and they rarely ever have any good deals. CompUsa, what happened to you???
The thing I am glad though is that this year, the store will open at 12 midnite as opposed to 5am. I tell you the last 4 years have been hellish to say the least. I'd be awake and fine all night. By the time it is time to rush into the store, I wanna knock the the hell outta someone. I actually almost beat down the store manager last year because he kept giving me the runaround. Once I got in the car though, I was out like a lemon tree, pretty much useless all day. LOL.
I'm thinking though that next year, 2012, I will try and make sure that I can try other stores. It seems that everytime I leave Best Buy, all other stores are in full force with the sales. I remember going to Walmart afterwards, and boy, every fricken shopping cart that was standing in line had at least 50" screen tvs. It was a sight to see.
I already have my plans all set... So if any of you Hawai'i people are gonna be at the Aiea Best Buy come next week, or in the vicinity, don't be a stranger. Come and say hi. =)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Trip to Polynesian Culture Center (PCC)
So today I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). Being that I live here on O'ahu, this wasn't my first time going there. My first time there was back in December 1991 when we first moved here and I enjoyed it.
Then throughout the last 20 years, went quite often. For me, it was doing the same thing, over and over, just encountering different people each time. However, as I walked the paths around each village today, a thought crossed my mind.
I recalled a conversation that I was involved with, & a person once commented "I would never go to PCC because it's so artificial there & everything about that place is unreal." I asked this individual have you ever ben there before? She replied no & had no desire to support the Mormon cause. I was shocked hearing that from her. More on the Mormon thing later.
So I asked her, how she can think that way and shes never even been to Hawaii. She couldn't give me an answer.
It doesn't bother me to no end she thinks that way. But I have to wonder, how could she have any inkling of an idea of what PCC is about. (The conversation happened before the internet boomed). PCC may not truly be a reflection of the islands that are represented there. But as I walk the grounds time and time again, I leave there with a sense of pride. Im glad im a polynesian. Im glad to be Samoan. I am glad someone even thought of building such a place to begin with.
PCC does what other luaus & museums dont do & that is educating that someone who probably still has never heard of Tonga or Samoa. Many visitors come from all over the world to visit Hawaii. When they arrive there, they are taken into a world they couldn't imagine is out there. Not many people knew that New Zealand is really Aotearoa, or that Samoan men were the cooks. How many of you knew that Fijians are not Polynesians but are from Melanesia? Each island village shares with the visitors what is unique about them. PCC is a museum... Just a different type of museum.
As you walk throughout the museum, you can see the many similarities with each other. Despite the far distance, each island has interacted with each other. One thing we all know is that missionaries came from afar and tried to stamp out our culture. The Hawai'ian culture is an example of where the culture is endangered. There are similarities in how the food is prepared. Hawai'ians use an imu (underground oven), Tahitians do the same thing, but call it ahi ma'a. Samaons call theirs an umu. I'm not sure about the other cultures. I noticed that each island village cooks their culture's food that you can later sample. It's funny because I was at the Tahitian village, and they made the Tahitian coconut bread. In Samoa, we call it papa.I can probably write a book on the similarities other than the spoken language and how history has been passed down through the generations orally. But let's get back to PCC.
All I am basically saying is, just enjoy the experience. Unless you are going to actually visit Tahiti, Fiji, or New Zealand, this is the next best thing. Whoever set up PCC tries as much as possible to make it as original as possible. So it's not perfect. I want to see those criticizers try to make it any better than it is. If you simply do not want to go, well there are many others who do.
And as for the Mormon comment, I felt that was unnecessary. You see, the Mormons came up with a great and wonderful idea and well they are not only capitalizing on that idea, but it is one way to help the students make their money. It's not easy to drive 45+ minutes to downtown Honolulu every single day, especially when these students have classes to attend. Why drive when they can just work in their own backyard?
Again, if you don't want to support something solely on what you believe, that is your prerogative.They are not going to suffer one bit just because you won't go. There are hundreds if not thousands that go there anyway. I don't necessarily believe in what the Mormons teach. But despite what religion, race, gender, age, sexual orientation is, you're still my family.
So in essence, no matter where you visit, whether it be Disneyland, Sea World, Hollywood, or PCC, just enjoy your experience. Take lots of photos and make some good memories.
#Polynesia, #Polynesian Cultural Center, #PCC, #Samoa, #Tonga
Then throughout the last 20 years, went quite often. For me, it was doing the same thing, over and over, just encountering different people each time. However, as I walked the paths around each village today, a thought crossed my mind.
I recalled a conversation that I was involved with, & a person once commented "I would never go to PCC because it's so artificial there & everything about that place is unreal." I asked this individual have you ever ben there before? She replied no & had no desire to support the Mormon cause. I was shocked hearing that from her. More on the Mormon thing later.
So I asked her, how she can think that way and shes never even been to Hawaii. She couldn't give me an answer.
It doesn't bother me to no end she thinks that way. But I have to wonder, how could she have any inkling of an idea of what PCC is about. (The conversation happened before the internet boomed). PCC may not truly be a reflection of the islands that are represented there. But as I walk the grounds time and time again, I leave there with a sense of pride. Im glad im a polynesian. Im glad to be Samoan. I am glad someone even thought of building such a place to begin with.
PCC does what other luaus & museums dont do & that is educating that someone who probably still has never heard of Tonga or Samoa. Many visitors come from all over the world to visit Hawaii. When they arrive there, they are taken into a world they couldn't imagine is out there. Not many people knew that New Zealand is really Aotearoa, or that Samoan men were the cooks. How many of you knew that Fijians are not Polynesians but are from Melanesia? Each island village shares with the visitors what is unique about them. PCC is a museum... Just a different type of museum.
As you walk throughout the museum, you can see the many similarities with each other. Despite the far distance, each island has interacted with each other. One thing we all know is that missionaries came from afar and tried to stamp out our culture. The Hawai'ian culture is an example of where the culture is endangered. There are similarities in how the food is prepared. Hawai'ians use an imu (underground oven), Tahitians do the same thing, but call it ahi ma'a. Samaons call theirs an umu. I'm not sure about the other cultures. I noticed that each island village cooks their culture's food that you can later sample. It's funny because I was at the Tahitian village, and they made the Tahitian coconut bread. In Samoa, we call it papa.I can probably write a book on the similarities other than the spoken language and how history has been passed down through the generations orally. But let's get back to PCC.
All I am basically saying is, just enjoy the experience. Unless you are going to actually visit Tahiti, Fiji, or New Zealand, this is the next best thing. Whoever set up PCC tries as much as possible to make it as original as possible. So it's not perfect. I want to see those criticizers try to make it any better than it is. If you simply do not want to go, well there are many others who do.
And as for the Mormon comment, I felt that was unnecessary. You see, the Mormons came up with a great and wonderful idea and well they are not only capitalizing on that idea, but it is one way to help the students make their money. It's not easy to drive 45+ minutes to downtown Honolulu every single day, especially when these students have classes to attend. Why drive when they can just work in their own backyard?
Again, if you don't want to support something solely on what you believe, that is your prerogative.They are not going to suffer one bit just because you won't go. There are hundreds if not thousands that go there anyway. I don't necessarily believe in what the Mormons teach. But despite what religion, race, gender, age, sexual orientation is, you're still my family.
So in essence, no matter where you visit, whether it be Disneyland, Sea World, Hollywood, or PCC, just enjoy your experience. Take lots of photos and make some good memories.
#Polynesia, #Polynesian Cultural Center, #PCC, #Samoa, #Tonga
Monday, November 7, 2011
Phones...
Wish: I wish there was an android phone, that was sold in the stores, almost how a laptop is sold to us. What I mean is.. when you buy a laptop or a computer, you have your basic programs that have been loaded, but then we, the customer can customize it to our own liking...
When I got my EVO replaced due to some issues, it came with Nova, Blockbuster, Qik (for Sprint), Nascar.. sprint football.. apps that already take up space.. it also came with calendars, and widgets, and facebook and even a twitter app (Peep) that i don't even use..hell, i even got a news & weather app on my phone..... we, as customers should be allowed to download the apps we want and without having to sacrifice the need to have to resort to rooting our phones just to be able to get this crap off our phones.. see the thing is, i want to download a twitter app that i would like to use.. thus eliminating double apps. i would like to download the GPS app i want to use.. and not be forced into having to use TeleNav or Navigator.. the same goes with the music player... I downloaded Google Music onto my phone.. but now I have two different players.. one that came with the phone.. and one that i DL'ed. Then there's Maps.... but then I also have Navigation and TeleNav....
The thing is.. there are hundreds of apps in the market.. but no use downloading them cuz chances are.. its already on your phone.. so why cant the manufacturers and phone companies just let us have a clean slate phone... and then let us the customer fix it the way we want it... this is just my own wish.... yes i can root my phone.. but after two weeks of reading different blogs, and manuals and whatever else is out there.... i am no close to knowing how to root my phone.. i was pondering on getting the Samsung GS2 (aka Epic 4G Touch) but that phone has all kinds of stuff on there...and even worse.. Sprint ID.... this is just me venting... I know there are a lot of you that don't mind all of that stuff.. but here's to wishing Santa Claus would be nice enough to bring out this christmas present.. =) I have been good all year long...
When I got my EVO replaced due to some issues, it came with Nova, Blockbuster, Qik (for Sprint), Nascar.. sprint football.. apps that already take up space.. it also came with calendars, and widgets, and facebook and even a twitter app (Peep) that i don't even use..hell, i even got a news & weather app on my phone..... we, as customers should be allowed to download the apps we want and without having to sacrifice the need to have to resort to rooting our phones just to be able to get this crap off our phones.. see the thing is, i want to download a twitter app that i would like to use.. thus eliminating double apps. i would like to download the GPS app i want to use.. and not be forced into having to use TeleNav or Navigator.. the same goes with the music player... I downloaded Google Music onto my phone.. but now I have two different players.. one that came with the phone.. and one that i DL'ed. Then there's Maps.... but then I also have Navigation and TeleNav....
The thing is.. there are hundreds of apps in the market.. but no use downloading them cuz chances are.. its already on your phone.. so why cant the manufacturers and phone companies just let us have a clean slate phone... and then let us the customer fix it the way we want it... this is just my own wish.... yes i can root my phone.. but after two weeks of reading different blogs, and manuals and whatever else is out there.... i am no close to knowing how to root my phone.. i was pondering on getting the Samsung GS2 (aka Epic 4G Touch) but that phone has all kinds of stuff on there...and even worse.. Sprint ID.... this is just me venting... I know there are a lot of you that don't mind all of that stuff.. but here's to wishing Santa Claus would be nice enough to bring out this christmas present.. =) I have been good all year long...
This is just things I post up on Google+. Just cuz i know my posts get lost and what not in the ruckus...
This is going to be a continuation of the blog I started a while ago... You can find it at this address: I just haven't found a way to move that information over....
I have been kinda blogging but the thing I gotta do is find a way to combine what has been posted on another blog site to here. In the meantime, to read all previous stuff, you can go to http://jdas92.blogspot.com
This is going to be a continuation of the blog I started a while ago... You can find it at this address: I just haven't found a way to move that information over....
I have been kinda blogging but the thing I gotta do is find a way to combine what has been posted on another blog site to here. In the meantime, to read all previous stuff, you can go to http://jdas92.blogspot.com
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