Hunting for Furry Giggling Monsters

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got my hands on 3 T!ck!e Me E!mos last week when they first came out. Reluctantly, I resold all 3. I really wanted to keep one for Danielle. (I marked the last one up slightly higher than the competition and hoped it wouldn’t sell, but it did.)

I was searching for an online coupon code the other day when I stumbled on a discussion thread that mentioned E!mos would be in stock in Walmarts (unadvertised) on Oct. 1. Supposedly they would be put on the shelves between 10pm & 7am. I decided I would attempt to get one for Danielle.

So, last night I drove the 20 minutes to Walmart at 12:30am. There were about 5 other people there who were also looking for those silly red toys. We were told to come back at 7am. I drove the 20 minutes back home and decided to call just to see if I would get the same story. I was told to be there at 8am. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make the trek again, so I fell into bed without setting my alarm. When my internal alarm clock woke me up shortly after 6am, I decided to head out again. I staggered out of the house and again drove the 20 minutes to Walmart, this time through thick fog. I got there around 6:40 and was the third person in the informal line. Within 15 minutes there were at least 20 people waiting.

While we were all striking up conversations and trying to be friendly to each other, someone announced over the speaker that everyone waiting for E!mo should wait by the layaway department instead. People took off in a full blown run! I started off walking, thinking we would all be civil and those who had been first before would rightly be first in the new line. Not so! These people were crazy! After some woman pushed her cart in front of me (and into me) to block my advance, I decided these guys were serious! I sprinted up with the rest and took my place in line, not quite as close to the front as before. After everyone caught their breath, we started up conversation again. I smiled and nodded as everyone around me bashed those horrible Ebayers who were buying up all the toys and selling them for twice as much. As they talked, the price those evil Ebayers were charging increased - $80, $100, $200, $400! What horrible people these Ebayers were! I didn’t dare breathe a word that I had already had my hands on 3. We were a breath away from mob mentality, and I surely would have been hoisted up and tossed out.

The manager, some 20 year old who suddenly felt very important, came out and announced everyone could only have one and…there wasn't enough for everyone waiting in line. (gasp) He wouldn’t say how many there were, just that not everyone was going to get one. There were at least 25 people in line. An employee walked by & said she had heard there were only 3. Another said 4. Everyone was counting their spot in line and frowning more and more. Finally the big moment came. The manager came back out and announced they were bringing out the E!mos…all 9 of them. At least 25 people in line and only 9 E!mos. I was #7 in line. Whew.

Those of us who got the E!mos refused to make eye contact with the rest of the line. We hugged those silly giggling boxes to our chests and hustled down a different aisle (away from the rest of the line still standing in their spots, possibly in disbelief? Really? Only 9?), to the checkout, and to our cars – locking the doors behind us! By 7:15, all E!mos were gone. The people who followed orders and came back at 8 were not going to be happy!

Looking back, it was actually kind of fun being a part of something so crazy. I guess my viewpoint is probably a little different than the viewpoint of guy #10, though. So…Danielle is getting a T!ck!e Me E!mo for Christmas. Don’t tell her.



After church today we enjoyed the beautiful day by going to the zoo. We had a good time joking about goatpies and bisonpies and mooses. In the car Tyler found a piece of candy from the goody bag he received at the birthday party yesterday. It was sour, and he said it made his leg hurt(?): “Mom, this candy is making my leg hurt. My testines must be connected to my leg bone or something.”

Tonight while I was putting Tyler to bed I asked him if there was anything he already knew he wanted for Christmas. Figured I should ask now in case it was something that would be difficult to find. He said, “No. I don’t know yet. It doesn’t really matter what I ask Santa for anyway. He never brings what I ask for.” Before I could feel too horrible, he finished by adding, “He always brings me something way cooler. Much cooler. Way past 21 cooler.” That was nice to hear. No pressure or anything, though.