This post recounts the time I spent purchasing and reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from start to finish…
6:30-10:30 PM: I arrived at Borders and received a blue wristband which placed me in the third group to purchase my book (orange – which was gone at 10 AM, silver, blue, green, pink, and purple). I found a comfy chair in the cafe where I could get a good vantage point on what was happening around me and do my sudoku. Many people showed up in costumes included some who were older than I. They, the older ones, were “casting” spells, talking about how great Alan Rickman is in the movies and in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (which I did agree with), and actually turned and ran screaming from another person dressed up as Voldemort. I got up to get a drink and treat at just the right time because as soon as I’d gone through the line, the line had a long wait for the rest of the night. Some dorks came by and taped spoilers to the window. I made a phone call to Mike at 9 pm to see how he was doing. Ben, who normally goes to bed at 8 was still awake playing with his cousins.
10:30-11:00 PM: I began roaming the store to see what was going on. There had been several announcements over the intercom system which could not be heard in the cage. Perhaps the most important announcement was a door prize drawing where the top five prizes were the first five spots in line. After getting my ticket, I returned to the cafe to inform all the people I’d been hanging with on the couches about the door prizes. After that, I continues roaming the store looking at all the costumes and tables set up where kids could make doorknob hangers and other crafts. Go figure, I ended up in the computer section. I flipped through a book on iPods and gleaned some information from books on .Net and Photoshop. I meandered over to magazines and learned all about Posh and Beck’s American invasion and about Katie and Suri’s day at the beach.
11:00-11:40 PM: It was then that I realized that the magazine rack had not been pushed back against the windows after the last round of posters had been placed in the window. I tucked myself back between the two and had my own “Quiet Space” to relax, listen to the announcements, and do sudoku.
11:40 PM: Security told everyone to assemble either in the back corner of the store opposite the cash registers or to go outside. Not really wanting to get smooshed in the back or go outside in the cold I stayed in my “Quiet Place.” Door prizes were drawn and I was 10 tickets away from winning movie tickets and concessions.
12:01 AM: Book sales started. After waiting through most of the blue group, I got out of my “Quiet Place.” When the staff had finished up handing out wristbands, they’d left 5 glow-stick giveaway wands hanging from the back of a chair. After waiting 20 minutes to see if they’d come back for them, I picked them up and put them in my purse. About half way through the silver group, I decided to mosey toward the back of the store and see if I could get in line. A security officer was the back of the silver group and I’d noticed some other blues who had had the dame idea I had. I was probably the 20th blue person in line. Another 10 minutes passed before the blue group was called to assemble.
12:48 AM: I purchased my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and drove home.
1:15 AM: I arrived home, fed the dog dinner, put the dog out to potty, grabbed a drink, brought the dog in and put him away.
1:30 AM: I began reading.
4:30 AM: 200 pages later, I laid down for some sleep.
9:30 AM: A phone survey solicitor woke me up. I fed the dog, put the dog out to potty, and ate breakfast.
9:45 AM: I played with the dog with my right hand while my left hand checked my email, visited Woot! to see if they were still wooting off, and checked to see if my hold of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on CD was available. The online library catalog showed that there were two copies of the CD on the shelf.
9:56 AM: I put on clothes and drove to the library.
10:15 AM: I was not successful in retrieving the CD…I was 70th on the waiting list for 25some copies. I filled Mike’s gas tank on the way home for $2.76 a gallon.
10:30 AM: I recommenced reading.
12:30 PM: At page 362, I broke for lunch. I checked the Big Brother 8 live feed blog to see what was going on and updated our finances.
1:15 PM: I continued reading.
2:49 PM: I took a break at page 502.
3:15 PM: I continued reading.
4:15 PM: I was at page 589.
6:26 PM: I finished reading the book, content with the end of the series.
Total Reading Time: 9 hours 45 minutes