Grouponicus and Gobblepalooza are some of the fancy names we are seeing to describe the after Thanksgiving Black Friday Day sales. For about a week now I have been getting emails from Amazon.com and others announcing Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. Some stores have jumped the gun and have already started their sales.

At one time Black Friday was the starter pistol firing, to signal the start of the Christmas shopping season. Last year we saw some stores, like Sears, who normally don’t open extra as early on Black Friday, open earlier. This year we are seeing a lot of stores having pre-Black Friday sales. Only a small number of store are not waiting for November 25th to launch their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.

I have read that Kmart and Wal Mart will be open of Thanksgiving Day. This is almost enough to make me stop shopping with them. Thanksgiving has always been set aside for family gathering and watching TV. In our fast pace disjointed world, Thanksgiving has become one of the few times families can come together and reconnect. Now those who have to work on Thanksgiving Day will have a harder time to connect with family members.

Buying the right laptop can a difficult chore. When technology doubles every 18 months to 2 years it is hard to keep up with all the changes. A laptop 10 years ago could only perform basic of computer function. The laptop of five years ago was much slower and more expensive than those of today. The average person in search of a new laptop can get overwhelmed with the different makes, models and features that are available.

A young lady had approached me with a sales paper from Office Depot. She proceeded to show me two different laptops. She asked me which laptop would be the best deal.

Last week my wife looked me in the eye and said, “Honey, it is about time you got rid of that old counter-top for a desk and get yourself and real one.”

When she said that I knew that I was going to have to put out some money that I saving for a new tech toy. So I start on my journey to get a fully functional desk for the least amount of money as possible.

I started by measuring the area I wanted the desk to cover. I did not want it to be more than 48 wide. It had to have a drawer under the desk for my keyboard. Most of all it had to hold all my stuff neatly.

My next step was to go out on the World Wide Web and look at what computer desks were available. I found about 3 different styles that interested me. They ranged from $120 to $300.

I look on the websites of  local chain stores. I made note of what each one had to offer. Then the next day I got in my car to do some errands and look at some desks. I knew that stores sometimes have better deals than what is published on their websites.

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My first stop was Staples. There I found a desk that was kinda of what I wanted for $120. It had a solid metal frame and glass top with 3 glass shelves. If  they had more than the display model, I would most likely would of have bought it.

I walked out of the store, telling the sells person I might be back to order that desk.

My second stop was to Wal Mart. The reason I stopped there was because some of the desks they had online were quite impressive. However, when I got to the store I was sadly disappointed. They were more expensive than Staples.

My next stop was Office Max. The only desks they had in the style I wanted were $200 and up. Well, they had one for $89 on clearance. It looked and felt that it was made out of cardboard.

My last stop was Office Depot. When I walked into the desk section. There it was love at first sight. It met all of my needs and wants.

• 40″ Wide
• Keyboard shelf under the main desk
• Shelves on the side and top
• It was going to last for a few years.

There was a several things where it had exceeded my expectations.

• There was a catch-all drawer under the keyboard shelf
• On the left side was built in CD rack
• Each side had speaker shelves
• The was a long shelf across the top
• A computer tower stand that could be mounted on either side of the computer
• It was under the price I wanted to pay for it.

I only paid $89.99 before sales tax.

One of the things that made it such a great deal was that the label on the box said it was from Office Depot, not some desk manufacture that is a brand name.