Lesson One: Wake up Before the Crack of Dawn
The first mistake I made in my extreme shopping experience was waking up too late. Generally, it would take about $9,000 to get me out of bed before 9, but on March 8th, I made an exception and was up by 8. Strangely enough, I had dreamed the night before about wafting into the H&M, filling my arms with goodies and leaving, nary a line in sight, over and over again the night before. Then I was faced with the harsh reality of the situation.
After sitting in a ton of traffic, I finally got to the H&M in South Coast Plaza right before 9, and was promptly greeted with a long line trickling out the door. Apparently a few dedicated shoppers had roughed it on the marble floors of SCP the night before. Other less dedicated shoppers had still arrived at the mall exceptionally early in the morning to begin the waiting process. One O.C. housewife I talked to in line complained to me that she wished she kept her kids out of school so she could have been at the store earlier. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.