I’m a pretty jaded person when it comes to really popular things, so I tend to avoid them regardless of the actual quality of said popular things. And yet there I was (with Mrs. Suit by my side) at Borders on Friday night, standing in line with a few hundred teenagers dressed in robes and wizard hats – not waiting to buy my reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but to receive a colored wristband that would allow me to stand in yet another line to buy my reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Madness I tells ya!

Yes, I am now officially one of those people, even if I was not in costume. But the thing is, I didn’t really care. For once it was nice to part of a huge pop culture movement instead of casting derision on it from the outside. I just wish this particular movement didn’t make me stay up so damn late.

Behold! Clearance items fit for a wizard!

We arrived at about 10:30 and got into the first line that wasn’t headed either for the coffee bar or the bathrooms. Having no clue what we were supposed to be doing (I had imagined a more disorderly scene, along the lines of a food riot) we asked a kid standing behind us, but he was no help. Damn punk kids. After about 20-30 minutes on line, we received our wristbands (blue, by the way) and were told that our color would probably be called at 2:45. As in 2:45 a.m.

Almost there...

So we had a critical choice to make — stay awake much longer than we expected to or come back early the next morning and stand on another line. We headed home to ponder our decision, as at least our wristbands meant we didn’t have to stay in the store until 2:45. At my urging, we decided to stay up and go back. Foremost on my mind was the desire to pick the book up and barricade myself in the house to reduce the risk of hearing any spoilers.

We pulled into a practically empty parking lot at about 2:15, which we took as an ominous sign. I was ready to go ballistic had Borders decided to close early, leaving us tired and bookless. But we walked through the unlocked doors and were told that the last of the crowds left about 20 minutes previous. Apparently most of the “silver” wristband holders never showed. So we went right up to the counter, paid for our books, and left.

And so dear readers, thus ends my tale of bravery most proud and geekery most loud.