By Lana Hy

Staff Writer

 When I was younger, I used to go to my grandparents’ house for a Thanksgiving feast filled with authentic Chinese dishes. However, our family tradition ended when my grandparents booked a vacation on Thanksgiving when I was 11.

 I was so accustomed to eating five plates of food in one sitting during that time of the year that I was stunned to hear that we were not going to celebrate with my relatives. My parents suggested that we should go check out the sales the Walmart in West Covina offered instead. When I discovered that the West Covina location was a two-story building with escalators that carried your shopping cart up and down, I immediately accepted the new change in plans.

 When we arrived at Walmart, the greeter handed us a booklet that included pictures and prices of items on sale. As my family and I cruised through each aisle of the upper level, we tossed discounted bean bag chairs and fuzzy socks into our cart.

 The highlight of the day was when I saw a seven-inch RCA (Radio Corporation of America) tablet with a case for only $28 in the booklet and that my parents were willing to buy it for me. The only downside was waiting in line for the tablets, since only the first 200 people waiting were able to receive the deal.

 For the next three hours, I endured the most exhausting experience in my life. I did nothing, but stand in the same place with an empty stomach. Just as my knees started wobbling, the employee finally started handing out the tablets.

 Fortunately, I was one of the last 200 people to get the discount. After spending $150 on miscellaneous items, we went to McDonald’s for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was unusual to be eating fast food on Thanksgiving but I didn’t mind since chicken nuggets and a caramel frappe were better than eating a Chinese meal.

 The first thing I did when I got home was set up my new tablet and smiled at the fact that I finally had an electronic device all to myself. Unfortunately, my parents told me this was my late birthday and early Christmas gift.

 Within three months, my tablet had cracks all over the screen due to dropping it face-down multiple times. Looking back, I am grateful for this abnormal Thanksgiving experience and learned an important lesson that $28 tablets are not as pleasant as they sound.