So I pre-ordered the final Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, months ago. But the Borders down the street told me I still had to go in Friday morning and get a wristband to secure my place in line. So I dragged myself over there before 9, when they opened - which was tough for me, since I was up to 2 that morning playing poker with my buddies. ANYway, there were about 20 people in front of me, but I got my wristband:

I was an Orange A, which meant I was in the first group to be allowed to buy the book at midnight. So after I got out of work at 11, I jetted over to the Borders and it was a madhouse! There were hundreds of people there. They held a drawing for who got to buy the first copy, and some mom won. The second group to be allowed to buy it was disabled children and the two who had won king and queen of the Hallows Ball they held. Then I was 7th in the group after that. So I was probably the 15th person to get the book at the store. And here it is, in all its glory:

I got home about 12:45 and after cleaning up marshmallows that my dog had eaten and hidden all around the apartment, I read the first three chapters until 3 a.m.

Don't worry, no spoilers. It's very dark and disturbing, right off the bat. Now I'm off to read more. Needless to say, my gaming is on hold for a few days...