old2gold

Notre Dame has an annual Old2Gold sale, which is basically a garage sale of stuff the students have “donated” (read: don’t wanna lug home). it’s held inside the halls of hallowed Notre Dame stadium the Saturday after graduation.

Lisa and i went to it this year.

here’s the lowdown on how this thing works. there’s an early-bird sale from 7-9am, and then the “open” sale from 7-9. we decided to get there at 5, when the early-bird tickets (5 bucks) went on sale. if you’ve ever been to campus, here’s what the line looked like at 5. the ticket booth was set up on the west-side of the stadium, just past the pavement that cuts between the stadium and the Joyce Center.

the line at 5 am?

past the box office gate of the basketball side of the Joyce. in fact, the line stretched ¾ of the way along the side of the Joyce, and stayed that way til close to 7am.

after we purchased our way into the sale, we got in another line. the south gate was where we entered the stadium, so the line stretched back around the west side heading north. we were in line about ¼ of the way up the stadium at 5:15am…and the people just kept coming. there was a constant stream of people walkling by us and to the end of the line until 7am. the wndu website said there were one thousand people in line when the gate opened at 7. i can believe it!

we got in just after 7 and spent about a half an hour looking at everything that was available for sale. bikes, electronics (the big tv’s and ipods…yes, ipods!!... were gone by the time we got to the electronics section) and futons! futons! futons! there were clothes, dishes, mattress pads (???!?!?), comforters and pillows, shelves and so much stuff. i couldn’t believe all the stuff.

we walked out without finding any treasures, which was just fine with me. i had gone looking for a decent bike, but didn’t find one that wouldn’t take a ton of help to get back into riding shape. i already know if i don’t buy a bike that’s in riding shape, i won’t ride it. and i want to ride one this summer!!

Lisa and i went to breakfast…to feed our growling tummies and to warm our chilled bodies. did i mention it was 43 degrees while we were waiting?? we thawed out and laughed about the silliness of it all. the silliness of waking up at 4am on a HOLIDAY weekend to stand in line for two hours for the opportunity to buy someone's old stuff. it's too funny!

would i do it again?

you betcha!!