Nov. 27--Tribune reporters Sandra M. Jones, Kayce Ataiyero, Julie Wernau and Angie Leventis Lourgos and freelance writer Robert Channick are at local stores and malls to keep tabs on Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season. Follow their progress throughout the day.

Wal-mart

Skokie, 3:45 a.m.

A steady trickle of customers are going in -- and just as steady a group going out.

Since the store had been open overnight, "all the good stuff is already gone" said Carlos Martinez, 32 of Chicago who came for the 32-inch Emerson flat panel TV for $245. His fellow shoppers had scoped the scene and marked their terrritories in line with carts brimming, some sitting in folding chairs, waiting to ring up at 5 a.m.

"I'm going to check out the store in Melrose Park but if it's like this too I doubt I get anything. "

Kayce Ataiyero

4:09 a.m. Angel Stokes, 36, of Skokie was in line with a cart full of board games, blankets and her true get: a $69 Kodak digital camera. It was actually her second line of the day. She arrived at the store at roughly 11:45 pm and was shuttled into the camera line -- you know the line you have to wait in for the camera before you can pick it up and take it to the register line to check out. It was the same for all the big ticket items. She was in the first line for more than four hours. As she surveyed her cart, she said she was relieved that she was in the home stretch. It was her first black friday and that newbie fatigue and mild fear had set in.

"It's been real crazy in here. People take this Black Friday stuff real serious. "

Kayce Ataiyero

Best Buy

Bucktown, 4:24 a.m.

It's still dark outside and TaMara Brooks says she has been waiting in line since 9:30 p.m. only to be cut in line by 10 to 15 people throughout the night.

The Best Buy blue shirts don't have any tickets anymore for the Sony notebook she was looking for $399. "Angry doesn't cover it," she said, shivering.

"Where's the $399 one? Up there with the other people who cut us in line?" Says a woman next to her who gave her name only as Sharon. "I better get the ticket or there's going to be trouble."

Julie Wernau

Wal-mart

Skokie, 4:35 a.m.

Fay Eli, 36, came for the cheap laptops. She also got here at 3 and "it was chaos. They started handing out the tickets for laptops at 12. It's not at all what I expected. I thought we would be ahead of the pack. I knew it was bad when I couldn't find parking. "

Needless to say, she didn't get the laptop. Eli settled for a desktop, an executive chair and other consolation prizes. She was looking around in her cart to inspect her inventory when she noticed that her sales papers were gone -- again. Someone swiped them.

"People keep taking my papers, it's crazy. "

Eli hadn't initially planned to do much Christmas shopping but after the challenging experience she had in Wal-mart, she was determine to find some deals by any means necessary.

"Now since we have an adrenaline rush going on and we're pissed off, Target watch out," she said. "I'm not going to give up very easily.