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Spring Break in Walmart

College student lives in Wal-Mart for 41 hours

Quote:

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- For spring break, some college students set out for sun-drenched beaches or cheap European cities. Skyler Bartels headed for the local Wal-Mart.

Bartels, 20, an aspiring writer and Drake University sophomore, thought he'd spend a week in a Wal-Mart as a test of endurance, using it as the premise for a magazine article. His college adviser liked the idea.

"I just intuitively thought, 'This is brilliant!"' said Carol Spaulding-Kruse, an associate professor of English. "I wasn't quite sure why, but it just sounded like a really good idea."

For 41 hours, Bartels wandered the aisles of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Windsor Heights that's open 24 hours a day. He checked out shoppers, read magazines, watched movies on the DVD display and played video games.

He bought meals at the in-store Subway sandwich shop, but was able to catch only brief naps in a restroom stall or on lawn chairs in the garden department.

Other shoppers and employees didn't pay much attention until the end of his stay, he said, when it appeared some store greeters began to take notice -- pointing at him and whispering.

A shift manager approached him and asked him if he was finding everything he needed.

"He said, 'Didn't I see you over by the magazines, like, five hours ago?' I told him, 'Maybe,"' Bartels said.

Tiring to the point of hallucinating, Bartels said he decided to go home before he was thrown out.

He considered the project a failure.

Then, The Des Moines Register, which had been contacted by Spaulding-Kruse, called to ask him about the experience. Once the story ran, TV networks began calling.

He also talked with a book agent, has been contacted by New Line Cinema about a movie concept and did a radio interview with National Public Radio.

Bartels told The Associated Press he has decided the stunt wasn't such a failure after all.

"I'm incredibly happy with the press coverage," he said. "It would be kind of silly not to accept it with open arms."

Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Thornton said Bartels neither violated store policy nor broke the law.

"We were unaware of his presence and if we were aware of it we certainly wouldn't have condoned it," Thornton said. "We're a retailer, not a hotel."

Now that's an interesting place to spend spring break... I think if I had to spend spring break in a store, I'd pick macy's or some place with a bedding department and a gourmet food section (and liquor store)... How about you -- where do you want to spend spring break? Going to your local walmart?

I think that I could be very happy at the Marshall Field's on State Street in downtown Chicago. There's booze in the basement, a dozen good restaurants and everything else that I could possibly need.

I think if I was a college student in the states, I'd have gone to Texas or Palm Beach or something

Hmmm...I'd pack some dried food and spend it in Victoria's Secret.

This reminds me of movies like Mannequin, Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Comet , where the protagonists get the run of a department store.

It used to feature prominantly in my post-apocalyptic fantasies. For the record, Catherine Mary Stewart rather than Kim Catrall.

He was only there for 41 hours. That's hardly worth noting in my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maleficent

I think if I had to spend spring break in a store, I'd pick macy's or some place with a bedding department and a gourmet food section (and liquor store)...

I think the key is "open 24 hours". That kind of cuts down on your options. And "prepared food for sale", so you can eat it there without drawing stares. Can you imagine trying to eat in the middle of Macy*s?

So, Wal-Mart is probably the only option. Or suicide. Either would be the same amount of fun.

He needed to figure out how to sleep in the place. That was his one downfall.

That and he needed to carry a change of clothes or two...

what was the movie where the pregnant chick lived in wal mart for a bit...

I know its not much to go on but my memory escapes me

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowchef

what was the movie where the pregnant chick lived in wal mart for a bit...

Where the Heart Is

and the only reason I know it - -it was a god awful book first - that, I believe, was an Oprah selection...

Reminds me of some shitty book I had to read in 4th grade about two kids living in a museum...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toaster126

Reminds me of some shitty book I had to read in 4th grade about two kids living in a museum...

Would that be "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler"? I only have a vague memory of it.

Tired to the point of hallucination? After 41 hours? That's not even two full days! Weakling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSflim

Tired to the point of hallucination? After 41 hours? That's not even two full days! Weakling.

Kids today - i tell ya -- don't know what sleep deprivation is.. :)

Hell, after a few hours in a Wal*Mart I'd be hallucinating... Those places are foul.

71 hours in front of my computer, with breaks only to poop, pee, and make sandwiches? I WIN!!

Although, I doubt many people would offer me a book deal for it..

Fuckin' Everquest1..

Yeah, I heard this story on NPR a couple of days ago. I thought it was kind of interesting for some silly college student to pull this as a prank, but that was when I thought he had done it for a week... you know, Spring Break. It is a week long, not shy of 2 days!!! WTF. 41 hours!?! I can't believe that he got attention for doing this. I've spent at least 38 hours there before just trying to find the electrical tape.

On a side note, they mentioned that he napped a bit in stalls.. have you ever tried that? It's hard, especially if you're pretending to poop.. elbows on knees seems to be the most efficient. Not that I've tried it at work or anything..

JinnKai - try leaning up against the side of the stall using a roll of toilet paper as a pillow. Back when I had to entertain clients constantly (read - drink like a fish) I caught many a catnap this way.

41 hours is only notable in that it apparently took that long for Walmart to notice that he was hanging out there full time. If I were the store manager, I'd be wondering how observent my employees really were.

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Drake University
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Subway
The Des Moines Register
New Line Cinema
The Associated Press
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