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Post by Hucklebubba on Nov 30, 2003 21:55:47 GMT -5
I'm going to pose a question now, so as to see whether or not I'm totally alone in one of my opinions. Here goes:
Does anyone else find the whole day after Thanksgiving buying frenzy to be kind of...sad? There's a vague pitiability about it that I can't precisely put my finger on, though I suspect it has something to do with conspicuous consumption, and/or trying to buy happiness.
That's all. As usual, feedback is welcome, so long as it's flattering.
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Post by Lissa on Nov 30, 2003 22:03:58 GMT -5
Nope. Not particularly. I have to admit, the day after T-day is more a tradition in my family than a buying spree. It's a feminine tradition, but it's a tradition nonetheless. Even with my bum knee, we braved a mall and just enjoyed shopping together. We didn't really buy much (although I did take advantage of the fact my hubby wasn't there to get some of his Christmas presents, and took advantage of the cheap tins for sending edibles at a store we don't have), but just the fun of foraging the malls was worth it. If I do have a problem with it, it's more the commercialization of Christmas. On the other hand, I understand why people do buy gifts for the people they care about. (As long as it's not a substitute for showing affection day to day.) I kind of wish I could nudge down my list a bit- I have people I don't see often (and would be just as happy if they didn't buy for me), and now that we've combined families it's just draining, quite literally. However, there are GREAT sales the day after Thanksgiving, and it's worth taking advantage of. Plus, even though I try to get a jump on my Christmas shopping well ahead of time, I'm just not in the mood until after Thanksgiving. I think of it as more of a day to walk off the calories that have resulted from conspicuous consumption, but that's just my take  Liss |
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Post by Head Mutant on Dec 1, 2003 9:38:35 GMT -5
My tradition on that day is not to step a foot outside of the house. Wayyy too much traffic and any place I'd want to go would be too full. It's not like that's the only shopping day of the year, anyway.
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Post by Hucklebubba on Dec 1, 2003 10:59:35 GMT -5
I think my opinion of the day after Thanksgiving is more than slightly colored by my having to work during it, and by where I live. Maybe it's fun in towns that aren't immense tourist traps, but here in Branson, "dense" would be a better descriptive term.
If I had my choice, I too would spend the whole day at home; possibly hiding under my bed.
Oh, and another thing...
The day after Thanksgiving sale has inspired me to form yet another lame theory. This one relates to our government's maintenance of a giant clone army, the sole purpose of which is to shop one day out of the year. Allow me to illustrate:
Imagine a theoretical Earth, where only three cities exist. For the sake of not being creative, we'll call them One, Two, and Three. Each of the three cities has a population of 100,000. City number Three is a tourist and shopping mecca, and for that reason, city's One and Two are expected to completely empty out during the big sales. Therefore, one would expect Three to have a transient population of 300,000 on The Day After. Yeah, right! Maybe in 300,000 Equals 8,000,000 Land!
Incidentally, One and Two are also packed to the gills, as are all of the roads which connect the three cities. Why? WHY?! Or, more appropriately, how?
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Post by Al on Dec 1, 2003 12:27:31 GMT -5
Anyone else having flashbacks of high school Algebra?
AL
-BA in English, which is mostly BS
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Post by dajaymann on Dec 1, 2003 12:45:50 GMT -5
Ahhhh...yes. Green Friday, which is what we used to call it at the KB Toys I used to work. I more fondly recall labeling that day something more like the Seventh Ring of Hell Day.
The first year I had to work Green Friday, it was almost like an adventure...crazy people lining up at 5 in the morning to get in...people showing up later in the day freakin' because we were out of Pokemon cards...people nearly coming to blows over Furbys...it was magical. But the second year I had to do it, it was exasperating. You know I really liked working at a toy store, and the kids who came in always had a good time...but their parents were evil. Especially around this time of year. I just got burnt out, and I vowed never again to work in a mall.
At my job (the cell phone place) I was not busy at all the day after Thanksgiving. Made no sales. Though I almost had to call the cops on a billigerent drunk fellow who came in at the end of the day...but I found solace in the fact that I made him more mad in the end than he made me.
Retail Sucks.
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Genetic Mishap
Boomstick Coordinator
I am a South American fish. Surrender your urethra.
Posts: 256
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Post by Genetic Mishap on Dec 1, 2003 17:21:25 GMT -5
Maybe it's fun in towns that aren't immense tourist traps, but here in Branson... Whoa...you live in BRANSON?! You're practically living in a little crease on my knee(in comparison with everyone else here, I mean). I live in Lamar. And I have sooooo many nightmare experiences with Branson. Karley- At least you guys have Ripley's. And White Water. And chinese acrobats. EDIT- Damn these emoticons... |
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Post by Hucklebubba on Dec 1, 2003 23:36:19 GMT -5
Whoa...you live in BRANSON?! You don't have to rub it in. Yeah, but after living here for a while, you get to learn all kinds of neat traffic-avoiding tricks, most of which are legal. Still, I think Branson is better to visit than live in. I miss the unbelievably flat plains of my Kansas homeland. And Celebration City! Where else can you be entertained by a laser show featuring a thirty foot tall holographic Elvis? And a similarly-sized Michael Jackson later on? (I wish they'd fight. Wait...no I don't.) |
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Post by Magill on Dec 2, 2003 13:35:41 GMT -5
I agree, it is pretty sad. I mean, a woman got trampled at a Wal-Mart during a customer scramble for DVD players (if you are going shopping, at least go to a store that isn't evil).
I really don't do much of my shopping that day. I know, I know, I'm missing all the great sales. There was one exception: when I was in third grade or so, my dad and I went to Chicago for the day. We took a train in (we lived just across in Mississippi in Iowa) and went to Marshall Fields'. There had been a recent snowfall, and while crossing the Chicago River I dumped a bunch down his collar. He still insists, 15 or so years later, that he's going to "get me back" for that one. It's a nice memory.
I don't go to stores on December 26, either. Life's too short to deal with crazed shoppers.
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Uber
Boomstick Coordinator
Who Farted?
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Post by Uber on Dec 2, 2003 14:29:56 GMT -5
Well, being the resident psychotic round this here board, I guess I should report on my Black Friday excursion (forget Green Friday...this is war). My sweetums and I woke up to a brisk 48 degree morning at 4:45 to get to Kohls, which opened at 5:30. She wanted to get a half-price foot bath massager for her mother. I had nothing in mind for that store. When we arrived in the parking lot, there were approximately 20 people lined up waiting to get into one door, and 3 people at the other door. We waited in the truck until the doors were open, then headed in. When walking in, we heard someone yell behind us, "Hey, let's run in!" Well, no sooner did I hear this when from directly behind us came the sound of a 100 pound (45.359237 kilogram) sack of oranges hitting concrete. We turned around to see this teenage girl writhing around on the ground, as apparently her idea of running into the store wasn't a bright one so early in the morning. After making sure that she was going to be ok (just really embarrassed), we entered the store to seek out the foot bath. We successfully located said foot bath, which was strategically placed next to $10 parrafin hand spas which people were grabbing by the armful. I recall a woman with a baby stroller shoving an even half-dozen of the hand spas into her stroller. I really wanted to ask her where her baby was, but feared the crazed shopper. With the gift paid for and out the door, we moved onto the next objective.
Michaels, a craft store, had a whopping 3 people waiting for it's opening at 6:00. All from the comfort of their cars. By comparison, the Target next door had about 100 people lined up outside. Silly people. Unfortunately, Michaels turned out to be a bust, as neither of us found anything worth purchasing. We decided to then brave the confines of Target. Since I had been wanting to buy some friends of mine Homer Simpson slippers, and they had them at about half the price of Spencer's Gifts, I was delighted to see that they only had 2 pairs left, in exactly the sizes I needed. We wandered about a little more, looking at the crazed shoppers. Both sweetums & I busted out laughing when we saw a woman with a handheld 2-way radio talking with the rest of her family as if shopping were a tactical experience rather than the fun it was for us. We headed towards the checkouts, had about a 50 second wait for a cashier, where I paid and pointed out that there were people plotting tactical strategies in the store. The cashier had a good laugh as well.
Well, it was then 6:50, so we stopped at OfficeMax, where I was in and out by 6:59 (and they weren't supposed to open until 7:00) with a bag full of free after rebate items. A quick stop by the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and we headed home for the day. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the couch, eating leftovers, watching Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and a free screening of WarGames on the big screen at midnight. It was a good day.
Long story short: if you want to have fun on Black Friday and shop, go do it. Just don't let the stores whip you into a frenzy over saving $5 on a parrafin hand spa (who the heck needs that anyway?)
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Post by Hucklebubba on Dec 3, 2003 0:43:44 GMT -5
Your manner of shopping, I can dig. Like a hepcat.
You stopped to make sure that girl was okay, as opposed to finishing her off and looting her corpse, and you didn't frantically buy great heaping mounds of crap just for cheapness' sake.
That lady with the baby stroller must think paraffin hand spas are going to be the new form of currency in post-apocalyptic Neo-America. (Which they are.)
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Post by Lissa on Dec 3, 2003 6:45:51 GMT -5
Well, to be fair, you never know. Perhaps she has several girly daughters at home that are into that sort of thing. Maybe she's a stylist and getting stuff for people at work, and wants to get the same thing so she won't be accused of favoritism- especially if she's an employer or something. I know if my mom sees a great bargin, she'll pick up several of them for Christmas. Last year we all got mini fire-extinguishers for our kitchens (which was truly a useful gift- my sister's used hers a couple of times). She's also gotten similar fleece tops for my sister, stepsister and I. She wouldn't get paraffin hand spas (except maybe for my stepsister), but I can understand the mentality if you know people who would be into them. I do agree that some people get nuts (which is why we never go to the mall until after lunch, unless there's an amazing sale on something perfect), but I just felt like being contrary this morning Liss |
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Post by dajaymann on Dec 3, 2003 10:21:19 GMT -5
Last year we all got mini fire-extinguishers for our kitchens (which was truly a useful gift- my sister's used hers a couple of times). Sounds very useful, especially after I learned that sugar is not an effective fire-suppression method in the kitchen. The hard way. |
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