Every year, my family gets together for a trio of Thanksgiving traditions - we play rugby on the lawn, a game we picked up courtesy of a long ago exchange student, then we eat a massive dinner followed by enough desserts to sink an aircraft carrier, then all the women plan their Black Friday shopping (reconvening the next morning to actually shop).
Just personally, I think that Thanksgiving should be a day for enjoying the good things in your life. What it shouldn't mean is running off to work immediately after (or possibly during) dinner so that stores can open on Thanksgiving instead of waiting a few more hours until Friday. Putting it mildly, I do not approve of the decision that some stores made to open that early, so I decided not to shop at any of them. Not on Black Friday and not for any of the rest of my holiday shopping. My two cents.
Anyway, in a good year there are some fantastic bargains on Black Friday and I do a large fraction of my holiday shopping that day, and pick up something for me (this year, I was jonesing for a new camera). Not this year. Oh, the prices weren't bad. But they didn't motivate me to get up before the crack of dawn to go shopping either. My general rule of thumb is that unless I'm going to save over $400, then I go strictly as logistics support for the family. Which happens more often than not, really, I don't really need a lot of stuff, and most of the things I do wind up buying for other people, I can get online anyway.
Normally I'm the "runner" - they go in and get straight on line and I go gather whatever. I only made it through about 6 stores before my foot started reminding me that it's still technically broken. After that, I claimed a bench in the mall and everyone left their purchases with me so they could keep shopping unburdened by bags. As it got later in the morning, right around 7 am, the bags and I were sent off on a special assignment to pick up several Nook e-Readers at Barnes and Noble. Let me say, B & N handled things wonderfully well. They handed out tickets for the Nook that guaranteed you however many Nooks you had tickets for. Since all the Nooks are behind the counter, that meant you could sit in your (warm) car and wait for the store to open, then browse around until the initial line went down, re-caffinate at the Starbucks, and still get the Doorbuster.
Overall, it wasn't a bad day, but I'm feeling some rather strong ennui. I am looking forward to our upcoming annual Girl's Weekend. Maybe that will snap me out of my blahs. Hopefully, I'll find a new camera by then.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Wonder Bread No More
The newspapers today announced the end of an era. Hostess is liquidating in bankruptcy. While I am not one of the people they interviewed, who were stocking up on Twinkies and Snowballs and assorted other cream-filled treats, I am sorry to hear this news. Something like 18,000 people are going to lose their jobs, which to me is more of an issue than the fact that I will no longer be able to buy my own rarely indulged bad habit, Funny Bones (because who doesn't like chocolate and peanut butter?).
By all accounts, Hostess was done in by a combination the rise of militant anti-junk food crusaders (ahem, Mayor Bloomberg), poor management, and a supremely ill-timed strike. The managers didn't get the job done their first round through bankruptcy, so they wound up filing twice in something like 3 years. Not good leadership, but they still got paid, because that's how Corporatism (which is not the same as capitalism) works. On the other side, the Baker's union decided to go on strike. Now, I can completely understand being angry that they're asking for another pay cut from workers who've already given up a lot, but the Teamster's (who had someone look at the company's books) agreed to the contract because the alternative was the end of Hostess. Sometimes, management isn't just bluffing. So now, instead of a steep pay cut, all those people will face a total pay cut. And only a month before the holidays.
The third leg of this tripod of oblivion is, of course, the War on Obesity, which, frankly, is getting really tedious and absurd. I'm not saying that obesity isn't an issue, both for individuals and society. I just think things are getting out of hand, and that all of these draconian moves aren't actually accomplishing very much. For instance, one of our local high schools recently announced with great fanfare that they were banning unhealthy drinks and snacks. So, no sodas, no candy, no Twinkies. But if you walk into the store, you'll see racks and racks of sports drinks. I'm a fairly active person. I've done a number of 5k runs, I've done charity walks (3 - 60 miles), and before I broke my foot I played adult league soccer, which I hope to get back to. The only time I've needed a sports drink was playing soccer full tilt in July. Some kid walking around school needs a sports drink as much as they need a soda - they're roughly equivalent in calories and you just don't need electrolytes, etc. in your normal daily life (unless you play pro sports or something).
As a kid, my mother was into whole grain bread way before it was fashionable. I wasn't allowed to eat sugary cereals, and we only had sodas in the house for parties. In addition to these good habits, my mother was also a serial yo-yo dieter who once passed out in church after eating nothing but grapefruit for a week and a half. As an adult, I think I live a fairly healthy lifestyle. I mostly cook my own food from scratch, I still eat whole-grain bread, my favorite cereal is Special K and I work out almost every day. If I want a coke, though, or some ring dings, or to eat an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, I'm an adult so that should be my call. After all, if I consume too many calories then I need to worry about fitting into my jeans, but there is no way for those calories to magically jump across to someone else.
Anyway, something tells me we haven't seen the last Twinkie, Ho Ho or Ring Ding but I suspect at least most of those 18,000 jobs are gone for good.
By all accounts, Hostess was done in by a combination the rise of militant anti-junk food crusaders (ahem, Mayor Bloomberg), poor management, and a supremely ill-timed strike. The managers didn't get the job done their first round through bankruptcy, so they wound up filing twice in something like 3 years. Not good leadership, but they still got paid, because that's how Corporatism (which is not the same as capitalism) works. On the other side, the Baker's union decided to go on strike. Now, I can completely understand being angry that they're asking for another pay cut from workers who've already given up a lot, but the Teamster's (who had someone look at the company's books) agreed to the contract because the alternative was the end of Hostess. Sometimes, management isn't just bluffing. So now, instead of a steep pay cut, all those people will face a total pay cut. And only a month before the holidays.
The third leg of this tripod of oblivion is, of course, the War on Obesity, which, frankly, is getting really tedious and absurd. I'm not saying that obesity isn't an issue, both for individuals and society. I just think things are getting out of hand, and that all of these draconian moves aren't actually accomplishing very much. For instance, one of our local high schools recently announced with great fanfare that they were banning unhealthy drinks and snacks. So, no sodas, no candy, no Twinkies. But if you walk into the store, you'll see racks and racks of sports drinks. I'm a fairly active person. I've done a number of 5k runs, I've done charity walks (3 - 60 miles), and before I broke my foot I played adult league soccer, which I hope to get back to. The only time I've needed a sports drink was playing soccer full tilt in July. Some kid walking around school needs a sports drink as much as they need a soda - they're roughly equivalent in calories and you just don't need electrolytes, etc. in your normal daily life (unless you play pro sports or something).
As a kid, my mother was into whole grain bread way before it was fashionable. I wasn't allowed to eat sugary cereals, and we only had sodas in the house for parties. In addition to these good habits, my mother was also a serial yo-yo dieter who once passed out in church after eating nothing but grapefruit for a week and a half. As an adult, I think I live a fairly healthy lifestyle. I mostly cook my own food from scratch, I still eat whole-grain bread, my favorite cereal is Special K and I work out almost every day. If I want a coke, though, or some ring dings, or to eat an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, I'm an adult so that should be my call. After all, if I consume too many calories then I need to worry about fitting into my jeans, but there is no way for those calories to magically jump across to someone else.
Anyway, something tells me we haven't seen the last Twinkie, Ho Ho or Ring Ding but I suspect at least most of those 18,000 jobs are gone for good.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Time to Fall Back
It is just barely 5 pm east coast time and it is full night courtesy of the annual end of daylight savings time. It is also, apparently, Halloween at least as far as trick or treating is concerned. As I did not get that memo, I have no candy (I spent most of actual Halloween in the San Francisco airport) so I am vastly obliged to all those parents and children who respect the fact that I don't have my porch light on and do not ring my doorbell - I'm hobbling along much better these days, but am still not up for standing in the door explaining that I don't have any candy to a disappointed 4 year old.
Not that I entirely let the fact that I was in about the least creepy / spooky place imaginable entirely put a damper on my Halloween Spirit - thus I am happy to present a Halloween Coconut (thanks, chief!).
Now, for those who are tempted to complain that it is not a real jack-o-lantern, well, you do have a point there. But by the same token, some people think the original tradition involved putting a candle inside of a carved gourd or turnip, so a coconut is just the latest in a fine tradition of local substitutions.
I am back in the USA, at long, long last, and having a bit of reverse-culture shock. There are so many people! There are so many cars! It's bloody freezing! I am also feeling just a teensy bit sorry for myself as I unpack my suitcase, do my laundry and settle in for two months of gimping around in the cold and darkness waiting to find out what sort of surgery I have to have in December. It is my hope that, whichever option I wind up having to go with, the recovery afterwards is quick since I am not well suited for sitting around and taking it easy.
On that note, I've decided I hate basically my entire house and am planning to spend the late winter and spring doing some rather extensive remodeling. Planning it will take a while, but at the moment I have the time since what ELSE am I going to do. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Seeing the same four walls gets old.
Something else I'm looking forward to - election day. At this point, I just want the whole circus to be over. I got home and my inbox was totally full with election related calls and every day that I've been back it's been call after call after call - vote for this candidate, take our poll, give money to that candidate, blah, blah, blah. Leave me alone already! There is nothing a phone call can possibly say that will persuade me to vote for a candidate I have previously decided to vote against, and an unsolicited call may very well persuade me to leave part of the ballot blank rather than vote for a candidate who would otherwise have had my support. And, since I know you sell the poll results, you can bloody well stop calling me unless you're planning to pay me for my time. I've started just hanging up on people. I know, I know, it's rude but then, so is harassing someone at home with unsolicited phone calls.
Not that I entirely let the fact that I was in about the least creepy / spooky place imaginable entirely put a damper on my Halloween Spirit - thus I am happy to present a Halloween Coconut (thanks, chief!).
Now, for those who are tempted to complain that it is not a real jack-o-lantern, well, you do have a point there. But by the same token, some people think the original tradition involved putting a candle inside of a carved gourd or turnip, so a coconut is just the latest in a fine tradition of local substitutions.
I am back in the USA, at long, long last, and having a bit of reverse-culture shock. There are so many people! There are so many cars! It's bloody freezing! I am also feeling just a teensy bit sorry for myself as I unpack my suitcase, do my laundry and settle in for two months of gimping around in the cold and darkness waiting to find out what sort of surgery I have to have in December. It is my hope that, whichever option I wind up having to go with, the recovery afterwards is quick since I am not well suited for sitting around and taking it easy.
On that note, I've decided I hate basically my entire house and am planning to spend the late winter and spring doing some rather extensive remodeling. Planning it will take a while, but at the moment I have the time since what ELSE am I going to do. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Seeing the same four walls gets old.
Something else I'm looking forward to - election day. At this point, I just want the whole circus to be over. I got home and my inbox was totally full with election related calls and every day that I've been back it's been call after call after call - vote for this candidate, take our poll, give money to that candidate, blah, blah, blah. Leave me alone already! There is nothing a phone call can possibly say that will persuade me to vote for a candidate I have previously decided to vote against, and an unsolicited call may very well persuade me to leave part of the ballot blank rather than vote for a candidate who would otherwise have had my support. And, since I know you sell the poll results, you can bloody well stop calling me unless you're planning to pay me for my time. I've started just hanging up on people. I know, I know, it's rude but then, so is harassing someone at home with unsolicited phone calls.
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