The Black Friday Rule

Having listened to the Dropkick Murphy's in my punk phase, I thought for a very long time that Black Friday was some obscure Irish thing I just knew nothing about. Then I figured out the Thanksgiving weekend version, where a lot of crazies skip lots of sleeping in an attempt to go save money by spending lots of money. The logic behind it seemed absolutely contrary to anything rational. And then I tried it.

My first Black Friday experience was last year, at Toys R Us. I wanted to get Guitar Hero for cheap, and I did. The whole ordeal was relatively painless- no huge crowds, just an orderly line with people who were friendly enough to one another. No mad rush for any one item, no one getting trampled, and no fist fights. In short, it was a disappointment. Kidding.

This year, I had a more desirable item in mind- the very computer with which I am sharing this story with you. The original target was a $200 Best Buy promotion. I decided to be one of the crazies, and got to Best Buy around 3:30 for its 5:00 opening. Failure. A full parking lot, and a line around the building. No way in hell I was sticking around for that, so I went to option 2- the Office Depot by my place, which about 23 total people know exists.

This was a much better scene. Two cars in the parking lot, including mine. After a nice little nap in my car, I got in line around 4:15. The beauty of this line is that it was 6 people long; the British would have been ashamed in the lack of a queue. It was so short that I was able to drag my dad out of bed to come get a computer for himself as well, at a remarkably good price.

The best part of the whole experience- the Office Depot manager came out around 4:30 with coffee for everyone. So, it can pay to be a crazy. You get cheap goods, and free coffee. And is that worth a lack of sleep? It wasn't then. It is, now that I've slept again.

Happy post-Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading.

Dis

Timbaland is wrong.

It's not too late to apologize.

While my posts tend to be impersonal in nature, the subject of repentance has been on my mind as the Jewish new year and Day of Atonement draw closer. We all know that none of us are perfect, and that throughout the year we wrong other people (insults, for instance), as well as commit general wrongs against the world (littering). Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (the aforementioned holidays, for the Gentiles out there) provide an opportunity to start fresh, and repent for the sins of the past year. It's like Catholic Confession, but once a year, and with actually going to the source. The people source, as well as the God source.

While the past year hasn't been anything out of the ordinary as far as sinning goes, something struck me this holiday season about the idea of being encouraged to approach others to ask for forgiveness. Our wrongdoings are not simply forgiven; it takes the thought and recognition that we have wronged others, and the courage to approach those we have wronged to recognize it to them.

It's hard to apologize. We all have this sense of pride that generally makes apologizing difficult; for me, it's always hard to admit that I've messed up. While it may be somewhat required during this season of repentance, we should try to carry the impetus to apologize when needed throughout the year, in a sincere, meaningful way. I think our relationships with each other could be improved simply be admitting to a friend that you have wronged them, and that you're sorry. While this doesn't mend the thing you did, it may help to get past it.

Finally, the new year reminds us that it is not too late to apologize. So while general apologies aren't preferable, I apologize to you, 17 readers, for my general lack of proper spelling and grammar, in addition to anything else I may have done to wrong you.

L'shana Tova, and per usual, thanks for reading.

Dis

New Years

New Years is the most over-rated of all holidays. Just a thought. Discuss.

'Tis the Season

'Tis, while sounding fancier than it's, is really just more work to type. 

It's the season of many things- holidays, shopping for said holidays, being bored at home during break (for students), and for re-runs. With these things comes one of my favorite things- Christmas lights. I don't celebrate the holiday, but I do like people willing to put untold time and effort in to something that for the most part is designed to bring joy to others (after all, it's hard to see your own lights from inside your house).  One home near my parent's house put up over 40,000 lights, which dance to music the house broadcasts on it's own radio station. Yeah, that's a lot of effort. Wayne (the guy who did it) also adds songs weekly to the rotation. Video coming soon, hopefully.

My point about the lights is this: they are the embodiment of human kindness, in a way. They are something really selfless, which is what the holidays are all about (I'd say the Christmas spirit, but honestly, I'm far from the authority on things relating to Christmas).  This is the time of year we hear about all sorts of people doing nice things for other people- something that we would all be better served to do year round. I don't mean we should all do big things all the time, but a return to common courtesy of holding doors and helping someone pick something that they dropped up could go a long way in making someone's bad day a lot better.

My friend's mom says she believes in God with two o's. Can't help but like that, and want to believe in it as well. So this holiday season, let's do good, and keep it going year round.

Per usual, thanks for reading. And happy holidays.

Dis