Verbal Venom - Realities from the Deep Inside - It's Christmas Time: So, How Do You Shop?  

Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday passed me without much incident on the wallet, it is still after all Christmas. Which means procrastinating people are on constant go shopping, shopping and yes, shopping.

Nice to know that even in this economy, the citizens are out and about hunting deals down wherever one can stretch the dollar. (I guess it takes a crashing real estate boom and other financial doomsday scenarios to turn a public into a more careful one.)

However, while it is good to see dollar movement changing hands quickly, the consumer spending experience of it all wasn’t an impressionable one. For one, I was joining family (more like being kidnapped) at one of the bigger malls in the SJ area on said Friday, which meant I was going to end up being part of madness. Even when I eyed exactly what I wanted to buy, in this case, fingerless gloves and a white belt, I still had to stay put while everyone else melted credit card for some bargains. Thank goodness for a sports store that was showing the Oregon/Arizona game; I managed to camp out to pass the time, though being surrounded by jerseys, hats and other guy attire seems an all too tempting tidbit - I avoided that unnecessary situation of simply going on spontaneous wants.

I guess at my age the idea of such gathering places reminds me of being a hamster in a sprawling social experiment - put too many of us in a cage and then watch us go and tear each other apart.

Side Note: I know, I know. I’ve written the past two entries on how gloriously wonderful to see everything for the holidays on full display. But, I only did so when the crowds died down and when the place of business was so close to closing; it made for a much easier time on my mental psyche. And not to mention parking.

Me? Any personal shopping on my agenda was simply done with me behind computer scouring deals on the internet at different sites. And even then I had a plan on where I was to ‘go’ and what I was to ‘buy’. Done, and to the point. The ultimate convenience: no wasting gas running into obnoxious people or crying . I only kept tabs on time, expenditures, and most importantly, my sanity.

Eventually though, I’ll have to once again brave the elements and locate a particular gift I won’t be able to get online - either the item in question will be sold out, or won’t be in stock by the time I need it shipped somewhere. I run into that problem, being out in the open, and trying my luck too.

But at least I’ll get to do it on my terms first before following the rest of the lemmings into sudden death shopping.

M~
12.1.10

Question: So, how do you shop?