kimel Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Ah, finally Fried-day again. Oh sure, most of us had yesterday off so we could stuff ourselves too full of turkey and trimmings and watch too much. And today is supposed to be the busiest shopping day of they year were we are all supposed to run out and run up our credit card debt to buy useless trash for relatives who will also buy us useless trash most of which will be broken and headed to the landfill by New Years. I hate that the true spirit of the holidays I remember as a kid is apparently dead and gone. Now it is all about mass commercialization and consumerism. WalMart has their Christmas crap out before Halloween is even over. One of the local radio stations is now playing Christmas themed music 24x7 with breaks only for commercials trying to convince me that I need to buy whatever piece of crap they think I need. Who really gets a car for Christmas anyway? Maybe I just was too young to see this same thing 30 years ago. Perhaps I am longing for a time which never really existed. Bah humbug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 my belly is still full from yesterday! it hurts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Christmas really HAS changed a lot over the years... Now it's a time of sheer desperation more than anything else! I refuse to deal with it on that level (and have for years). The Christmas commercials on TV are officially now solid, wall-to-wall, aggravating noise. I will now grit my teeth (and hide) for a month just to get thru it. Gah! And what's scary is we've founded our national economy on this crazy season of "buying" to support the rest of the year. My God! What a perversion! I have long refused to be pushed, herded and railroaded into "Christmas shopping." No way. I give gifts whenever I please. Period. It's little wonder postal service workers go "postal", for pete's sake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOtherErik Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Christmass...I cant even think about that yet. Im still pissed off that my relatives trashed my house last night and I'm stuck with cleaning it today. THey are long gone but their mess is still here. OH yeah... "give me a christmass list", they tell me. I shoulden't have to write down things I want for christmass. If you had payed the least amount attenition all year long you whould know what I want and need. If you cant give a gift from your heart...default and send cash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 I concur, if retailers have their way the Christmas stuff will be out after July 4th. Right, there's that Christmas in July tie in... My wife calls me a Grinch, but I feel that Christmas is way too commercialized. I'm a Christian, and truly believe that there is only one reason for the season. We seem to have lost sight of what that is, and the retailers capitalized on it. I'm not saying I don't like getting more shooting related stuff as presents, but I'm just as happy to be around my family, spending quality time with them. I'll get off my soapbox now... Thanks for reading. Ray C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 I hate that I didn't get to spend T-giving with my wife. I am thankfull that I did get to spend it with my parents and aunt. I hate that I haven't been home in 10 weeks and it will likely be three more before I get to go home. I am thankfull that I have a good job and make a good living while doing it. I hate feeling like s**t after I eat. I'm thankfull I can afford to eat. I hate that I won't see my wife tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 I got used to "money" early in life. Many of my relatives just sent me cash and let me select my own whatevers. In a sense, it was practical. In another sense it made me my own Santa Claus... But by shopping for my own things with "X" amount of dollars, I learned the value of transactions. I was not what you call offended by this practice however 'cold' it might appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 I hate that 70% of all manufacturing business is supposed to be shipped over seas within the next 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 There is little to nothing that I enjoy about the holidays anymore. Thanksgiving is always better spent with friends. Thanksgiving w/friends = fun. Thanksgiving with your stressbasket relatives = hell. Martha Stewart shouldn't go to jail for insider trading. She ought to be executed for creating a mythical "perfect" holiday lifestyle that no one can live up to. I hate that America's economy is based on the buying and selling of crap that no one needs and has no intrinsic value. I hate myself for helping to make it by the truckload for the better part of a decade. Christmas just sucks. I keep telling people not to get me anything. I get stuff anyway. I don't want crap for Christmas. I just want to go skiing. Life experiences, learning new things, and good times with friends are worth infinitely more than junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Eric and everyone else, I thought for a long time that I was the only one who dreaded the late in the year holiday season. Guess not. It depresses me that I feel a need to go out and get some crap for people that they will not need or want. If something comes my way that someone else can use, I buy it and give it to them right then. Makes sense. Why wait until December when they can get up to a year's worth of use out of it? The crass vulgarity of it all makes my blood boil. The foil this, tinsel that, lit up this or that. Ugh! Who came up with this stuff???? Yuck! How 'bout a day with friends and/or close family? No big meals to cook. No decorations to put up. No other things like that. The best Christmas I had was the one when I told people to just leave me alone and locked the door. I spent the whole day in my room watching the snow fall and sleeping. It was awesome and peaceful. At the end of the day, I felt like conversing with others. I spent the evening talking with friends and had a great time. Thanks to Ghost Dog and the forum staff for the Friday Flame Wars. Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 I thought for a long time that I was the only one who dreaded the late in the year holiday season. I think most are at least secretly sick of it. It's just a few of us total cads that will bemoan it publicly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted November 29, 2003 Author Share Posted November 29, 2003 Yep...and we will probably all get coal in our stockings for badmouthing the holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 I hate shopping, but I really enjoy making people a little happier (or less sad) when I get them something that they really like. Usually the key to them being happier is that they know I thought about them and selected something specifically for them. I never spend much (usually $10 or less) per person. How many people's loathing of Christmas is exacerbated (or caused by) not getting enough sunlight (SAD)? My absolute worst Christmas was the one I spent by myself in California away from my family. I'd just started working for the evil Federal gov't, so I could not go home. I had invitations to join several friends and my relatives at various locations, but I spent the day in my crappy apartment in Alameda all by myself. For most of the day I was in bad, face down in my pillow. It was an egregious example of wallowing in self-pity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Alameda! Well! THAT was the problem. You were just stuck on the wrong side of The Bay!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Well, there is no "right" or correct side of the Bay! It all SUCKS equally in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 No... being stuck in the East Bay for any length of time will blind you to the rest of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 On the contrary! I find the entirety of the major population centers of California entirely repugnant to my senses. Alameda was among the least offensive when compared to the socio-political environment of San Francisco. Of course, Berkeley is just as bad and its in the east bay too. It all sucks. I will never return there. I have a sister and hundreds (if not thousands) of relatives in the Bay Area. I won't see them unless they come here. Things I Hated About California: 1. Insincere, extremely judgemental people 2. Losing hours of my life every day in traffic 3. Violent crime with no legal means to ensure my own safety when out of the house 4. Astronomical cost of living 5. The nauseating provincial attitude that nothing exists between lake Tahoe and the east coast 6. Socialism 7. filthy air (I know the bay area air is allegedly "clean" compared to LA, but it's still filthy compared to where I gew up and live now; I had bronchitis, asthma, and other respiratory problems nonstop when I lived out there 8. Los Angeles and almost everyone who lives there 9. San Francsico and almost everyone who lives there 10. Oakland and almost everyone who lives there 11. Berkeley and almost everyone who lives there and the horse they rode in on 12. Filthy streets and other features 13. out of control police departments ... JACK BOOTED THUGS 14. nonexistent parking 15. earthquakes I could go on and on . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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