Tis' the Season

This holiday season seems to have crept up a lot sooner than I expected. People already had their Christmas trees up by Thanksgiving, and as Black Friday approached, those same people were prepared to line up at the stores for those damn door busting deals by 4 a.m. People went nuts on Friday, and for what, great deals? A fucking present? A man was trampled in New York at a Walmart at 4:55 a.m. because the people were too damn impatient to wait for them to unlock the door. He died of a heart attack at the age of 34, see photo to the right. The police were there most of the morning, as the crowd of 2,000 waited all night to get in, and catch some deals. I didn't know Christmas was this serious. As much as I love shopping, there is nothing that can get me out the door before the crack of dawn to shop. That is insane. I sure hope the presents were worth a man's life. See the related stories below.

Not only that, but two men shot each other in California, inside of a Toys R Us store on Friday, over a toy. They were both fighting and arguing about it, and one man pulled out his piece, and so did the other man. Why would someone bring a gun to a children's toy store, unless they were planning on robbing it? See the news clip below, and I apologize for the commercial.

This time of year pisses me off so much. It actually makes me hate the way people act. I usually spend more time inside around the holidays. Avoiding the crowds is good for me. People are always ready to fight, over the stupidest thing, like a parking spot. Out here in California, holiday shopping is so serious. I don't know how it is anywhere else, but here and NYC, because I've shopped around Christmas in NYC too. Advertisers definitely got their money's worth this season, since people were out in packs. The traffic is so bad around this time of year too! There are 4 malls within a 2 mile radius from my house too, so it takes super long to get home from work. Every year seems to get worse and worse.

People are extra rude around this time of year. They yell at retailers demanding a better deal. They fight for spots in line. They fight for presents. I just don't understand what comes over people, and why they are so stressed out. If I like something, and I can't get it for whatever reason, I find something better. There is no need to argue with the manager, or fight whomever took the last one. That seems so incredibly silly to me. I thought the holidays was supposed to make people happier? I guess not. This year is more stressful than any other, and I think people were even more brutal on Friday because they HAD to have those deals. Possibly any other time a few bucks difference didn't really matter, but now it does. Times are hard, and that is understandable, but to take someone's life at this time of year, its not worth what you're saving. The holiday season, a time to be merry, brings out only the worse in people, and I look forward to staying home more often.

Happy Holidays


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html?_r=1&scp=
1&sq=Walmart&st=cse



http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/11/29/2008-
11-29_day_after_stampede__shopping_li_walmart_.html

http://www.freep.com/article/20081129
/NEWS07/811290333