Cyber Monday is a nice thing.
Honestly, I've never been materialistic, even with gaming I've always been around a half generation behind. Maybe I'll buy myself a new MP3 player, since my old one can't hold any charge anymore. That was a trusty thing, lasted me 3 years and only cost $15, the only thing preventing me from buying that particular model again is that you couldn't set up playlists, even in the form of folder directories via USB connection to a computer. I don't have that many people to buy for either.
I'm not a cynic, but I really dislike Christmas. I'm one of those Halloween people, because Halloween is just a regular day and you can do whatever you want with it. I think the reason why I hate Christmas so much is because it's the family oriented holiday, at its core it's the primal emotional expectations and need for love and family that characterize an individual's childhood, coated with a layer of acetone glitter nail polish. If you had a good childhood, you might feel positive about it, but if you didn't, it evokes emotions that you've practically went to the ends of the Earth to get rid of. And if you still have to speak with the people that made your life miserable as a kid, it's even worse. Luckily I don't. Aside from that, the hedonism just exacerbates the feeling.
Anyway, my friend, a Walmart employee recently promoted from temp to part-time, has to work Thanksgiving and Black Friday with no bonus and probably no lunch either. I live in a Walmart town (Walmart's business strategy is to set up superstores in small towns and hijack the local economy), so Black Friday, even in this small town, is significantly worse than a typical Manhattan rush hour. The terms "part" and "full time" are an obsolete word choice in American retail, it has more to do with basic rights and stability than it does the amount of hours.
If there's anything to say during Thanksgiving its that I'm grateful for being treated like a human being at my city job. I need to get a second job, but this one is a good one and will probably be my first priority for a while because there just aren't any good opportunities anymore.
/derail
