Walmart and Other Retailers...Why?

Happy Post-Election 2012 everyone, we survived the onslaught of ads.

I hope everyone is having a good Sunday before Thanksgiving. I really should be doing homework right now, but...I say no, I think my professors want to cause me extreme mental stress, or they wish to waste my time. I damn well deserve to procrastinate.

So, if we couldn't tell, I'm pretty ready for Thanksgiving break, and seeing my family and what not. However, for as much as I like the holiday season, I also hate it with a passion. Why do I have such a relationship?

Those bastards at the major retailers. I went to a mall last week (I believe it was November 10), and the mall was completely set up for Christmas.Walmart was even earlier, they had their Christmas supplies out before Halloween.

By starting the holiday season back in October, I feel like the holidays are starting to lose their special feel, like what I remember as a kid. I know things do change as we get older, but Christmas definitely did not start right after Halloween. It's ridiculous, and I am incredibly grateful for Nordstrom and their one holiday at a time policy.

Along the same lines, I think it's awful that the retailers are going to be open earlier on Thanksgiving night. Not only does the zoo start early, but their workers deserve a day with their families. Those retailers are depriving them of a holiday with their families. Some of those families don't see each other outside of Thanksgiving, and the companies' greed to get their money even earlier deprives their workers of a holiday that means something.

It's sadly part of our culture that working until we die seems more important than family, and employers use that to their advantage. Let's face it, Americans are working harder, and not making enough money. So, they work harder to survive,  and are in many cases quite unhappy with the situation. However, the workers do it so they don't risk having problems at work, or risk being first on the chopping block when the job cuts come.

It's gotten out of hand. People deserve that time, and with so many people still going to go to the Black Friday sales, I think the retailers can give their employees a day. Besides, those employees have a month of hell ahead of them. Shame on those retailers.

Perhaps my view is biased, as I did miss Thanksgiving with my family last year, due to working at The Mount Washington. While the Resort did give us Thanksgiving dinner, it wasn't the same.

This year, I'm spending time with my family, and I'm going to make my presents this year, since I'm a poor college student.This may be my last major holiday with my family, since I plan on going to Argentina after I graduate. So, I'm enjoying this one.

And if anyone tries to take time away from my family...I will find you...

How did we end up in November?

To start, I love Anderson Cooper 360's Ridiculist. Just my personal opinion.

Anyhow, I've been trying my best to enjoy my days off, but between the arrival of 25 baby chicks and a really bad recurring case of insomnia, it's been a tad difficult. However, there have been some good points, such as spending time with Robby and playing Modern Warfare 3 on a 30 foot movie theater screen.

Yes, I played Modern Warfare 3 on a movie theater screen. Be envious. Man, could you imagine Skyrim on that? but I digress.

So to start, my mom received her order of baby chicks yesterday. Don't get me wrong, they're incredibly adorable, but they're somewhat high maintenance. It also doesn't help that they're sharing the room with very angry jealous adult chickens. For those that don't know, if the chicks aren't with their mom, it's not like another chicken will adopt them. They'll eat them. There's a reason that chickens are reminiscent of velociraptors.

The odd colored one on the far left has been dubbed Hernando Cortez. Hey, at least the chickens have original names here.

Anyhow, to the second point, I saw the boyfriend for the first extended period of time since September the other day. That's pretty demented, I'll even say that. However, it wasn't from a lack of trying, our schedules just did not mesh. but it was nice to see him, I will say that.

And sidenote, how in God's name did we get to the end of November? The idea of Thanksgiving on Thursday is blowing my mind, so in a way, I'm happy that I'm working that day. Time is just flying by too fast. My seasonal clock is back in April, even with it snowing outside right now. Before you know it, the 2012 end-of-the-world parties will be around the corner.

I really hope I'm not the only one who feels this way. Maybe the whole not sleeping thing is affecting my brain negatively. However, I have been mildly productive during my sleepless nights:

I've been reading "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. And it's making me want to take as much Chinese as possible, since America is not making good life choices. Sorry, pizza is NOT a vegetable.

I've used gift cards that I've been hoarding. So I got a perfume sampler pack from Sephora, since living in the boonies limits your scent options...you know there will be a blog post on that, c'mon.

And, I've been looking at internships. If I could get one at MSNBC or CNN, that would be amazing. I just have to be back at Plymouth...so that's in the pipeline for the summer potentially. Of course, that would probably mean that I'd have to watch what I write, which would kind of be sad. But still, the opportunity would be amazing.

Anyhow, I am going to attempt to sleep tonight and I need to get pellets for the stove. But, I leave you with a cute animal picture to ponder.