Black Coffee on Black Friday

I don't get the whole concept of Black Friday. I'm not what you'd call a shop-a-holic, nor am I a shopping phobic. I fall somewhere in between. I shop at brick & mortar stores when I have to and only as a last resort. I mean, that's the convenience
of being online. Even a dog like me can buy gifts online from the comfort of home. A digital camcorder? No problem. I could order and pay for one online at like 2am in my pajamas if I wanted to.

Back to Black Friday. I've seen the ads. There are some nifty bargains to be had, if you've got the will and determination. Sites like Black Friday Ads and The Black Friday had all the deals for today. From $300.00 laptops to $4.00 crock pots. The sales are sure tempting. I mean, did you see the people lined up last night for goodness sake? In the cold? It made me wonder. Is it worth the hassle?

I have to admit, one year I did give the whole Black Friday a try. The key word here is I only did it once. The early morning hours, the long lines, and worst of all, the cranky (ok, rude) people made me Thankful for not having tried doing so before. And what did I learn?

Well, this year I didn't wake up at 3am. I didn't drink down a few cups of coffee to wake myself up and drive the 405 freeway to the mall. I wasn't cupping my freezing hands together while standing in a line that wrapped around the store. There was no made rush through those double glass doors and into the florescent lit store. The clatter of baskets didn't hit me in the ankles and I didn't get pushed from behind because someone wanted the exact Toy Story DVD I happened to be looking at.

Heck, I didn't even make it out of my pajamas until after 9am. Instead, I watched the crowds of people shoving and pushing their way into Best Buy, Toys R' Us and WalMart to have a chance at some pretty cool bargains.

No, this year I am thankful for having learned that Black Friday is code for "stay home." Don't get we wrong, I'm sure people had a lot of fun and came home with bags full of wonderful gifts at 50-70% off.

As for me, I prefer a cup of black coffee on Black Friday. Each sip a warm reassurance that I've once again made
the right choice.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)