Black Friday...

… is ridiculous. The day after Thanksgiving, now known as Black Friday, is unquestionably the biggest shopping day of the year. What I don’t understand is why people get up and wait in line, in the cold, to save a few bucks at midnight. But are they really saving all that much? Probably not. I have never worked retail but I have friends who have and an ex-boyfriend you still does. From what I was told the stores slowly inch up the price above its suggested retail price and then “discount” it back down to the price they were selling for in the first place. I noticed this the other day while in Macy's. I knew what I was looking for and found it. The product was “on sale.” I had already done my research and I knew what all the other stores were selling them for. But this store I was in was selling it for $30.00 more and then had placed it on sale for the regular price it should be in the first place. This made me mad and when the sweet associate approached me soliciting help I decided that I would question her about this. I asked her why this product was “originally” 160.00 and now it is on sale for 129.95. She responded back that 160 is the original price and that it was a good deal at the sale price. Then I said, “But why are all the other stores in the area and online selling this product at an original price of 129.95?” Her pupils enlarged and her breathing quickened. All of a sudden she was trying to walk away and I prevented her from doing so. She said that she could not comment on other store’s prices. I then asked her to comment on her stores prices and she was seriously trying to get away from me. It was like there was an alarm and a red light going off in the store—“Informed shopper in aisle 5! All associates must evacuate!” So, needless to say that I will not be making that purchase at Macy's.

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving...

No, there was no Tofurkey™. My brother had no initial intentions of having a meatless Thanksgiving dinner but that is how it turned out. Two disasters plagued my brother’s kitchen yesterday. Everything was coming along just fine. He decided to do a ham instead of a Turkey, which is perfectly fine. More on that later. My brother was making his cornbread dressing and the giblet gravy. He needed a dish and as he was pulling one out of the cabinet he dropped it. The dish shattered into the cornbread and gravy rendering both ruined. Then came the unveiling of the ham. The ham was beautiful. Then came the taste test. First off, the directions were followed exactly. I tasted it and it was like licking a salt lick. I was afraid that I was going to go into some sort of sodium shock and would most definitely be diabetic. The ham was so salty that it was inedible. So, we had a green bean casserole, rolls, stuffing (a second batch was made), and macaroni and cheese. All while the Cowboy game was on in the living room. Can’t have Thanksgiving without the Dallas Cowboys!

Toy dangers...

I know I am not a parent but I used to be a child back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Kids today are wimps and wusses! All this talk about toy dangers and recalls just makes me laugh. I remember the toys that I had. Big metal dump trucks with sharp edges that would eventually rust but we kept playing with them. Remember the Jack-in-the-Box? Today they are made of boring plastic but the one I had was a large metal box. The Jack would not pop out of the box after a few cranks of the handle. No No! He would eject from the box like an F16 fighter pilot. I also had a small airplane that I would play with all the time. The nose of the plane was so sharp that I cut myself several times. I guess I was smart enough not to eat my Lego’s and not ingest my coveted Light Bright accessories. I use to crush matchbox cars in the iron vice in the garage. The vice was a good 50 lbs and was sitting loose on the work bench. It never fell on me!! I survived all these toy dangers. Today’s children will never know the joy of harmful toys and that is a shame. I am all about keeping kids safe but come on! I remember hanging my brother in a tree in the front yard…he survived. Perhaps we should outlaw trees and rope. Just give them a circle of paper and safety scissors. Everything is dangerous in one way or another. What doesn’t kill only makes us stronger.

Lost...

Last night I was on my way home on the 183. Considering the crappy week I had I was so pleased to see the bus on time. That was a short lived blessing. The drivers are rotated about every six months or so. Apparently a rotation had taken place. The new driver had never driven the 183 Express route before. Instead of getting on the tollway at Alpha and 635 she kept going straight on Inwood. Of course everyone had to say something. She explained the issue and the crowd understood so we had to direct her back onto the tollway. She had never driven a N.Dallas route ever. One man yelled at her and said “LET ME DRIVE” to which she responded “Sure! You can go on down to DART and fill out an application.” I was a nice ride overall and as I exited the vessel I said good night and thank you to which she responded “you have a blessed night.” Today I drove in. I had no problems getting to the office but I fear the trek home will be a massacre.

To the back of the bus...

Yesterday was a terrible day for me in general. Just a frustrating day at work mainly. I leave the office and head for the bus to go home. During the hour I stood waiting, there was supposed to be four buses come by. Nothing. Finally a bus shows and was full. I found a seat at the very back of the bus. I usually do not sit at the back and haven’t sat there on a local bus in a long time. I sit down and was obviously the minority but that doesn’t bother me. People chatting, laughing, complaining about the wait and traffic. One man pulls out a radio and we listen to the likes of Marvin Gaye, Gladys Night, and Teddy Pendergrass. One man was talking about a stabbing that happened in his neighborhood. Another chimes in and reminds him that the victim was stabbed three times. Then we heard that dreaded sound that I know all too well; the sound of metal crunching. A car next to the bus plowed into the car in front of them. We kept on going. The woman sitting near me told me that bus had hit her a few years ago, side-swiping her on her way to her grandmother’s funeral and driving her mother’s car. At that point I decided that my day really wasn’t that bad and enjoyed the ride. After an hour and a half commute (usually it is 30 minutes) I finally made my way home in much better spirits than when I left the office. I walked the dog, had some lasagna, drank a beer, took a shower, watched some Desperate Housewives, and went to bed.

Damn...

My favorite thing in the world, Totino’s Party Pizza™, has fallen victim to E.Coli O157:H7. I am very upset over this as I have been eating these since I was a child. I ate one Tuesday for dinner and savored every bite. Now I could die from it! According to the press release there have been people getting sick and having kidney failure. The numbers are small but E. Coli works in mysterious ways. I lived as a vegetarian for many years and still follow a vegetarian diet the best I can. I do eat fish and occasionally I will ingest pork and some chicken but not often. But I LOVE the pepperoni Totino’s Party Pizza’s. The pepperoni’s are little chunks that are juicy and yummy. I pop one in the oven for 14 minutes (I like mine really done) @ 450, then I slice it up and enjoy. Now I am gonna have kidney failure. I have never had a product that I enjoy recalled (other than a vehicle). Possible death is not a health issue to me, it is more like OMG I AM GONNA DIE type of thing, and I am not freaking out if that is what you are thinking. I am just concerned that I have ingested MANY of these pizzas since July (this is when they are saying the possible contamination occurred). Am I gonna stop eating them? Yes, for the time being. I will wait until there is an all clear to consume. Until then I will have to find an alternative but it will be hard, if not impossible, to replace a perfectly portioned, .99 cent piece of heaven.

Press release:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_049_2007_Release/index.asp