The Monday After Thanksgiving: The Internet's 'Black Friday'

I must confess something to you guys: I absolutely loathe, LOATHE, Christmas. I'm not sure quite why this holiday bothers me so much - the consumerism, the tacky decorations/music, the fake happiness the holiday tries to force on society - but I just do. I wasn't always this way you know. Growing up, I looked forward to every holiday with great zeal and anticipation, but after my parents divorced, and then after my diving accident, only a few sole holidays still held their luster. They were/still are as follows: Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, and Halloween.

But back to X-Mas. The #1 thing that grates on me the most about this holiday is the shopping. I hate, hate, HATE shopping at the malls, with all of those "mall people," bustling about with their red Sears bags and candy cane mochas from Starbuck's. Scene: You enter the nasty consumerism void that is called "the mall," you roll in, and you're suddenly caught in an audio onslaught of awful X-Mas music that you're forced to hear every year (can't people write something that's new AND catchy enough to start being played on mall's sound-systems?), and then you must force yourself through the deal-starving mob all the while FROM YOUR WHEELCHAIR. This, as you can imagine, is not task that one looks forward. And don't believe otherwise, shopping for others on X-Mas is a genuine task.

I do love my family, boyfriend, and friends however. And because of this, I do buy them gifts each X-Mas; but I do not set a single wheel (not even a caster) in the bottomless pit that is the local mall. I do ALL of my shopping online like a proper American, and "Oh!" is it sublime. With my hot water to sip, my neck warmer, and my Pandora.com jukebox groovin' in the background, I cruise around online, knocking down each giftee with a seamless keystroke: Crtl+C, I copy my credit card number, then with a Ctrl+P, I easily paste it in the required fields, and voila! The gift is delivered to my doorstep in about a week. All I gotta do is buy my wrapping paper at Target (a tolerable conciliation).

And today - the Monday after Thanksgiving - is now (in case you didn't know) considered the new "Black Friday" for internet shopping. I shopped at both Macy's and Sephora online today and didn't pay a single cent for shipping & handling. There are deals to be had around every corner of the 'net today folks, and I'm lovin' it. Not only didn't I have to leave the comfort of my cushy warm condo, but I'm being thanked for it by the stores themselves! Ha!

I guess X-Mas isn't THAT bad afterall ;)