Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A Brief Update and Then a Question

How's that for an original blog post title?

I left work today at 2:30 -- unable to bear another minute in the office this week. The office is closing at 11:00 tomorrow so I'm working from home in the morning and plan to make the most of a five day weekend. I've had all the heavy traffic & commuting I can stand.

I also just filled out two bankruptcy questionnaires online and hope to hear from at least one of them on Wednesday. That will either be helpful or some kind of scam. We'll soon find out.

It's imperative that I get some resolution soon regarding the personal and business debts. And after consulting with an accountant about a week ago, I was given the rather unpleasant news that I most likely am responsible for the credit card debt which was issued under the corporation name. If that's the case, then there's no alternative. $40,000 was bad enough for us personally, but an additional $110,000 of liability is not something I can absorb. Not when txrad was just laid off and I'm facing uncertainty after December.

To say that I have been depressed and unable to function is a major understatement.

So, let's get off the bad topics and move on to the holidays.




I have never been so excited at the prospect of having five days away from the office. For that reason alone, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday by virtue of the fact that it usually involves the longest continuous time off of any holiday, at least in my line of work.

We don't really celebrate any holidays. We don't do turkey & dressing. In fact, we typically go out for a nice vegetarian Indian meal on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. But if I had to pick a favorite holiday, I guess it would be Thanksgiving for the aforementioned reason: time off.

My least favorite holiday is, without a doubt, Christmas. I find the whole consumerism and commercialism to be crass beyond belief. And the concept of "Black Friday" --- the Friday after Thanksgiving being given that term because it's supposedly the first day of the year that retailers actually turn a profit, is obscene.

If this is actually true, and we need to rely on a forced and frenzied gift-giving season in order for the vast majority of retail outlets to survive, then something is seriously fucked up in our society.

And while I will claim that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (aside from the insanely stupid presidential photo-op of the pardoning of the bird), I think Black Friday has to be one of my least favorite non-holiday days of the entire year. You'll no doubt see me blogging on Friday about some insane shoppers who are lining up at Wal-Mart or Target at 3:00 in the morning to bust down the doors for all the Chinese-made "bargains." And someone will get hurt in the melee.

I'm sorry but this is vulgar and obnoxious and would make Jesus hang his head in shame.

OK, I've had my rant. What about the rest of you? What's your favorite and least-favorite holiday and why?

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