I'm not used to this kind of frenzied shopping for things like I've been this year. From buying clothes and accessories for myself, like sweaters, jackets, socks, watches, socks, shoes, handbags, etc. to things for my Equal Half like shirts, trousers, sweaters for him, wallet, shoes, etc. and things like chocolate, and gifts for friends and family, it has been a trail of searching, looking for the best bargain, deciding on the best deal, then emptying the purse.
Almost every day I've been collecting things, so that by the end of the year, when the holidays start, we do not have to panic for the last minute forgotten gift for someone. Taking up a holiday job in a departmental store, I guess, has resulted in my extra spending.
When I see so many things around me, at good deals and great discounts, can I put a rein to my spending spree? The aisles and the racks are choc-a-bloc with imported stuff, which are screaming to be bought off. Their shining labels and their straight-off-the-factory smells, the crispness of their fabrics, the listings of their ingredients, their bright colours – how many people are there who can turn away from them?
In a down economy, when the unemployment rate is in double digit, and the GDP of the economy is negative, how can one shop so much? This is a question anyone would ask. The answer is, since the economy is down, the shopping experience has become more and more mind boggling. It requires more time and energy to find the best deal. From minutely scanning the newspapers and leaflets to search for coupons, to keeping an eye open for the sale of the day, it requires one to assimilate a lot of information and store it somewhere in the mind, or in a notebook.
And I don't think I'm done yet. I haven't had the time to scan today's newspaper (the Sunday edition, which has more of the stuff). It's only December 20 today. There are four more days to go. The world might change in the meantime. Would I remain sane from all the shopping until the 25th? May God be with me.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Where to Spend this Vacation
There has been a major dilemma for us at present. Where to go for the year end celebrations. I've been in the US for a year and a half now. Except for one person, all others of my family are in India. So there is no family here to spend the Christmas or New Year with.
But a host of friends have gradually taken the place of my family here. Most of them are my Equal Half's colleagues, their wives, and their children. Then there are also his acquaintances, whom he had met in various places, on various occasions, and with whom close ties have formed over the years.
And one such family, with whom we spent last Christmas too, Have invited us this Christmas Eve too. Amazing how an unrelated group of people could become so close to you. We attend their birthdays, weddings, other anniversaries. When there are public functions like Solstice Parade, etc. we meet on the roadside and watch the parade go by.
We have lunches and dinners outside too. We are making a program to visit Big Bear early next year. We've been wanting to visit Los Angeles together as a group, but that has not materialised. Maybe because LA is so nearby.
So it is friends who have become the center point of vacations. When there are people and friends around, do we need a better place to go to? Aren't we all social animals?
But a host of friends have gradually taken the place of my family here. Most of them are my Equal Half's colleagues, their wives, and their children. Then there are also his acquaintances, whom he had met in various places, on various occasions, and with whom close ties have formed over the years.
And one such family, with whom we spent last Christmas too, Have invited us this Christmas Eve too. Amazing how an unrelated group of people could become so close to you. We attend their birthdays, weddings, other anniversaries. When there are public functions like Solstice Parade, etc. we meet on the roadside and watch the parade go by.
We have lunches and dinners outside too. We are making a program to visit Big Bear early next year. We've been wanting to visit Los Angeles together as a group, but that has not materialised. Maybe because LA is so nearby.
So it is friends who have become the center point of vacations. When there are people and friends around, do we need a better place to go to? Aren't we all social animals?
Friday, December 11, 2009
Buying Gifts for Christmas
Ever since I've joined this holiday sales job, I've been acutely bitten by the gift buying bug. Maybe it is due to seeing people spend so much on gifts. They're getting stuff for their husbands, wives, granddaughters, grandsons, girlfriends, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers. Often they're buying for the home. Things like electrical appliances, kitchen tools, home furnishings, Santa paraphernalia...
There is so much stuff out there, it is mind boggling. Large department stores are slush with things that are mountain high. I'm not used to seeing so much stuff in the shops and stores earlier as I see here now. There is a wide variety and choice of goods, and dazzling displays aimed at attracting customers. On top of that, due to the slow economy, stores are also encouraging people to buy with heavy and sometimes multiple discounts.
The war of attracting customers by slashing prices and projecting higher discounts in the media is for everyone to see and make a note of. Mails and flyers arrive on the post, with coupons attached, which can be used on the dats/periods printed. So what could people do in such a scenario.
Due to the holiday season, they are obliged to look for gifts. It is not merely obligation, but also a willingness to share love through gifts. Christmas is the most significant festival for many people in the Western worl, for which people wait the whole year. With the approaching of year end, the planning and anticipation starts. It rises on the graph as December progresses, and by the third week of the month, it is at its crescendo. There is a frenzy of buying and gift wrapping.
There have been ups and downs in the economy over the decades, but people do not completely ignore such important festivals. Even with the high unemployment, the overall problems that people are facing, the slashing of budget, the stock market losses of retired people, festivals such as Christmas are unerasable from the identity of a culture and community.
Whatever may be the rewards, the hardships, people buy gifts to that they could share their love and bond as family and friends all over again. To start another new year. Until that year ends and it is time to bond again with renewed enthusiasm and buying frenzy.
There is so much stuff out there, it is mind boggling. Large department stores are slush with things that are mountain high. I'm not used to seeing so much stuff in the shops and stores earlier as I see here now. There is a wide variety and choice of goods, and dazzling displays aimed at attracting customers. On top of that, due to the slow economy, stores are also encouraging people to buy with heavy and sometimes multiple discounts.
The war of attracting customers by slashing prices and projecting higher discounts in the media is for everyone to see and make a note of. Mails and flyers arrive on the post, with coupons attached, which can be used on the dats/periods printed. So what could people do in such a scenario.
Due to the holiday season, they are obliged to look for gifts. It is not merely obligation, but also a willingness to share love through gifts. Christmas is the most significant festival for many people in the Western worl, for which people wait the whole year. With the approaching of year end, the planning and anticipation starts. It rises on the graph as December progresses, and by the third week of the month, it is at its crescendo. There is a frenzy of buying and gift wrapping.
There have been ups and downs in the economy over the decades, but people do not completely ignore such important festivals. Even with the high unemployment, the overall problems that people are facing, the slashing of budget, the stock market losses of retired people, festivals such as Christmas are unerasable from the identity of a culture and community.
Whatever may be the rewards, the hardships, people buy gifts to that they could share their love and bond as family and friends all over again. To start another new year. Until that year ends and it is time to bond again with renewed enthusiasm and buying frenzy.
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